MBJ_Sept26_2014

INSIDE — Attention deficit proves costly in Farish fiasco, Page 5

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MBJ FOCUS

YEARS

Insurance & Employee Benefits

1979

www.msbusiness.com

September 26, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 39 • $1 • 24 pages

AUTOMOTIVE {Section begins P 12}

» Insurance re-enrollment time is near » Technology an enhancement for HR — not a replacement The List {P 18-19} » Independent Insurance Agencies

What’s the plan for GreenTech?

Opinion {P 7} » Mississippi’s in‘adequate’ education is costing our state more than just money.

Healthcare {P 10} » Rochelle Culp: A passion for a healthier Mississippi

Map to market for GreenTech’s MyCar not yet clear

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Drivin’ & Honky Tonkin’ » Bridging the Blues is back for a third year More, P 4

Automotive startup GreenTech will soon be sending its MyCar to a “Neighborhood Electric Vehicle” market experts say is still in its infancy, at least outside of California.

The two-seater MyCar is limited to speeds of 35 mph and prohibited on major highways.

The car is expected to begin coming off the as-

2014

sembly line at GreenTech’s recently completed Tunica plant by the end of the year.

GreenTech issued a press statement on the plant’s completion in early September, but otherwise has been secretive about how the car will be marketed and whether other models are in the works. The company has promised more See

MYCAR, Page 9

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES

TAKING OFF » Delta Group finds ready market for drones

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com Though its roots go all the way back to the 1920s, Delta Group has shown that it is not afraid to embrace new technology. As example, the company that is best known as a farm equipment dealer began offering precision agriculture products when the high-tech devices first arrived on the market in the 1980s.

Now, Delta Group is at it again, this time offering a high-tech product not commonly associated with agriculture — drones — and the company has been pleasantly surprised that it has found customers both on and off the farm.

“I recently began flying drones personally, and I began getting requests from my buddies to fly over their fields and take pictures,” said John Montfort Jones, marketing director at Delta Group.

“So, about six months ago I suggested that we start selling drones so they could photograph their fields themselves.”

The personal drones Delta Group offers are manufactured by DJI, and are “quadcopters” — mini helicopter-like aerial vehicles that are remotely controlled from the ground. The systems feature four rotors that make them highly maneuverable and “a joy to fly,” according to Jones.

Jones said the quadcopter system is one of the most popular unmanned aerial vehicles on the market because of their reputation for being low maintenance. Also, many models allow for live video streaming from the camera during flight to the operator’s smartphone or tablet.

See

DRONES, Page 8

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

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26 2014 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

MBJ Marketplace the venue for state’s businesses

BY TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Dozens of Mississippi businesses showcased their goods and services last Friday as the Mississippi Business Journal held its inaugural Business Marketplace at the Trademart in Jackson.

Formerly the Business Expo, the Marketplace featured some vendors selling products on the showroom floor — a move the MBJ made to accommodate visitors who wanted to shop as well as get acquainted with the state’s businesses.

The Marketplace drew companies specializing in everything from human resource functions such as payroll and benefits (Account Services) to stateof-the art cutlery (Cuto Cutlery) and indoor electronic billboards (Message Point Media).

Colleges turned out to promote their undergraduate and post-graduate degrees (Belhaven University, The University of Alabama, Mississippi State University’s Center for Distance Education, Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi College, Holmes Community College).

Also well represented were data service and other information technology

companies (Howard Technology. Magnolia Data Solutions, Synergistics DCS Inc., Think Anew).

Telecommunications providers also exhibited (CSpire Wireless, Broadband Voice, Netlink Voice) as did web service providers and audio visual companies (Think Web Store, Bowie Audio & Visual).

State and federal agencies took part (Mississippi Department of Insurance, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Department of Employment Services, the U.S. Small Business Administration), along with nonprofit groups (Special Olympics, Mississippi Blood Services, ).

The Marketplace opened with a breakfast honoring Mississippi’s “Health Care Heroes.” A luncheon honored “Leaders in Finance.”

MBJ Publisher Alan Turner said the Marketplace continued a record of success begun 31 years ago with the first Business Expo. “We received a lot of positive feedback from exhibitors who gained an excellent number of leads and contacts throughout the course of the day,” he said. “We’re glad to play a role in helping strengthen Mississippi’s business economy.”

TED CARTER / The Mississippi Business Journal l

Jacob Davis spent the day briefing visitors on the offerings of “Think Anew,” an 8-year-old Madison data storage and IT infrastructure services (inset). New York Life representatives Ann Muse, right, and Rebecca Greer had a lengthy list of products and services to promote. They are based at the company’s Highland Colony office in Ridgeland (above).

DERYLL STEGALL / For the MBJ

John O’Hara, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau Mississippi, acquaints visitors with the services of the BBB.

TED CARTER / The Mississippi Business Journal

Community Bank, the state’s leader in Small Business Administration loans, brought a large contingent to the Marketplace.

DERYLL STEGALL / For the MBJ

Ridgeland-based startup Message Point Media displayed its high-definition indoor electronic billboards.

Representing the company, from right, are Bryan C. Gilliom, COO; Dannon Durr, president; and Gavin Rome, account executive. The company has already placed its electronic messaging screens in several schools districts, including Hinds County, as well as correctional facilities.

September 26, 2014

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»FROM THE GROUND UP WITH PHIL HARDWICK

Buy and flip or buy and hold?

D

ear Phil: My husband and I have an opportunity to buy a rather run-down house in a nearby neighborhood. I feel like it is just too good an opportunity to pass up. We are undecided on whether to buy it and resell it as is, buy it and have a contractor make the necessary repairs or buy it and make the repairs ourselves. What are your thoughts and advice?

Answer: The first thing to do is to make certain that it is indeed an opportunity too good to pass up. To get an idea if that is the case you need to get information about what the value of the property would be after you made the repairs and then subtract what it would cost you to acquire and update the property.

That is an oversimplification so let's delve into some of the considerations.

To get an estimate of the updated value you need to learn what properties in the neighborhood and similar neighborhoods are selling for, preferably on a square foot basis. You can contact a real estate agent familiar with the area, have an appraisal done on the property or do the research yourselves. Real estate websites such as zillow.com and realtor.com can be good resources for beginning your research.

Your research should result in your feeling confident that the property will compete well with others after the renovation.

Cable channel shows such as A&E's “Flip This House” and TLC's “Flip That House” are invigorating the house flipping concept. The timing may be right in light of so many foreclosed homes on the market at what may be buying opportunities. If you have not already do so — and I suspect that you have – watch several of these shows to get an idea of the concept of flipping. Once you have done that, stop and beware. House flipping is not quite as easy as it appears on television.

Next, it is time to decide whether you want to hire a contractor or do all or most of the renovation yourselves. If you love doing the type of repair work required, then your investment, aka sweat equity, will produce the highest return on investment when you sell. For many people the remodeling and repair work itself is the reward. I know some people who would buy, repair and sell houses even if they broke even, simply because the love the work and the process. They enjoy learning about the latest trends in design and styles and applying them to kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces. They get personal satisfaction in bringing an old house back to life and presenting it to the current market.

If you do not love the repair work then hiring a contractor or acting as your own contractor is your best bet. Just remember that doing so will cost money and therefore increase your investment. On the other hand, quality repair work done by a good contractor may result in an increase in the value of the property more than your own work would do so.

Once the house is market ready you will be a

Phil Hardwick

flipper if you want to sell quickly and move on to the next project or you will be a holder if you want to retain ownership and become a residential real estate investor. If the latter is the case then you are in for a round of marketing and then ownership duties.

How long do you want to hold the property? Is it for a length of time or is it until you make a certain return on your investment? Some residential real estate investors pick a certain period of time or a certain date in the future to sell the property. For example, if you need money for college five years from now when your child graduates from high school you would probably choose a time certain to sell. On the other hand, you might have a certain return on investment, say 20 percent, that when reached will trigger your desire to sell. Sometimes fate will step in and trigger a sale. An excellent unexpected cash offer, a death in the family or a disaster, for example.

Marketing residential property can range from simply placing a sign in the yard to a full-scale

» If you are a flipper then decide whether you want to do the work yourselves or hire a contractor ... promotional campaign. It all depends on your local market. You might want to consider advertising that you will be taking applications until a certain date instead of renting to the first prospect that comes along. That will give you some flexibility in renting to your most desirable tenant.

As an owner/investor your next decision is whether you want to manage the property yourself or hire a property manager. If you are not suited to property management, i.e. taking care of maintenance, dealing with tenants, etc., then you may do well to hire someone to do that for you. Be aware that doing so is another expense that will affect your overall return on investment.

In summary, after determining the updated value decide whether you are a flipper or a holder. If you are a flipper then decide whether you want to do the work yourselves or hire a contractor, then put the property on the market. If you are a holder, do the same thing and then decide whether you want to be the property manager.

Happy investing.

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.

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26 2014 CREATIVE ECONOMY Special to The Mississippi Business Journal

The King Biscuit Blues Festival, now in its 29th year, gives attendees a chance to get a street-level view of the blues,

Drivin’ and honky-tonkin’ » Bridging the Blues returns for third year

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

The state of Mississippi is actively engaged in a campaign to “package” the blues in an effort to promote regional tourism, a prime example being the multi-state Mississippi Blues Trail.

That is also the mission of the Bridging the Blues (BTB), a tri-state music pilgrimage that takes in more than 100 musical events, including 15 separate festivals and hundreds of musicians, artists, scholars and personalities. The events, which include the unveiling of three new Mississippi Blues Trail markers, will be held across numerous communities in Mississippi as well as Helena, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee.

Now in its third year, the 2014 BTB, a cooperative effort of the states of Mississippi, Arkansas and the city of Memphis, will run from Sept. 26 through Oct. 12.

“This is the quintessential example (of regional economic development),” Malcolm White, head of the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division, told the Mississippi Business Journal.

The BTB is the brainchild of Wesley Smith, a Greenwood native with a background in tourism and a love for the blues.

“I began to think of how we could possibly package events here in Mississippi as well as in Tennessee around the King Biscuit (Blues Festival) that would give us a chance to show all of the opportunities we have here while also helping grow King Biscuit,” Smith said. “I saw it as a great chance to really tell the story of the blues.”

Munnie Jordan, King Biscuit executive

“I feel like we are about a year ahead of where we hoped to be.”

Wesley Smith Organizer, Bridging the Blues

director, shares Smith’s vision.

“I saw the potential for Bridging the Blues immediately,” Jordan told the MBJ. “A lot of visitors will fly into Memphis or Little Rock (Ark). Why not give them something else to do as they make their way here? I thought it was a great idea.”

In terms of expected attendance, BTB’s biggest events are the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival and King Biscuit. The Mighty Mississippi is slated for Oct. 3-5 at Warfield Point Park, located just south of Greenville on the banks of the river. This year’s festival features Southern bluesrockers Gov’t Mule and Hall of fame singer/songwriter/pianist Dr. John.

In its 29th year, King Biscuit will be held Oct. 8-11 in Helena, Arkansas. The musical line-up will perform on multiple stages and is eclectic — everyone from blues vocalist Delbert McClinton to Jimmy Vivino and the Black Italians, best known as the house band for Conan O’Brien’s late night TV show.

The “Biscuit” will also offer the fourthannual Call and Response Blues Symposium. To be held Oct. 11 at the Malco Theater in Helena, the symposium a discussion about the blues with musicians,

artists, writers and industry insiders, including Roger Stolle, filmmaker, columnist, oft quoted authority on Delta blues and owner of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art in historic Clarksdale, who will host part of the symposium.

The BTB includes other events for those interested in a deeper, academic understanding of the genre. There will be special

exhibits up at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, the Highway 61 Blues Museum in Leland, the B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola and the Delta Cultural Center in Helena.

Perhaps the biggest addition this year will be the International Conference on the Blues. It will make its debut Oct. 6-7 at Delta State University in Cleveland, where the first Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles is under construction, and will feature an interview and performance

by Grammy award-winner Alvin Youngblood Hart.

Bridging the Blues has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from across the nation and around the globe and was recently named an event to watch in ABA’s Top 100 Events in North America for 2015. Mississippi Tourism Association named BTB as the 2013 Tourism Achievement Winner and Acoustic Guitar Magazine also named Mighty Mississippi Music Festival as the “do not miss” festival in Mississippi.

Smith said, “I believe we’ve hit a tipping point. Year one we had 51 events; year two we had 78. This year we have about 230 Bridging the Blues events. Going into year three, I feel like we are about a year ahead of where we had hoped to be.”

For a complete list of all events, line-ups, ticketing information, etc., visit BTB’s website at www.bridgingtheblues.com.

OTHER EVENTS OF BRIDGING THE BLUES » Bridging the Blues will offer hundreds of events from Sept. 26-Oct. 12. A full schedule is available at the event’s website (www.bridgingtheblues.com), but here are some of the more notable offerings.

Date Sept. 26-28 Sept. 27 Sept. 27 Sept. 27 Oct. 2 Oct. 2 Oct. 2 & 9 Oct. 3 Oct. 3-5 Oct. 6-7 Oct. 8 Oct. 8 Oct. 8-11 Oct. 9 Oct. 11 Oct. 11 Oct. 12 Oct. 12

Event Delta Busking Festival Gonerfest Sam Chatmon Blues and BBQ Festival Mississippi Blues Trail marker unveiling Blue Front Cafe Mississippi Blues Trail marker unveiling Po’ Monkeys special shows Club Ebony Mighty Mississippi Music Festival International Conference on the Blues Blues Tweet Up International Blues Challenge (regional competition) King Biscuit Blues Festival Mississippi Blues Trail marker unveiling Thacker Mountain Radio Show 4th Annual Call and Response Blues Symposium 14th Annual Pinetop Perkins Homecoming, Cat Head Mini Blues Festival Second Street Blues Party International Blues Challenge (regional competition)

Location Clarksdale Memphis, Tenn.

Hollandale Ashland Bentonia Moorhead near Merigold Indianola Greenville Cleveland Tunica Memphis Helena, Ark. Helena, Ark. Como Helena, Ark. Clarksdale Vicksburg

September 26 2014

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Attention deficit proves costly in Farish fiasco » Jackson must repay HUD $1.5 million for JRA blunders

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Not only is downtown Jackson’s Farish Street’s redevelopment dead with no developer, the City of Jackson must begin writing checks to the federal government in December 2016 totaling $1.5 million.

It’s the price City Hall is forced to pay for not watching over a decade-and-a-half of wheeling and dealing by the Jackson Redevelopment Authority and a JRA board handpicked by various mayors over the years. As a consequence of the City’s inattention, says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the JRA bungled the job of creating a Farish Street entertainment district.

The payment is among a list of demands HUD has made after losing patience with the absence of progress on the project.

In a move that could bear on redevelopment projects throughout Jackson, HUD has suspended the Redevelopment Authority from involvement in any HUDfunded projects until further notice. HUD attributed the suspension to the JRA’s failure to follow a host of conditions and requirements to which the City became obligated once the federal agency paid slightly more than $1.5 million for the 17 storefront parcels that make up the threeblock redevelopment project.

Also suspended: Former Farish Street developer the Farish Group and parent company Watkins Development, headed by local developer David Watkins.

In the lone action against an individual, HUD suspended former Watkins’ lieutenant Jason Goree, who is now interim director of the Jackson Economic and Development Department.

HUD announced the suspensions in a Sept. 7 letter to Jackson city officials. However, Watkins said he first learned of the letter last Thursday in a phone interview with the Mississippi Business Journal. Nor, did he know, he said, that the project had an obligation to meet terms set by HUD. Until booted by the JRA last October, Watkins’ Farish Street Group had an exclusive 45-year lease to do the Farish Street conversion.

HUD said all of the suspensions are “until further notice.”

HUD involvement not disclosed?

Watkins said in a prepared statement Friday that he was surprised to learn of HUD participation in funding redevelopment of the 3-block stretch that was once a thriving commercial and entertainment

CITY, JRA HAVE LOTS OF FARISH REPAIR WORK AHEAD, HUD SAYS City Hall, Redevelopment Authority are working under 30-day HUD deadline

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com Ending a suspension of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds is going to require staffs at Jackson City Hall and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority to do a huge amount of work in a short time.

Much of the damage the government has asked the City and Redevelopment Authority to fix goes back to the early and middle years of the 16-year effort to transform downtown’s Farish Street into an entertainment district of night clubs, restaurants and retail shops.

A Sept. 8 HUD “monitoring” letter related to the use of $1.5 million in agency funds on the stalled Farish Street project gives the City and JRA 30 days to address a lengthy list of conditions for future use of federal redevelopment money.

The City has already agreed to repay HUD $1,510,819 in Community Development Block Grant money the Jackson Redevelopment Authority used to buy 17 storefront lots on three blocks of the downtown portion of the historic street, once a thriving commercial section of Jackson’s black community. City officials opted to repay the money from city tax funds rather than receive proportionate reductions in future CDBG money.

City officials said last Thursday they are working to meet the HUD conditions by the 30day deadline but otherwise had no comment.

HUD officials in Jackson and Atlanta have not responded to interview requests. JRA Director Willie Mott has not responded to requests for an interview.

Jackson City Hall’s first misstep occurred in 1997, when it handed over the $1.5 million to the Redevelopment Authority without first having an official agreement HUD requires for subgrantees, or recipients of grant funds initially received by a sponsoring entity.

The failure included neglecting to instruct the JRA on requirements for spending the money.

The result: A poorly managed HUD-funded project for which the City must now reimburse the federal government.

See

DEADLINE, Page 8

File / The Mississippi Business Journal

Farish Street continues to stand idle.

destination for Jackson’s black residents.

He said the JRA and its lawyer for over two decades, Zach Taylor of Jones Walker, alerted neither him nor his firm’s lawyers to HUD participation.

“Our lease with the JRA on Farish Street is over 90 pages long,” he said, and noted JRA lawyers drafted the lease and set out “all our legal obligations on the property in detail, including payment of rent and a large portion of future profits.

“The phrase ‘HUD’ is completely absent from that document. Interestingly, no federal regulations are cited in the HUD letter, either. We are stunned to learn that any HUD regulations even applied to our business venture,” Watkins said in last Friday’s statement.

Taylor of Jones Walker declined to comment Monday. He cited work he is continuing to do for the JRA as he winds down his responsibilities to the redevelopments agency. JRA Director Willie Mott did not return telephone calls Monday and Tuesday. He served as director of the JRA in the early and middle years of the Farish Street project and more recently as interim JRA director. The JRA recently removed “interim” from his job description.

Watkins emphasizes in his statement “all contracts, leases and business relationships were fully disclosed to the JRA and their lawyers and all funds have been repeatedly audited.”

Watkins said he is puzzled by the absence of criticism of JRA attorney Taylor in the HUD report.

“One constant, responsible party for ensuring compliance of all entities, public and private, even going back to 1999, was Zach Taylor, a Jones Walker lawyer that has

acted as counsel for the JRA for over 20 years, before being abruptly fired from the JRA last month.

“These are the same lawyers that advised the JRA to terminate FSG’s lease.”

Watkins said he hopes to get an opportunity to meet with HUD to “clarify some of the erroneous points and innuendos made in their letter.”

Lease signing questions The suspensions of Watkins Development and Goree from further involvement with HUD projects could stem from their listing as registered agents of entities that signed leases with the Farish Street Group.

HUD implies the registered agent listings raise questions of whether valid leases with existing companies had ever been signed.

The signings give an “appearance of a conflict of interest,” the HUD letter states.

Watkins said nothing is improper or unusual about a developer or a representative of the developer listing themselves as agents for a future tenant.

“I’m probably registered as an agent for 200 companies” from work as a lawyer and developer, he said. “We form them and they are bought out by whoever the tenant is going to be.”

In the time between the registering of the company’s new name and actual conveyance of the lease, the leasing company’s representative typically receives any forms, documents and other communications sent to the registered company, Watkins noted.

Goree is listed as the registered agent for Zach Harmon’s Blues Club, which Farish See

FARISH, Page 8

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

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

Website: www.msbusiness.com September 26, 2014 Volume 36, Number 39

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

MBJPERSPECTIVE September 26, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

U.

Civil Rights martyrs deserve gold medal

S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran, Mississippi Republicans, have joined Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, in sponsoring legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Freedom Summer civil rights martyrs James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, an appropriate honor for their sacrifice for justice in Mississippi in the summer of 1964.

Chaney was from Meridian; Goodman and Schwerner were from New York.

The Wicker-Cochran-Gillibrand bill joins a bill filed in April by U.S. Rep. Bennie

Thompson, the senior member of the Mississippi U.S. House delegation, seeking the gold medal.

The three men, who sought nothing more than to help black Mississippians in the east central Mississippi area to secure and practice their constitutional right to vote, were brutally murdered on June 21 in a Ku Klux Klan conspiracy that involved Neshoba County law enforcement, then buried in the levee of a farm pond.

Mississippi’s justice for African-American citizens in 1964 was ignored as if slavery had never been abolished, and it extended into the judiciary. While seven of the conspirators

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

were convicted in 1967 of federal civil rights violations in the case, it was 41 years before just one person, Edgar Ray Killen, a sometimes Baptist preacher and logger, was indicted for their murders. He has been described as the organizer of the mob that kidnapped and executed Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner.

Thompson’s bill (H.R. 4409) states succinctly why the medal should be given: “To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to James Chaney, See VIEWS, Page 7

» WHAT YOU’RE READING

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Here are the most-read stories on msbusiness.com from September 16 - September 23.

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030

1. Jackson agrees to repay HUD $1.5 million for Farish Street blunders

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

2. Mad Genius, Eyevox owner acquires Mississippi Film Studios

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

3. Work on I-269 is on schedule, several phases at halfway point

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

5. Former Godwin CEO Danny Mitchell dies at 66

4. Mississippi no longer has highest unemployment rate in nation

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

» MBJ COMMENTS ONLINE

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

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

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

High court should shock the nation

» 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.

» CORRECTIONS 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: “Outside group files arguments supporting McDaniel” (Sept. 22) ... I sincerely hope the Mississippi Supreme Court will shock the nation by doing the right thing, and send a message to corrupt politicians that the American people are fed up! This will be the greatest opportunity that Mississippi has had to bring itself out of the stereotyped image in the minds of so many Americans, that have seen movies and the media cast Mississippi in a light that is backwards, uneducated and still in the 60-s. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Mississippi has made tremendous gains in race relations the past 30 or so years. Mississippi folks know that the people in their state get along just fine as a whole, and would like to shed the image most outsiders have of them.

Mississippi Supreme Court: Please do not let this opportunity to do the right thing pass you by!! This may be the most important decision you will ever make concerning the state, and possibly who controls the Senate for the next several years!

— Tommy Vise

Too many people in jail RE: “PEER: Backlog of parole candidates costing state” (Sept. 22) ...

If we want to cut costs form our criminal justice system, stop arresting people and sending them to prison for non-violent crimes. We already spend more on our prisoners than our students — Brie I.

PERSPECTIVE

September 26, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

» RICKY NOBILE

VIEWS

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Continued from Page 6

Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner to commemorate the lives they lost 50 years ago in an effort to bring justice and equality to Americans in Mississippi during Freedom Summer.”

“These men paid the ultimate sacrifice to bring justice and equality to every American,” said Wicker. “Their courageous actions in the face of danger helped turn the course of history in the United States.”

“Bestowing the nation’s highest civilian award upon these slain civil rights workers would signify the gratitude of a nation that today is more free and just because of their brave work and sacrifice,” Cochran said.

The three young men were killed June 21, and their bodies, thanks to an anonymous informant, were unearthed six weeks later.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award given by Congress, and it is given to persons whose achievements have an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement long afterward. Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner’s sacrifice and achievement qualifies in spirit, fact and longevity.

We hope congressional action can be completed in calendar year 2014, underscoring the 50th anniversary of their deeds.

— Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi’s in‘adequate’ public schools

P

ublic school districts all over Mississippi are still signing up to sue the state for lack of funding according to the formula established under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. MAEP, as it is called, passed as law in 1997 and has only been “adequately” funded twice.

Nineteen districts have signed on to the lawsuit so far with 23 more still considering.

The defendants, or culprits, in this particular case are the state’s current legislative leaders, the speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor. Behind closed doors they have been able to keep a vote on public school funding from coming to the floor of the Mississippi Legislature. If they were to allow a floor vote, legislators admit it would be next to impossible for the House and Senate to not fund MAEP, given the importance of those funds to the communities they represent. During the 2014 legislative session the Senate and House leadership were able to prevent an up or down vote on fully funding MAEP. The name itself, Mississippi “Adequate” Education Program, does not really inspire that much confidence, but you have to start somewhere. When your state is last on every national list concerning the general well-being of its children, particularly in the area of education, you need a few first downs before you can score a touchdown. In Mississippi’s case, a three-yard run or just falling forward a couple of inches would be an improvement. Given our state’s commitment to education, one has to wonder how much additional funds it would actually take to help some of our failing schools?

The state has not raised taxes to support public school districts, but they have successfully shifted the burden to the counties. Every year the legislature does not fund the MAEP, county supervisors work to make up the difference with additional fees and taxes. Or, their district schools just fail due to lack finances and poor performance. Then the

state more than willingly pays exorbitant private contracts for conservatorships. According to contacts within the Mississippi Department of Education, the State Board of Education selects the conservator and issues a contract at $850 per day, or over $100 an hour.

How these folks are selected and their qualifications is not readily transparent, but it’s a really good gig if you can get it. Since 1997, the state has taken over nearly 20 districts through the conservatorship program with mixed, but mostly poor, results. Real improvement in our public schools has only been evident in those districts that possess a strong tax base and community leadership committed to education. Without help from the state, it’s tough on the schools districts, the families who care and the children.

The legislative leadership has been very kind to a variety of interest groups at the expense of our public schools, according to MAEP supporters. In the past several years, hundreds of millions in tax dollars have been funneled to designated industries, mall developers, specialized construction projects and tax breaks for private groups and businesses. The Mississippi Development Authority has been flush. As a result, they have been doing their job to attract businesses to our state, quite a very good job in recent years.

But when companies don’t have even “adequate” public schools, to offer their potential employees, you have to question what kind of long-term commitment those companies will have to the people and communities in our state.

The best economic tool in any community, but particularly for towns in Mississippi desperate for good jobs, is a well managed and well funded public school.

Ronnie Musgrove, the former one-term governor of Mississippi and the attorney leading the charge on behalf of the school districts in this lawsuit, hopes to force the state to repay over $1.5 billion it has shorted the school districts since 2008.

Those who criticize Musgrove’s efforts argue the lawsuit is a stunt at best and a money grab at worst. For David Dallas Musgrove this is probably personal.

Musgrove has stated that he wrote the Mississippi Adequate Education Program while serving as a state senator. Although according to documents, Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory is credited for authoring Senate Bill 2649 that was eventually signed into law. As a lieutenant governor, Musgrove marshaled the votes necessary to override Kirk Fordice’s veto of MAEP. While serving as governor, Musgrove “adequately” funded the Mississippi’s Adequate Education Program only for the 2004 fiscal year, as part of his re-election campaign in 2003.

But before we get cynical about Musgrove, Haley Barbour did the same thing in 2007 as part of his re-election campaign, fully funding MAEP for the 2008 fiscal year. It’s the only two times that the state has met its commitment to its public schools. Gives a clear idea of how the leadership in both of Mississippi’s political parties view the importance of education. Our children’s education and our future has been an ugly political game for far too long in this state.

In the past legislative session, there were $500 million in new monies for the state, $400 million of those new monies went into the Rainy Day Fund under the direction of our legislative leaders, while our public schools budgets were underfunded according to the MAEP formula by $257 million.

If our legislative leaders are not going to adequately fund public education when the state has the money, will they ever?

If none of them are going to be a champion for our public schools, then somebody ought to take them to court. » David Dallas is a political writer. He worked for former U.S. Sen. John Stennis and authored Barking Dawgs and A Gentleman from Mississippi.

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26 2014

FARISH

Special to The Mississippi Business Journal

John Montfort Jones tests out one of Delta Group’s “quadcopter” personal drones.

DRONES

Continued from Page 1

While Delta Group expected to find farmers who would be eager to utilize the new technology, the company has watched sales soar among those who are interested in purchasing and flying the unmanned aerial vehicles just for the pure fun of it.

“Since the quadcopters are recreational items, we’re getting a mix of non-farmers and farmers coming in to make purchases,” Jones said, adding that it has widened the company’s customer base.

Innovation is old hat for Delta Group. In fact, changing with the times, finding new products and customers to buy them, is the largest part of the history of the company.

The company was founded by James Hand Jr. and J.B. Gibbs, who were successful partners in a sawmill and a chain of general stores before establishing a hardware store in Rolling Fork in 1924.

DEADLINE

Seeing a future in mechanized agriculture, Hand and Gibbs approached International Harvester about opening a local dealership. Bringing in former IH employee Jere Nash Sr., the three men founded Delta Implement Company in 1926 — the same year that development began on the first mechanized cotton picker.

Despite the novelty of the machines and severe challenges such as the Great Flood of 1927 and the Great Depression, the company flourished. Through acquisitions (Planters Equipment Company in 1934 and Miss-Lou Equipment Company in 1955), numerous openings of new dealerships and a merger with The Ayers Company (1987), Delta Implement Company grew both in the number of locations and employees.

(All of the locations began operating under the Delta Group name in 2012.)

Today, the company has approximately 150 employees on the payroll, and has operations in Leland, Yazoo City, Belzoni, Greenwood, Cleveland and Rolling Fork. It sells and supports a full line of

new farm equipment from Case IH, Kubota, Bush Hog, Great Plains and over 20 other leading manufacturers in addition to offering parts and service (including after-hours service), used farm equipment and dirt-moving machines.

Delta Group carries precision agriculture products from manufacturers such as Trimble, Case IH, Ag Leader and others.

In addition to selling the DJI quadcopters, Delta Group pre-assembles and tests all of the units before they are sold to be sure they are ready to fly. The company also offers on-site instruction on how to operate the drones as well as both replacement parts and service.

Delta Group is still mulling its future plans for its new drone products. If history holds, it will be out front.

“We are kind of just going with it right now, to be honest with you,” Jones said. “Right now, we’re focused on keeping up with the demand.”

For more on Delta Group and all its products and services, visit its website at www.delta-grp.com.

HUD wants the liens cleared up and is insisting the City detail how it plans to accomplish that. Specifically, it wants “schedules and timetables” for removing all liens and security claims against the property.

For the future, HUD wants city officials to detail how Jackson will secure and The remedy HUD wants is a written assurance that before disbursing any CDBG maintain properties on which HUD’s Community Development Block Grant funds to sub-recipients, the City will make a formal written agreement with the money is used. recipients that meets HUD regulations.

Another condition is that from now on, the City must closely monitor each CDBG The City also erred grievously in 2008 when it waived a competitive process and program function to ensure regulations are followed and performance goals are met. allowed the JRA to transfer the development lease from original developer PerformaCity Hall failed to do this with Farish Street, according to HUD. Mississippi to the Farish Street Group headed by Watkins Development principal HUD is also insisting that the City show the redevelopment project has a “national David Watkins. The amended lease development agreement gave Watkins objective” by creating jobs for low-and-moderate income residents. HUD does not Development exclusive development and management rights to the properties purchased with HUD money. The absence of a request for proposals process violated say, however, how the City is to achieve the required “national objective” without the project’s completion and the opening of businesses there.

HUD regulations, according to the agency.

Presumably, city officials must show specific plans for meeting the mandate that The JRA also violated HUD regulations by putting up the HUD-purchased property the project’s “benefits are available to all residents of a particular area where at least as collateral for a $5 million loan from the Mississippi Development Authority.

51 percent of the residents are low-and-moderate income persons.” The benefits to The MDA presumably will file a lien on the property in hopes of getting at least low-and-moderate income residents must be maintained for at least five years. some of its money back, though that has not yet occurred.

“It remains unclear whether or not the activity will ever meet a national objective,” Watkins Development, however, has filed a construction lien for $4.7 million; Dale HUD said in the monitoring letter signed by Donna L. Wickes, director of the Architects has a lien the Farish Street property for $322,189 for unpaid fees.

Community Planning and Development Division of HUD’s Jackson office.

Continued from Page 5

Continued from Page 5

Street Group touted as one of the early leases for the entertainment district.

Watkins Development is listed as representative for the B.B. King Club which signed a lease for 212 Farish St. and part of 210 Farish St. HUD said being a registered agent for the B.B. King Club has “the appearance of a organizational conflict of interest.”

HUD said it found a pair of leases for which the first page of the lease agreements were left blank on spaces designated for the date of the lease and the identity of the lessor. “But the signature page of the agreement was signed and dated by both parties,” HUD said.

This was done for leases with Heart Beatz Entertainment at 113 W. Griffin St. and Zach Harmon’s Blues Club.

Further troubling, according to HUD, was the lease agreement with Cool Al’s, LLC for space at 229 Farish St. “The first page of the agreement contains the lessor name, but the date of the lease is blank,” HUD said.

The agency said the signature page has an “unidentifiable” signature in the block that normally lists who the lessor is. The title of the signatory is blank, HUD said.

The first page of lease agreement for Sage Steakhouse, LLC for space at 202 Farish St. and 206 Farish St. contains the lessor name but the date of the lease is blank, HUD said.

“Attached to the lease agreement was a prenotarzied blank “acknowledgment” form dated Oct. 12, 2011,” HUD noted.

HUD said it is further disturbed that Watkins Development was billing its affiliate, the Farish Street Group, for services it supposedly performed for the affiliate.

Watkins has a $4.7 million lien on the Farish Street properties for money he says he has put into the project. He has previously said he is looking to be reinstated as developer of the entertainment district, an outcome once seen as possible with Mayor Tony Yarber’s new appointments to the JRA board and removal of Bishop Ronnie Crudup as board chair. The board under Crudup terminated Watkins’ lease for the redevelopment last fall.

Reinstatement could be difficult to achieve, however, considering the indefinite suspensions of Watkins Development and affiliate Farish Street Group from HUDfunded projects.

HUD’s overall gripe is that the City failed to ensure the JRA complied with requirements for the money. In fact, the City never established the JRA as an entity legally entitled to receive HUD money for purchase of the parcels, the federal agency says.

Further, city officials didn’t keep an eye on what the JRA was doing once the Redevelopment Authority received the money, HUD says. “The City failed to maintain its files and provide HUD with documentation that it had monitored its funded subgrantee Jackson Redevelopment Authority.”

September 26 2014

MYCAR

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Continued from Page 1

details at the fourth quarter grand opening of the plant near the intersection of Old Mississippi 304 and Buck Island Road.

GreenTech had been using a former elevator factory in Horn Lake as a test facility.

Getting to the assembly stage follows two years of delays and a federal investigation into enticements used to gain foreign investors for the plant. The slow progress by the McLean, Va., automaker likely created some jitters among stakeholders Tunica County and the Mississippi Development Authority. The county’s Economic Development Foundation donated 100 acres, at a cost of $1.8 million, and the MDA loaned the company $3 million for site preparation.

“They have come a long way,” said Lyn Arnold, head of the Tunica Economic Development Foundation. She noted GreenTech has a certificate of occupancy for the new building.

“They are moving equipment into it,” she said.

MDA spokesman Jeff Rent said GreenTech must begin repaying the $3 million six months after starting operation. The loan is for 10 years, he said.

When it broke ground in 2009, GreenTech detailed plans for producing versions of the four prototypes it showcased then, including hybrid cars. It has since said it will make the MyCars and an electric-powered sedan, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reports that GreenTech has international distribution agreements for 30,000 vehicles over the next three years.

The company originally planned 250,000 vehicles.

In the brief press release earlier this month, Chairman & CEO Charles Wang said GreenTech has made “significant progress toward our engineering, production, hiring and industry partnership goals in recent months.”

GreenTech is a subsidiary of WM Industries Corp., which describes itself as Detroitbased luxury sedan and sports car manufacturer.

Roger King, director of the Mississippi State University Center for Advanced Vehicle Systems or CAVS, in Canton, said the center worked with GreenTech early on but not in recent years. The job ahead for GreenTech and other electric automakers is overcoming “range anxiety” car buyers have about the short distances electric cars can travel before needing a battery recharge, King said.

Tesla, the high-priced all electric car conceived by billionaire Elon Musk, can go more than 200 miles without a recharge.

The key is for manufactures such as GreenTech to match the Tesla range but at a far lower sale price, King noted.

Musk hopes to begin producing a more economical lithium battery in Nevada.

“That is the future,” King said.

Meanwhile, GreenTech and other electric car makers must be patient, said John O’Dell, senior editor for fuel efficiency and

Photos from http://gtaev.com/us/cars/mycar

Getting to the assembly stage follows two years of delays and a federal investigation into enticements used to gain foreign investors for the plant.

“(GreenTech is) highly secretive about how many people they employ, how many cars they are going to build. They want to sell cars but they don’t want to talk to anyone.” alternative vehicles at Edmunds, an automotive publication and website that offers research and pricing on all types of vehicles.

“The whole segment needs to be moving into the automotive mainstream. This hasn’t happened,” he said, “outside of a state like California, which requires automakers to make them available if they want to continue selling cars.”

California, O’Dell said, accounts for 40 percent of national sales of plug-in vehicles.

“Even then, they are a miniscule part of total sales,” he added, citing San Francisco and Los Angeles as the two main California markets for electric vehicles.

In the United States, electric cars and their hybrid cousins account for only seventenths of 1 percent of the automotive market, according to O’Dell. Of the 18 all-electric models sold, only four are sold outside of California, he noted.

Price – they cost around $4,000 more than a hybrid, is one market obstacle, O’Dell said, though he added the industry is expected to bring prices in line with conven-

tional gas-powered cars by 2020.

Current state and federal tax credits help defray costs as well, he noted.

Charging time is another obstacle. Most electric cars are recharged by home 110V wall outlets and can take nearly 20 hours to regain full capacity. A charging station’s 220V outlet will do the job in about four hours but the United States has yet to begin planning a national fueling system for EVs, O’Dell said.

The lithium battery accounts for nearly half the price of an electric car, according to O’Dell. He said by its eighth year of use charging capacity diminishes to around 80 percent, thus reducing a typical car’s range from 80 miles to 70 miles. By the 12th year you can expect the battery’s life to expire, he added.

“The big problem is that the batteries degrade over time,” especially in either hot or cold climates, O’Dell said.

Most manufacturers warranty the batteries to 90 percent capacity for at least eight years, he noted.

O’Dell said he expects GreenTech will encounter challenges moving its MyCar into the neighborhood car market. The bigger manufacturers have the promotional dollars and the exclusive contracts sellers, though “big” is relative in the neighborhood car market, he noted.

GEM, a subsidiary of six-decade-old Polaris, is the market leader, having sold about 55,000 vehicles around the world, O’Dell said. GEM got a huge sales boost when it contracted with huge Los Angeles mixeduse community Mar Vista. Every homebuyer could by a GEM neighborhood car at an attractive discount, he said.

“They are not marketing to John Q. Public,” he said of GEM. “They are marketing to businesses and governments that can use these type vehicles for park maintenance or shuttling people around business campuses.”

O’Dell said it is difficult to assess the market for GreenTech’s MyCar. The company has not even said where it plans to sell them, he noted.

“They are highly secretive about how many people they employ, how many cars they are going to build. They want to sell cars but they don’t want to talk to anyone,” the automotive editor said.

O’Dell said he expects it is possible GreenTech will build a car and market it, but he is not without some doubts. “If they were going to build a car they would be out there seeding the ground with advertising and talking about it.”

Meanwhile, O’Dell noted, “Nobody I know who is in the business is predicting any sizable market share for electric vehicles.

They are still a niche.”

What EVs need, he said, is either a charging breakthrough or a battery breakthrough.

“The pure electric car in this country tends to be a hard sell for whatever reason.

Personally, I love them.”

And the rest of us may have to learn to love them as well. The federal government has mandated vehicles get 54 miles-to-thegallon by 2025, O’Dell said.

“The only way we can get there is electric vehicles.”

10 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26, 2014

PAYING IT FORWARD, MISSISSIPPI

Rochelle Culp: A passion for a healthier Mississippi

By ALAN TURNER alan.turner@msbusiness.com

R

ochelle Culp, project director for the Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition of Madison, Yazoo and Holmes counties, has a passion for good health.

Following her education at Holmes Community College and Belhaven, she had a successful career of 18 years with Allstate Insurance Company. But during all that time, she was a health-conscious individual, and “I made my own choice to live a healthier lifestyle,� she said. “As far back as 1990, Allstate had a commitment to employee wellness,� she said. “They had programs for walking, exercise, and nutrition, to help employees make better choices.�

For Rochelle, the key to a healthy and happy life is just that — making the right choices to live healthy and be healthy. She began volunteering with the Watch Program, which was committed to teaching kids about the harmful effects of tobacco, and when she had the opportunity to

Rochelle Culp has

turned her love for good health into a successful career.

TAMI JONES / MBJ

work full-time in that field, she jumped at the chance. “I heard someone ask a question once,� she said of her move into the non-profit world. “That question was ‘what do you want your tombstone to read’? I decided that I wanted to be remembered for helping people live better and healthier lives.�

From that commitment, she’s worked on many projects for the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, although her main focus has always been tobacco prevention. One program she administers for kids is called RAT — that is, Reject All Tobacco. She’s spoken to many groups of children, and said that their efforts have reached more than 50,000 kids. “It isn’t just about tobacco, though. It’s also about making good choices on food, doing your homework, being obedient and developing a good character. It’s these choices that make for a good life for these kids,� she said.

In addition to her work with the tobacco-free project, Rochelle is also a fitness instructor and personal coach and teaches classes at Fitness Lady. “My goal is to reach and motivate 1,000,000 women by the time I’m done,� she said. “I’m having so much fun, and I’m good with being just where I believe God wants me to be.�

For further information on the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, visit its website at www.healthy-miss.org.

Dr. Charles Beady: Mississippi Food Network

By ALAN TURNER alan.turner@msbusiness.com

F

rom its beginnings in 1984, the Mississippi Food Network has growth to touch all 82 counties in the Magnolia State, with 23 employees, many volunteers and a budget of $15 million which goes to helping feed those who are truly needy.

Dr. Charles Beady serves as executive director of the MFN, and is fairly new to the job. “I’m truly happy and excited to be here, doing good work,� he said.

Born in Georgia and raised in Michigan, where he received degrees from Michigan State University, this is his second go-round in Mississippi, coming from a long and distinguished career in education, for universities and institutions including Morgan State, research at Johns Hopkins, Alcorn and Piney Woods.

He is very proud of the contribution MFN makes to the state.

TAMI JONES / MBJ

“Last month, we provided over 2 million pounds of food to more than 150,000 people in need,� he said. “Of course, I want to see us do a lot more. There are more than 600,000 food-needy people in Mississippi.�

He sees America as a “blessed nation,� and believes that we all need to be in the fight to alleviate poverty and hunger. “If everyone would decide to do just a little bit, things would change,� he said. “Even a dollar or two really helps.

Mississippi is a very caring state, and the more we can get Mississippians to understand our mission, the more we can help to reduce the effects of poverty and poor nutrition.�

He thinks that success always begins “in the neighborhood,� with people uniting to make things better for all. “If we can’t get the support at the grass roots, then we won’t see the results we need.�

One program the MFN has in place now is its “backpack program� for kids.

Dr. Charles Beady is proud of MFN’s mission and impact.

YOU TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS.

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NEWSMAKERS

September 26, 2014

MDOT staff completes PEAK Kelly joins EarthCon

Parrish honored by Corps

Mississippi Department of Transportation maintenance personnel recently participated in the PEAK (Performance, Education, Assessment, Knowledge) Program training. The PEAK Program is designed to develop leadership skills and facilitate a productive working relationship among participants that crosses district lines.

Participants were: Christopher Moore, maintenance superintendent, Newton Maintenance Office; Jeffrey Gray, maintenance superintendent, Whitfield Project Office; Kent Hailey, maintenance superintendent, Meridian Maintenance Office; Ronnie Lofton, maintenance superintendent, Philadelphia Maintenance Office; Johnnie Thorne, roadside development manager, Newton District Headquarters; and Greg Bishop, maintenance superintendent, DeKalb Maintenance Office.

Kenneth D. Parrish Jr. of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, has been selected as the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 2014 Program Manager of the Year. Parish serves as a regional program manager of the Mississippi River Levee System (MRL). Parrish has been the leader of the MRL team for almost 20 years, maintaining and managing the MRL projects prior to the 2011 Mississippi River Flood. His leadership, experience and relationships with local levee boards and communities proved invaluable during the event. During the post-2011 levee system recovery efforts, Parrish was a subject matter expert and key member of technical teams tasked with repairing the damage of the 2011 flood.

ASCE recognizes Smith Jane McKee Smith, a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, was recently named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Smith, assigned to ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), is being recognized for her pioneering work developing the STWAVE (Steady State Spectral WAVE) numerical Smith wave transformation model, used by engineers around the world for advancing the knowledge of sediment transport, storm surge and wetland inundation that enables the safety, health and welfare of coastal communities.

The Kerrville, Texas, native began her career in 1983 at the then Waterways Experiment Station (WES). During her career with WES and ERDC, Smith has contributed to major research advancing the knowledge of coastal waves. After Hurricane Katrina, Smith made contributions in the analysis of wave dynamics and the impact of storm surge on coastal areas. She was a leading member of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET), serving as team leader for wave modeling. In addition to her work on STWAVE and wave dynamics, Smith has also made contributions to better predictive and descriptive capabilities of hurricane inundation for island environments.

As an ERDC researcher, Smith has shaped research in the United States and abroad through journal publications. She has authored 133 proceedings papers and reports and 36 refereed journal publications. She has also served as editor of the International Coastal Engineering Conference Proceedings from 20032012, and currently sits on the editorial panel for the Maritime Engineering Journal.

Smith holds a bachelor’s degree from South Dakota State University, a master’s degree from Mississippi State University and a doctorate from the University of Delaware.

French made CISR Lois French of Account Services Group in Ridgeland has earned the designation of certified insurance service representative (CISR) after her successful completion of courses covering all areas of insurance risks and exposures, followed by extensive examinations.

EarthCon Consultants Inc. (EarthCon) recently welcomed Emilie Claire Kelly to its Madison operations as a staff geologist. Kelly is a recent college graduate, who holds a B.S. in geology from Mississippi State University. During her time in school, she conducted water quality sampling, stream gaging, geologic mapping and field data collection and interpretation.

Firm welcomes Levy Philip M. Levy has joined Daniel, Coker, Horton and Bell, P.A.’s Oxford office, where he will focus his practice in the areas of product liability, labor and employment law and public entity/governmental liability. Most recently, Levy has served as law clerk to Judge Leslie Southwick, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and previously served as law clerk to Judge David Bramlette, Southern District of Mississippi. He has also served Levy as an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law. Levy holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Mississippi Law Journal. He also holds both a bachelor of arts degree as well as a master of arts degree from the University of Mississippi.

Attorneys named ‘Stars’ Butler Snow attorneys Christy D. Jones and Orlando R. Richmond, Sr. along with recently retired attorney Lee Davis Thames have been named Life Science Stars in LMG Life Sciences 2014. Jones and Richmond are members of the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Practice Group at Butler Snow.

Jones has served as national trial counsel representing various corporations and has tried cases throughout the United States. She is an A-V rated attorney by Martindale–Hubbell, and has been recognized for her work

by Chambers USA, Mid-South Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America and is listed among the Law Dragon 500. Jones is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a past Regent of Region 6. She is also a fellow of both the American Bar Foundation and the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

Richmond has served as lead counsel or co-counsel in numerous jury trials in state, federal and military venues. He has also participated in mass tort litigation involving pharmaceutical products and toxic and environmental issues. Richmond is an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell whose work has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Mid-South Super Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation Magazine among many others. He is a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and a member of the Mississippi Governor’s Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee.

With more than 200 trials to verdict in courts throughout the United States and in several foreign countries, Thames has also appeared before the MultiDistrict Litigation Panel and handled class actions in several different states. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell who has been recognized for his work by The Best Lawyers in America since its first edition, and by Chambers USA and Mid-South Super Lawyers. Thames is also a fellow of the American and Mississippi Bar Foundations and a retired brigadier general in the United States Army Reserve.

Swan named to board Millie Swan, Forrest General Hospital’s chief marketing and medical staff services officer, has been selected to serve on the advisory board of Spirit of Women, a national network of leading hospitals dedicated to improving women's lives with innovative health and community programs.

Swan’s appointment was announced to the Spirit of Women network of hospitals at its National Executive Meeting held in Swan Miami, Florida. Her term runs through June 2016.

Beady leading MFN Charles H. Beady Jr., the former president of The Piney Woods School, is the new CEO of the Mississippi Food Network. Beady served for 20 years as president of Piney Woods School, one of the country's only historically black boarding schools. Beady left the school in 2005.

Beady has worked for several organizations, most recently as associate director at the Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

Pickering receives award Mississippi State Auditor Stacey E. Pickering is the only state official from across the country to receive the David M. Walker Excellence in Government Performance and Accountability Award for 2014. This national award is presented once every two years to three auditors from the public sector accountability community who represent federal, state, and local government.

Pickering was recognized for his work with the Mississippi Legislature to modify laws that improved OSA oversight ability and that improved accountability to taxpayers.

Mabil to study peace The Mississippi Department of Transportation employee Bul Mabil has been selected by the trustees of the Rotary Foundation to serve as a Rotary Peace Fellow and will travel to England to study peace and conflict resolution. As one of the “Sudanese Lost Boys,” Mabil has experienced great pain and suffering while growing up in South Sudan. At the age of five, he fled his village following a civil conflict outbreak

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and escaped to Ethiopia, several hundred miles away.

Again in 1990, Mabil was uprooted from his home when civil war erupted. Following the war in Ethiopia, he found himself in the Kakuma refugee camp in North Kenya where he was able to finish his primary education. During his sophomore year in high school he was brought to the United States where he continued his education, eventually graduating with a degree in political science from Millsaps College and a graduate degree in public administration from Belhaven University.

In 2011, Mabil joined the MDOT family as a transit specialist in the Public Transit Division. To this day he continues to support his family by sending half his salary to his mother in Nairobi.

Agnew chairing board Ronnie Agnew, executive director for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, was recently seated as chairman of the board for the Mississippi Council on Economic Education (MCEE). Agnew has served on the MCEE board of directors since 2007, taking over for Bill Hunsberger, who was a founding member of the council in 2002.

Agnew has led MPB since 2011 and before that served as executive editor for The Clarion- Agnew Ledger for 10 years. A native of Saltillo, he started his journalism career in 1984 as a reporter at The Greenwood Commonwealth. Since then, Agnew has worked for a variety of newspapers in Mississippi, Alabama and Ohio.

He is a member of many boards and associations other than MCEE, most notably The American Society of News Editors, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Mississippi Press Association, the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education and the National Association of Black Journalists.

Baptist welcomes Martin Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle welcomes new hospitalist James Martin, MD, to its medical staff. Martin joins Baptist Medical Group – Hospitalist Group. Originally from Greenville, Martin received his paramedic certification from Louisiana Technical College in Monroe, Louisiana, and worked as a paramedic for 12 years before entering Delta State University in Cleveland where he majored in Martin pre-med/chemistry. He received his medical degree from St. Matthews University School of Medicine in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, La. where he was chief resident.

Martin is board eligible in internal medicine and is a member of the American Medical Students Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians and is a nationally registered EMT-Paramedic. Dr. He and his wife Terri have two children. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, watching his children play softball, playing golf, hunting, fishing and watching college football.

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

AN MBJ FOCUS: INSURANCE & EMPLOYE

LIFE CH

Insurance re-enrollment time is near; make sure

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

HEN ANNUAL enrollment time for employer-sponsored insurance plans comes around, it can be difficult to drum up much interest by employees in evaluating their insurance plans and making adjustments.

According to a survey by MetLife, often employees aren’t all that excited by the prospect of annual benefits enrollment.

“In fact, their annual encounter with the often

W

complex and sometimes unfamiliar world of employee benefits can feel like too much work,” the MedLife survey said. “So, it’s not surprising that many employees are not engaged in the annual enrollment process, simply rolling over their previous selections without review or failing to parRonnie Tubertini ticipate at all.”

The survey showed that, on average, employees spend only 20 minutes considering their annual benefit enrollment.

“Simply stated, employees will consider changes only if they understand the advantages or conse-

quences of a change,” said Ronnie Tubertini, president and CEO, SouthGroup Insurance & Financial Services. “Unfortunately, all employees don’t always understand their coverage or their options.

Employees at most businesses offering employee benefits should be receiving a briefing each year regarding options for both employer paid and payroll deductible voluntary benefits. Some companies accomplish this at annual health or benefits fairs and others simply utilize the services offered by their agent to meet with employees.”

Real employee engagement can be difficult regardless of the subject. But Tubertini said it really helps to create an event or environment in which employees can be educated about their options.

September 26, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

EE BENEFITS

HANGES

re your coverage reflects your changing needs There are key life moments that should be taken into consideration when making insurance choices.

Tubertini said the most obvious may be change in employment but, outside of that, some of those events would include marriage, death of a spouse or divorce, the birth of children and children becoming of an age to have their own insurance, or loss of coverage from another source.

Some employees make errors in judgment when making these kinds of decisions. A common issue is that younger employees, who are not yet thinking about retirement, many times don’t take advantage of employer matching retirement plans.

“These plans, such as 401K plans, can become very valuable if employees are thrifty enough to

start young,” Tubertini said.

“Other than that, probably the most common mistake is just not taking time to understand the benefits offered by their employer.”

Scott Bingham, executive vice president of Ross & Yerger Insurance, Inc., said the most common mistake he sees is employees not Scott Bingham asking questions and for help during the open enrollment process.

“Many people get overwhelmed when asked to select benefits for themselves and their families because these decisions can be complicated, and it is

often easier to elect the same coverage they had during the previous plan year,” Bingham said.

Bingham said it is easy to understand why people can fail to make the best decisions given the fact that this is often a once per year experience for them, and it takes a lot of time to understand and adequately select benefits.

“To make the enrollment process as smooth as possible, it is important that employers educate and communicate with their employees effectively,” Bingham said. “Employers should provide benefit information in an easy-to-understand format that See

INSURANCE, Page 16

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26, 2014

INSURANCE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Human resources or machine resources?

Technology an enhancement for HR — not a replacement

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

Like just about everything else, human resources management has been increasingly computerized in recent years. But has that made human resources less “human?”

Not everything can be done by sending an email.

“We have to look at technology as an enhancement for, not a replacement of, the human element in what we do,” said Lynn Nelson, director of employment services at the North Mississippi Medical Center, which has more than 6,000 employees.

“There are advantage and there are disadvantages. We as the humans have to decide where to draw that line so we allow the tech-

nology to assist us and not hinder us. Every time we use technology to assist us there are those who go overboard with it and those who use it in appropriately. For some things, there is no substitute for the human contact.”

Lynn Nelson Technology has made HR more difficult in some ways. It is an extra complication. But Nelson said in many other areas, technology has saved a lot of time, cut labor costs and been very helpful.

“Social media has helped us with recruiting, for instance,” Nelson said. “Potential employees tend to use job search engines.

For many years, we have only taken online

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applications. We take about 25,000 applications a year. And using email to communicate is a big time saver, rather than trying to get someone on the phone.”

NMMC recently went to a new Human Resources Information System that is more computerized. Now employees can go into their portal and do things like change their address or the amount of taxes withheld.

Nelson said they are exploring scanning for employees who must have documentation like a marriage license.

“Then they wouldn’t have to come to our office when we are open,” Nelson said.

“When you are a 24-7 hospital, some people work when we are not open. So it does make it more convenient. Right now we have just revised our employee guidelines booklet and instead of printing 6,000 copies, we are going to push it out online and get employees to sign they have received it with an online signature. It saved about $10,000 in printing costs. When we make updates, we can push them out as they occur rather than waiting until the end of the year.”

But when it comes to things like employee discipline, human interaction is necessary.

“There are some things where you need face-to-face eye contact, especially when dealing with employee relations,” Nelson said. “You look the employee in the eye and say, ‘You can never do that again.’ Technology just does not take the place of that personal contact. Technology is your friend.

Explore how it can help you. But use good judgment to decide where that line is for

your organization.”

Kimberla Little, assistant vice president for human resources at Regions Financial Corp., said technology makes it easier to communicate with employees about benefits.

“In addition to talking with associates about the various benefit options during the onboarding process, technology is another resource for associates that can be used for clarification,” Little said. “Online systems house more information and are readily available so that associates can refer back as often as necessary. Technology makes record keeping more accessible and manageable, and prevents records from being misplaced when used correctly.”

Little has trouble imagining what recruiting was like before the Internet. She said online applications are an easier process for HR for several reasons: It makes the application more legible than hand written applications. Most systems really require the applicant to complete the application, minimizing the chances of receiving incomplete applications. While companies may be inundated with online applications, it is still a much more reliable process that will continue to prove its efficiency over the years.

Another benefit she sees is Online Learning Management Systems that give organizations and their associates a learning advantage in the workplace by providSee

HR, Page 16

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16 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26, 2014

HR

Continued from Page 14

ing computer based training programs and continuing education right at their finger tips. These programs are usually self-paced and are designed to engage the associate in the process.

While technology has made the role of HR management more efficient, it cannot and should not ever take the place of faceto-face interactions. “It is impossible to learn and understand interpersonal interaction and social com-

INSURANCE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

munication without meeting your applicant and or associate face-to-face,� Little said.

The University of Mississippi solely relies on technology for recruiting and employment. “More than 10 years ago, the University stopped accepting paper applications and now manages all applications, resumes and cover letters through our online applicant tracking system,� said Andrea Jekabsons, UM assistant director of human resources for employment and training. “This is significant as the university posted more than 300 positions and received more than 24,000 online applications last year. Much

of the advertisement is posted online through various professional organizations and at the time of hire, our background checks are administered online, as well.�

Jekabsons said the role of the recruiter or HR staff is less burdened with the administrative tasks than in the days of paper applications. As an employment coordinator in private industries during the 90s, she was responsible for touching and reading every resume in order to then sort it and direct it to the right recruiter or department. “At peak times I would have literally a trunk full of resumes to read and then all of

the applications and resumes had to be filed in cabinets,� she said. “All of those administrative tasks have been removed from the process. Hiring teams now have access to applications/resumes, almost immediately resulting in faster recruiting times. Tracking is also available for both the applicant and the organization with the online application tracking systems.

Face-to-face interaction is still vital. “The hiring teams can focus the quality time during the one-on-one interview without being burdened with the administrative tasks,� Jekabsons said. “The feedback that we receive with our training programs is that although online training may be convenient (on-demand and at the desk), employees still like the face-to-face interaction during classroom style training and appreciate the ability to ask questions.�

INSURANCE

! ! ! "

!

Continued from Page 13

provides employees with essential information, along with additional resources to help them make decisions.�

Another approach he has seen work well is to survey the employee population to determine their priorities — for example, product importance, preferred methods of communication and enrollment, etc. “By doing so, employers can identify exactly what benefits their employees desire, and employees are empowered by decisionmakers to contribute to the process,� Bingham said.

Factors such as age and retirement horizon may create an opportunity for employees to reassess their insurance needs.

Bingham gives the example that as we get older, the amount of life insurance once needed to support a household may not be as great as it once was in a younger family. “As that financial obligation lessens over time, life insurance amounts could be adjusted and those contributions redirected towards maximizing retirement plan withholdings,� Bingham said. “Obviously, marriage and birth\adoption of children are very important moments across the spectrum of insurance offerings. The need for medical coverage is assumed in these situations, but appropriate planning to support a family in the event of death or disability also exists.�

Bingham said the most common mistake is simply failing to take advantage of an employer offered pre-tax benefit, such as a Flexible Spending Account/Arrangement. “Though FSA participation may not be for everyone, the opportunity to plan for an upcoming scheduled procedure or annual budgeting for items such as cost-sharing copayments for maintenance medications, can be performed through these tax advantaged plans which provide an automatic return on the employees’ dollar,� Bingham said.

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

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20 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26 2014 »MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS PROFILES

After 30 Years as GM of WLBT, Dan Modisett is ready for new adventures

R

ecently, we had the opportunity to visit with Dan Modisett, general manager of WLBT for the past 30 years. Dan is getting ready to celebrate his retirement at the close of the year, and shared some of his recollections from a long career in Jackson television.

Born and raised in Jackson, he received his B.A. and M.B.A. from Mississippi College. Aside from a stint in Flagstaff, Arizona, he spent his entire career in Jackson.

“I never wanted to live anywhere else,” he reflected. “I still don’t.”

He originally began working for the station when it was owned by the ClarionLedger, and his office was originally in the Clarion-Ledger building.

“Of course, that changed with the ownership rules,” he pointed out.

In 1970, WLBT was the first television station to lose its FCC broadcasting license, and actually operated without a license from 1970-1982, due to ownership issues,and the lingering effects of the civil rights era. He came back to Jackson in 1984 and took the helm of the station, where he would remain for the

next 30 years.

“There aren’t many people in our industry who have had the opportunity to spend 30 years in one place,” he pointed out, saying Alan Turner that he feels “blessed” to have spent his career in Jackson. “There’s no doubt that I’m a huge Mississippi booster.”

Dan was hired by Frank Melton, whom he described as “one of the most dynamic people I ever met, but one whose later problems eclipsed his accomplishments in earlier days.”

Under Dan’s leadership, WLBT became a driving force in Mississippi media, with the largest broadcast news staff in the state.

“TV news has certainly gotten more serious through the years,” he said. “Today, we have over 47 hours of news on the air every week. When I arrived at WLBT, we were doing about 11 hours.”

Asked why, he pointed to a firm commitment to cover the region and state, and suggested that Jackson is one of the most “news-rich markets” in the entire country.

http://www.msbusiness.com

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Dan Modisett is preparing to celebrate his retirement after three decades with WLBT.

WLBT has certainly embraced the digital age, in addition to its commitment to broadcast news.

“Last week, our site got 1.7 million page views,” he said. “And we got 2.2 million mobile views. Times have certainly changed since I started, when rotary dial phones and desktop calculators were still pretty much the rule.”

Asked what he sees as Mississippi’s challenges in the coming decade, he suggested that continued racial reconciliation and education are 2 of the most important concerns to the future of the Magnolia State.

“Unfortunately, we still have people in our state who are in both ditches, and opposed to each other. But we also have a lot of good folks in the middle, working hard to make things better,” he suggested.

“Look at our staff, for instance. We have a great team of folks who are racially diverse. They work together and do great work. It can happen.”

He definitely believes that Mississippi has a bright future, that it’s an “asset-rich

state that has so much going for it.” He points to the major successes such as Nissan and Toyota as examples of a “great business future.”

Although he may feel a bit nostalgic about leaving behind a long and wonderful career, he said that he and his wife are looking forward to “many new adventures.” They love to travel, and plan to stop off from time to time to visit with their sons (one of whom is an investment banker in New York, and the other works for the Grizzlies in Memphis) and their families. But they do plan to keep their residence in Mississippi.

“This is home,” he said fondly.

We know from other acquaintances at WLBT that Dan will be sorely missed, but there’s no question that he will have left a lasting impression in Mississippi media.

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

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Mississippi Business Journal

I

21

» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Change in ownership JB: I’ve spent a ton of time studying a wide range of public policies both nationally and locally and also a lot of time studying economics and human behavior. If you understand economics as well as how people respond to incentives and how public policy alters behavior and often creates unintended consequences, it becomes a lot easier to understand what public policies will work and which ones won’t.

Q&A with Joel Bomgar

J

oel Bomgar is the founder of Bomgar Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise remote support solutions.

The company had an ownership change in May when TA Associates, a global private equity firm, acquired a majority interest in the company.

MW: Joel, what has life been like for you after the Bomgar ownership change?

JB: Life is fantastic! My wife and I have baby #4 on the way in early November, and I’ve really enjoyed having the time to pursue an interest in public policy while still being very engaged in Bomgar as well as having time with my wife, Rachel, and our children.

MW: What now is your role with Bomgar Corporation and how are you staying involved with the company?

JB: As chairman of the board, I continue to be involved in strategy, without the need to be involved in tactics or execution. That allows me to focus on vision and assist in numerous other ways where I feel I can add value.

here?

JB: We have spent the last 11 years building an incredible technology platform and worldwide sales and marketing reach with more than two hundred employees worldwide. Those ingredients provide a lot of opportunity for the future in addition to maintaining our #1 position in market share worldwide for enterprise remote support technology. My hope for the future is that we leverage all those assets to maximize their value while keeping and growing our #1 position in the marketplace.

MW: Being the founder of Bomgar Corporation, I’m sure you want to see the company thrive.

Where would you like to see Bomgar go from

MW: Along with your involvement as the chairman of the board of Bomgar, what else are you doing with your time?

MW: Whatmadeyouinterestedinpublicpolicy?

JB: Back in the mid-2000’s, I read the public policy primer “Governing by Principle” put out by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. It was the first time I had read and understood the fundamental elements of what makes government and society work and that started me on the public policy knowledge quest. Since that time I’ve spent literally thousands of hours studying economics and public policy, including listening through lectures on history, philosophy, intellectual history, Austrian economics, and finance from the Teaching Company great courses series. All of this intellectual investment has resulted in me being even more interested in public policy than before.

MW: What specific areas of public policy are you researching?

JB: I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand and solidify the underlying historical and economic foundations, but ultimately I’d like to have a thorough understanding of every area of public policy

that affects Mississippians in a significant way, especially those areas where the state spends the most of the taxpayer’s money. For example, just five areas of the general fund budget represent Martin Willoughby more than 80 percent of where the money goes. Those five areas are elementary and secondary education (nearly 40 percent), post-secondary education (about 15 percent), interest payments on the debt (7 percent) and Department of Corrections (6 percent). I’d like to thoroughly understand every aspect of those areas as well as any other area that affects Mississippians.

MW: Why, in your opinion, are those areas important to you and Mississippi?

JB: The three criteria I use to determine what is most important and where we need to focus are: - What affects the most people and in the biggest way?

- Where are the most financial or other resources going?

- How much room for improvement is there in that specific area?

When you look at each area of public policy through those three lenses it becomes much easier to focus and prioritize where time and energy should be spent relative to making Mississippi better and moving our state forward.

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.

Embracing a different approach to end-of-life care

I

» Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death

By Katy Butler Published by Scribner $16.00 softback

won’t sugarcoat it: if you’re looking for a fun, lighthearted read, this is not the book for you. However, if you’re interested in how our society and medical community treat endof-life decisions in the 21st century, Katy Butler’s remarkable Knocking on Heaven’s Door is enlightening, heartbreaking and, at times, enraging.

Butler is a journalist and brings an investigative depth to her book, digging into the history of everything from pacemakers to Medicare reimbursements (and the way the development of the latter helped drive the growth of the former). But this book is also personal for her, recounting her experiences dealing with the illnesses and deaths of her own parents. It’s this effective mix of hard facts coupled with understandable emotion that makes this sometimes-harrowing book so readable and relatable.

Butler’s father was a relatively healthy 79-year-old in the fall of 2001 when he suffered a serious stroke. Following this incident would be six and a half years of decline, including dementia, near-blindness, and increasing frailty. Thanks to a pacemaker

inserted about a year after the stroke, though, Butler’s father’s heart kept beating even as the rest of his body and mind edged ever closer to the end. Unsettling questions about the necessity of the pacemaker would haunt Butler and her mother, as they watched the deterioration and eventual virtual disappearance of the smart, vivacious man they loved.

At its heart, really, this book asks, just because technology has developed to the point where we can keep someone alive, should we? Just because it’s possible, does that mean it’s right? Where do questions about quality of life play into this? Who speaks up

for patients who can no longer speak up for themselves? Butler’s father was clearly suffering for years, and yet his pacemaker kept his heart beating, likely for much longer than it would have without it.

As with just about anything else, it helps to follow the money and uncover the incentives, and Butler does this in great detail.

For instance, she points out that “between 1998 and 2011, pharmaceutical companies and makers of health products spent $2.3 billion on lobbying, making them the single biggest influencer of members of Congress.” The financial incentives for keeping people alive for as long as possible are eye opening and far-reaching, permeating throughout all layers of medicine.

This book’s a cautionary tale, written by a loving daughter who hated watching her infirm father suffer through his final years, and wondered if there’s a better way. For those brave enough, it’s an immensely educational, valuable read.

— LouAnn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 26 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Measurement plus metrics equals PR success & branding relevance easurement and metrics are integral and complex parts of our PR world, and it’s increasingly being driven by social media in the digital domain.

In fact, the branding, PR, marketing and ad industries recently converged in Measurement Week 2014 in New York, a four-day conference focused on all things measurement, analytics, media success and ROI. Many of the sessions showcased the latest trends in our industry, and here are some of the top ways to build your brand while generating awareness through publicity.

1. Measure or perish: In response to those who say you don’t need to measure social media: There’s an implied value to everything and you’d better measure it.

2. Re-focus on dual value: Much social media value that’s created is qualitative, not quantitative. Intangible business benefits include building worthwhile relationships and increasing brand awareness. We spend too much time on spreadsheets, not on the human pulse of social media.

3. Be Aware of the evolution of metrics: Don’t just take old metrics and put them into new contexts without trying to understand what you’re attempting to measure.

4. Set realistic goals: The job of PR is to create and strengthen audience relationships, so the marketing output that matters should be lead generation. PR professionals shouldn’t be held accountable for the skills of their sales team.

5. Focus on the longevity of PR: PR lives on in perpetuity in terms of digital news generated. Much content is evergreen, so readers keep clicking long after articles first appear. Therefore, engagement metrics should reflect that and measure PR from a longer-term perspective.

6. Check out the action: Now we’re digesting lots more data than in the days of print reader pass-along rates, and we are receiving aggregated newsfeeds in real-time. PR is a profit center and not a cost center, so we need to consider actions that impact the bottom line.

Since social media helps connect brands to customers, two-way relationships are needed, where social media becomes a catalyst for action. It’s important to focus on measurements that enhance relationships with your audience as they move up the engagement curve. These “conversions to reliable reach” happen over time.

7. Aim for conversation changers:

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Companies should also look for conversations that influence popular culture. Consumer brands such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola have content-rich websites focusing on categories like music. Over time, share of conversations leads to increases in market share.

8. Stay succinct with search bytes: Since consumer attention spans are low these days, two-to-six word sound bytes are recommended for online search terms. These brief sound bytes should also be measured.

right? Then what? We need to promote it through the search engines. With more than six billion searches recorded daily on Google (according to Comscore’s rankings), tap into SEO to create a better strategy focused on content and its placement. It can help every item placed online become content, and not just another boring news release or blog post.

2. PR already writes for people. One major obstacle creatives usually encounter is writing for the web. When we do that, we forget

The job of PR is to create and strengthen audience relationships, so the marketing output that matters should be lead generation.

9. Relevance rules: Sometimes it’s not about ROI, it’s about relevance. Many companies missed out on launching digital versions of their content.

For example Rand-McNally Atlas, with vast geographical expertise, never introduced mapping apps.

10. Simplicity beats complexity: Above all, keep it simple and there’s not necessarily a need to get too sophisticated with super complicated dashboards. Think about the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Simple and brilliant!

5 Reasons Why SEO Belongs in Your PR Toolbox As this industry evolves, we must always be vigilant about finding new and innovative tools to build brands in the marketplace.

Agencies are becoming more integrated every day, yet many PR practitioners still find challenges with fusing solid PR principles with social media and SEO strategies.

To build a successful brand in today’s multimedia world, both are merging into the fast lane of the information super highway.

Here are five reasons why SEO should be in every PR toolbox: 1. News = Search. PR agencies are content experts. The main job is to secure news,

about an audience – any audience. Think and read according to how people want to search. PR folks, like everyone who writes for a digital audience, must understand how to mix keywords with a conversational flow and interesting anecdotes.

3. We pitch content. It may take some getting used to, but you aren’t really pushing out brand ideas, products, or services – everything included in an e-mail to a reporter is content, and all of those e-mails can easily be repurposed into something that lives online. The more content a PR professional can develop or pitch, the more Google appreciates it – and the more target audiences can find it. The online placement of that content can help you learn the finite details about SEO and how it can benefit your brand.

4. The ghost of news releases past. Although clients love them and we often abuse them, news releases have a foundational purpose in this new digital world – and they can live in many places online. Did you know the first press release was written in 1906 by Ivy Lee and actually published verbatim in The New York Times? If today’s releases are written with purpose and a good dose of keyword optimization, solid links,

and a grasp of AP-style mastery, those news releases can become steroids for search, and milestones for brands – and make Lee smile.

5. PR and SEO have more in common than you think. If you choose to remember anything from this column, remember that Google is great for PR because it is forcing practitioners to become better writers.

So what’s a brand that relies on organic search to do? Turns out that is what Google values the Todd Smith most – links and mentions from high quality, high-reputation sites. This is exactly what competent public relations professionals have been doing for decades. Think about it for a second. Any PR tool is designed to get people to pay attention and then to create a connection. Without awareness and trust, PR is just more noise.

Now consider SEO: the idea of this concept is to write content that gets people to pay attention and create, again, a connection to the subject.

In short, awareness comes from relevant keywords and trust comes from good content.

Golden Mic | Jack Ma, Alibaba CEO The Alibaba Group IPO had all of Wall Street enthralled when the company hit the New York Stock Exchange last week – offering at $68 a share, and raising $21.8 billion – that was one of the largest ever. Six lead underwriters, 160 bankers, more than 300 institutional salespeople, and thousands of brokers worked the deal. Alibaba is the largest online merchant in the world, with $240 billion in merchandise sold in 2013. The spotlight has shined brightest on Jack Ma, who has proven himself to be the most resourceful and dynamic CEO in all of China. Beyond Alibaba he also founded China’s dominant online payment service, Alipay, and runs Yu’e Bao, a provider of wealth management products that are competing with China’s largest banks. Jack Ma is often favorably compared to the likes of Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett – and for spinning all that Wall Street gold, Ma takes the Golden Mic! Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic!

And remember … Amplify Your Brand!

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

SALES MOVES

September 26, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

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23

» JEFFREY GITOMER

Why your sales process or sales system doesn’t work

A

re you being forced to sell someone else’s way?

Are you uncomfortable using a “system” of selling?

I read a report yesterday stating that 70% of all sales systems and sales initiatives fail. I have no idea who created that number (personally, I use 74% for all my statistical reports), but the point is clear. A system of selling and its accompanying sales process are pretty much doomed to failure before they begin.

NOTE: Please do not email me, telling me your system is the greatest and it works. Somebody is staking their claim that 70 percent or more do not work, and if yours is among the few that do, congratulations. If your system works it means you have a very small sales force, or that your system has been in place for so long that it's refined to favor the customer, not the company.

For years I've written about why systems of selling fail, but please be clear about my beliefs: Almost all systems of selling do not work, and along with them are the failures of the manipulative sales processes that are attached to them. I'm about to tell you WHY the system doesn't work, and then offer strategies that do work. Maybe it will help you in your awareness and decision-making process as you try to elevate your sales skills — or your sales results, or even your sales team — to a level of superior.

FIRST FAILURE: The sales system is all about the company that prepared it. It’s not relevant to the salesperson or not engaging enough to the customer. It’s too much perceived work on the part of the salesperson for not enough results. It’s too much of a hassle. The person that trained it sucked.

SECOND FAILURE: The sales process is at odds with you AND the market. The process doesn’t include mobile application. The process is old.

The process deals with manipulation. (“Find the pain,” “what keeps you up at night,” and “qualify the buyer.”) The process deals with things uncomfortable for the salesperson. The process is not compatible with the way the company does business.

THIRD FAILURE: The sales leader who bought it isn’t convinced it’s

going to work, he’s just using it as a CYA tactic. There is forced participation rather than joint buy-in. The sales leader is more interested in his or her salespeople being accountable to him or her for their activity, NOT being responsible for themselves and their outcomes.

FORTH FAILURE: Senior management has not endorsed or used the process. Senior management won’t use the process themselves.

FEAR of FAILURE: The salesperson thinks it will cost them sales. Period.

Want more reasons systems fails? Here’s a bunch – in no particular order.

Pick the ones that best apply to you: » No buy-in from salespeople BEFORE purchase » No collaboration with the people who will actually USE the system » The system and/or the process is too manipulative » Lack of proof that the system actually works in your environment » No proof that the system or process actually works in your market » The system does not match the salesperson’s style or personality » The system is not in any way customized for your salespeople or your customers » The system is not flexible » Natural resistance to change » Fear of lost sales » Resentment for being forced » Poor training by the launch person » Too much work perceived for not enough sales » Sales are low right now, and this is a stab at resurgence » Trying to fit a round sales peg in a square sales hole.

RESULT: You lose sales, lose salespeople, and there is lower morale. YIKES! NOTE WELL: It’s most likely that many of these reasons apply to you or your system. Damn.

ALSO NOTE WELL: Sales is NOT a system, nor is it a manipulative process. It’s a series of STRATEGIES that are in harmony with salespeople

AND their customers.

Here are some sales STRATEGIES that do work: » Create a “go to sale” strategy that everyone is Jeffrey Gitomer comfortable with: friendly, engaging, value-driven, conversational, and backed with proof from video testimonials. » Everyone should participate in creating the sales strategies from the CEO down. » Collaborate with the sales team — they are the ones that will USE the strategies. » Create strategies that are flexible and comfortable. Have several different opening questions to choose from. Offer alternative ways to engage or close the sale. » Have a “Value Proposition” in favor of the customer. » Whatever the strategies are, they MUST start with social attraction. » Whatever the strategies are, they MUST work in your environment. » Whatever the strategies are, they MUST be easy to use and time efficient. » Whatever the strategies are, they MUST be state-of-the art and stateof-the-market.

MAJOR CLUE: Collaborate with existing customers. Get them involved with and in agreement to (accept) the strategies you use.

AND NOTE REAL WELL: Sales are all your revenue and all your profit. Salespeople are the conduit for all that revenue. Why would you jeopardize your money and your profit with a system that everyone will fight?

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”. 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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