MBJ October 29th 2021 Issue

MSBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE

VOLUME 51 • NO. 20 | 48 PAGES

Mississippi Top 100

Insurance and Employee Benefits Page 11

Architects and Engineers Page 13

Banking and Finance Page 16

Small Business Page 20

Healthcare Page 21

Pages 12, 13, 19, 25, 31-34

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October 2021 Issue

Concord Capital acquires controlling interest in Ridgeland Concourse Building Concourse Office Building in Ridgeland.

Concord Capital, LLC, has acquired a 58% controlling interest in the 300 Concourse office building, located at 300 Concourse Blvd. in the Highland Colony submarket.

300 Concourse is a 75,000 SF, 3-story Class A office building that was constructed in 2007, and is home to tenants such as Hub International, Wells Marble & Hurst

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law firm, and First National Bankers Bank, among others.

Concord Capital is the acquisition and development arm of commercial real estate industry veterans Breck Hines, Ted Duckworth, and John Michael Holtmann.

Concord and its affiliates also own 200, 400 and 600 Concourse buildings in the Highland Colony submarket, and this latest purchase brings the company’s total owned square footage in the master-planned Colony Park development to 237,000 SF. Breck Hines stated, “300 Concourse follows our acquisition criteria, which is to acquire stabilized, income-producing assets at a discount to replacement cost, in highly-visible, masterplanned locations, and supported by first-class retail, restaurants, hotel, residential and other office space. This is an attractive, well-constructed property that we look forward to owning for years to come.”

“We continue to see increased operational and leasing efficiencies as we add more buildings to our portfolio in this submarket,” says Ted Duckworth. “Furthermore, the current inventory of vacant space available in the Colony Park area is quite limited; two new office properties are about to begin construction adjacent to our buildings, but they are already 100% leased.”

Concord Capital also owns commercial properties in Louisiana and Tennessee, and is actively pursuing opportunities across the Southeast, including the Carolinas.

Financing for the acquisition was provided by Leigh Pace of Hancock Whitney Bank, and Robert Hutchison of Butler Snow LLP advised Concord Capital in the transaction.

October 2021 Issue

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Mississippi Business Journal

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October 2021 Issue

BankFirst acquires Citizens Bank of Fayette BankFirst Capital Corporation has announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with F.B.H. Corporation and The Citizens Bank of Fayette, Alabama, under which BankFirst will acquire Citizens Bank through the merger of Citizens Bank with and into the Bank.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the shareholders of F.B.H. and bank regulatory authorities.

In making the announcement, BankFirst’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Moak Griffin, said, “We are excited about the pro-

posed acquisition of Citizens Bank and believe the cultural alignment between our organizations is strong.

In addition, we believe this acquisition furthers our vision of partnering with other community banks that have

strong core deposit funding and a tradition of relationship building, customer service, and community involvement. We are eager to further expand our community banking model in the State of Alabama by operating two locations in Fayette and look forward to working with the employees and customers who call the Fayette area home.”

After the merger is completed, the Bank will have 32 offices serving Mississippi and Alabama, and have assets in excess of $2.0 billion.

Robert D. Mills, President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, commented, “We are looking forward to having the Citizens Bank team join the BankFirst organization. As Moak mentioned, our respective orga-

nizations foster very similar cultures focused on serving our customers and communities. Together, the combined company will provide an expanded offering of products, services and resources, and we believe will be better able to serve the needs of our customers and the Fayette community as a whole.” Following the merger, Mr. Mills will remain with the Bank, serving as the Bank’s Fayette Regional Executive.

BankFirst was advised by Olsen Palmer LLC as financial advisor and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is serving as its legal counsel. F.H.B. was advised by Gerrish Smith Tuck Consultants, LLC as financial advisor and Gerrish Smith Tuck, PC is serving as its legal counsel.

Renasant named Best Big Bank by Newsweek Renasant has been named Best Big Bank in Mississippi by Newsweek® in America’s Best Banks 2022. Newsweek partnered with LendingTree, the online marketplace and comparison site for financial services, for their annual Best Banks rankings.

They assessed thousands of FDIC-insured banks and credit unions, and the savings and checking accounts they offer, based on more than 50 different factors to land on best-in-class options in 26 different categories.

“At Renasant, building relationships with our customers and communities by seeking to understand their needs and then meet them is embedded in our mission, vision, values and core behaviors,” said Renasant President

and CEO, Mitch Waycaster. “This recognition by Newsweek is a reflection of our tremendously talented team at Renasant, and we look forward to continuing to be the financial ser-

vice advisor and provider of choice in Mississippi and every community we serve.”

“Renasant Bank has been in Mississippi since 1904. We have an in-

credible team of people throughout the state who truly understand our customers and their financial needs,” said Scott Cochran, Chief Core Banking Officer. “Renasant is unique because we have the product offerings and resources of a regional bank, but also have the culture and commitment to deliver our products and services consistent with our community bank competitors. We look forward to continuing to meet and exceed Mississippi customers’ needs and expectations.”

Renasant was also recently named one of the top banks in Mississippi on Forbes’ 2021 list of America’s “BestIn-State” Banks, and was featured on Forbes’ 2021 World’s Best Banks list.

Plum Creek Environmental expanding in West Point Plum Creek Environmental, manufacturer and distributor of waste and recycling containers and equipment, is expanding in West Point.

The project is a $3 million corporate investment and will create 50 jobs.

Founded in 2007 in Columbus, Plum Creek is growing its presence in West Point by expanding into the 60,000-square-foot facility formerly occupied by Better Brands to meet an increase in demand. The company also will maintain operations at its current West Point facility. Plum Creek last expanded in 2016 when the company moved from Columbus to

a larger facility in West Point. That project also created 50 jobs. Plum Creek has been named

by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. The Mississippi Development Authority certified Plum Creek for the Advantage Jobs Rebate program, which is available for eligible businesses that create new jobs exceeding the average annual wage of the state or county in which the company locates or expands.

Plum Creek currently employs more than 80 workers. The company plans to fill the 50 new jobs by the end of 2021.

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MBJ

PERSPECTIVE October 2021 Issue • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

Poo-poo politicians who err on science

BY BILL CRAWFORD

stirred protests and violence across the world. Regrettably, uninformed The research relied heavily on ‘ge- politicians often jump in and make the nomic’ technologies, such as ‘transcrip- problem worse. tomics,’ which measure gene Take Mississippi Comactivity by sequencing RNA molmissioner of Agriculture ecules in different cell types. Reand Commerce Andy searchers also employed ‘epigGipson for example. At a enomic’ techniques that look at “medical freedom” rally how gene activity is influenced a week ago Saturday he without altering the underlying said he believes COVID genetic code.” vaccines are made out of Understand that? aborted baby tissue, as Me neither. And that’s a reported by WLBT. growing problem nearing crisis Medical article after proportions. medical article affirm Our inability, and for some BILL CRAWFORD that COVID vaccines do unwillingness, to comprehend not contain any aborted the ever-more-complex scientific tech- fetal cells. “Dishonest sensationalism” niques that produce new treatments, is what the University of Nebraska Medmedicines, and interventions makes us ical Center (UNMC) called statements highly susceptible to quackery, where such as Gipson’s. people pretend to knowledge they do Lack of understanding of research not possess to influence others. processes has led to this.

Such behavior has been rampant on Modern researchers use lab-grown social media where false information fetal cell lines for research and testing, regarding the COVID-19 vaccines has not cells from aborted fetuses. Both

Pfizer and Moderna used lab-grown fetal cell lines to test whether the vaccines worked but included none in their vaccines. According to UCLAhealth.org, “Johnson and Johnson did use fetal cell lines – not fetal tissue – when developing and producing their vaccine.”

What is true is that the cell lines now grown in labs are clones of cells taken from abortive fetal tissue back in the 1970s and 1980s.

Despite his statement, Gipson said he encouraged his mother to get vaccinated. He also said he is not against vaccinations, but for freedom. Oh Andy, “the truth will set you free” – John 8:32.

The opening paragraph in this column comes from an article in Scientific American about breakthrough research to identify and map brain cells by type.

“Measuring gene activity, and regulation, is important, because all cells contain the same DNA, but different cell types implement it differently,” the article stated. “There’s maybe a TURN TO SCIENCE, 7F

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October 2021 Issue | Volume 51 , Number 20

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Monitoring of remote workers can go too far

BY PHIL HARDWICK

The rise in remote work has many companies wondering if some of its employees are productive and working as they should be. It has also made many employees who are working remotely wonder if the company is snooping a little bit too much on them.

Perhaps it is a good time to pause and recall how one company with the best of intentions went too far in getting into the personal lives of its employees. It was back in the 1910’s, and that company was Ford Motor Company. In 1914, the Sociological Department of the company was created. Its purpose was to establish and enforce rules and codes of behavior that Ford employees had to adhere to in order to qualify for the $5.00 per hour daily wage. Employees were monitored at work and at home. The company’s investigators made unannounced visits to employees’ homes to make sure that employees were up to improving their lives.

Although this sounds like snoopcharge after work and were conducting, which it was, the Sociological ed by other employees. The ways of Department investigators actually the company and of America were assisted families by teaching them standard subjects. Upon completion how to improve their lives of the program, graduby making certain that the ates attended a ceremony kids were attending school, where they were “transthe home was safe and formed into Americans.” clean, and that employees At the ceremony, they were were doing the things that changed from their native should be done to improve country’s costumes to their quality of life. The “American” suits. company even monitored If all this sounds too employees’ bank accounts instructive on daily lives, to make sure that deposits consider that the company were being made. was attempting to manuPHIL HARDWICK If all this sounds like a facture cars that were in little too much intrusion on high demand, in factories daily life, it should be reby today’s standards would membered that many of the employbe considered unsafe and working ees needed to know and understand conditions rather atrocious. Worker ways to improve their lives. attrition was atrocious. In 1913, over Also, many of the employees were 52,000 employees cycled through immigrants and were unfamiliar with only 14,000 jobs. Something had to be the ways of their new country. Many, done. if not most, did not speak English.

For more information on this topic, To help those employees integrate check out thehenryford.org website. into society and their work roles, the So, does any of that have relevance Ford English School was established. to today’s workforce as it relates to reEnglish classes were offered free of mote work? The answer is yes in that

Science FROM 6F

hundred different cell types in a small patch of your cortex, and we need to understand how each type deploys its genome differently,” said Fenna Krienen of Harvard Medical School.

It’s early yet, but such research can lead to techniques to manipulate brain cells. The goal will be to overcome brain disease and mental illness such as schizophrenia, but who knows what other applications might be possible.

Kinda scary if you don’t understand how it works, huh?

Given our growing proclivities not to

it appears that more employers are, and will be, “intruding” on the lives of their employees.

Although many employees, especially those in the finance and investment sectors, are returning to the office, remote work is here to stay. Among the many issues dealing with the subject is how much control should employers have over their remote workers. Should employees’ computers be set up for constant monitoring? When should microphones and cameras be turned on?

Should the employer have remote access? Should employees be informed of what techniques, systems, and methods are being used to monitor their work?

Dan Schawbel, New York Times bestselling author and Managing Partner of Workplace Intelligence, says in an August 17, 2020 LinkedIn post that employers may already be monitoring employees without their consent. He reported that a study found that 62% of companies are now using technology tools to collect data on their employees.

Employees apparently do not mind

being monitored as long as there is a clear purpose for it, and it can help them be more productive. Indeed, a Gartner study, as reported on the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) website, revealed that employees are becoming increasingly comfortable with employee monitoring, especially if the employer is transparent about it. However, employees tend to object to monitoring certain personal areas of their lives such as social media accounts(72%), physical movement(57%), personal interactions(56%), according to a poll from the HR metrics and analytics summit.

One of the lessons to be learned from all of this is that even though the employer may begin monitoring employees with the best of intentions, things can go too far. Technology is advancing faster than privacy policies can keep up. One can only wonder how far it will go.

trust anything, what to do, what to do?

The first thing should be to poo-poo politicians and media sources that promulgate bad and false science. Science has enough issues without that. Then, as RealClearPolicy.com suggests, scientists must require “standards of openness, transparency, and reproducibility for the work they publish” and avoid

single source research funding.

We depend more and more on sc ence. We must be able to trust it too.

» PHIL HARDWICK is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist. His email is phil@ philhardwick.com.

» BILL CRAWFORD is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.

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SPIN CYCLE – News consumption on social media sites showcased

A

s social media and technol- regularly get news there, about a third ogy companies face criti- of U.S. adults (31%) say they get news cism for not doing enough regularly on Facebook, while about to stem the flow one-in-five Americans (22%) of misleading information say they regularly get news on on their platforms, a sizable YouTube. Twitter and Instaportion of Americans congram are regular news sourctinue to turn to these sites es for 13% and 11% of Amerifor news. cans, respectively.

A little under half (48%) Other social media sites are of U.S. adults say they get less likely to be regular news news from social media sources. Fewer than one-in“often” or “sometimes,” a ten Americans say they reg5-percentage point decline ularly get news from Reddit compared with 2020, ac- TODD SMITH (7%), TikTok (6%), Linkecording to a Pew Research dIn (4%), Snapchat (4%), Center survey conducted July 26-Aug. WhatsApp (3%) and Twitch (1%).

8, 2021.

The percentage of Americans who When it comes to where Americans get news regularly from these sites regularly get news on social media, has remained largely unchanged Facebook outpaces all other social since 2020, though the share who regmedia sites. ularly get news on Facebook has deIn a separate question asking users clined slightly (36% in 2020 vs. 31% in of 10 social media sites whether they 2021).

When looking at the proportion of each social media site’s users who regularly get news there, some sites stand out as being “newsier” even if their total audience is relatively small. Twitter, for example, is used by 23% of U.S. adults, but more than half of those users (55%) get news on the site regularly. On the other hand, YouTube, though widely used, sees a smaller portion of its users turning to the site for news regularly (30%).

Overall, the percentage of users of each site who regularly get news there has remained relatively stable since 2020, a year that included both a presidential election and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, both Facebook and TikTok buck this trend. The share of Facebook users who say they regularly get news on the site has declined 7 points since 2020, from 54% to 47% in 2021. TikTok, on the other hand, has

seen a slight uptick in the portion of users who say they regularly get news on the site, rising from 22% to 29% in this period.

In some cases, there are drastic demographic differences between the people who turn to each social media site for news. For example, White adults make up a majority of the regular news consumers of Facebook and Reddit (60% and 54%, respectively), yet just under four-in-ten Instagram news consumers (36%) are White.

Both Black and Hispanic adults each make up a sizable portion of Instagram’s regular news consumers (20% and 33%, respectively). People who regularly get news on Facebook are more likely to be women than men (64% vs. 35%), while two-thirds of Reddit’s regular news consumers are men. A majority of regular news conTURN TO SPIN CYCLE, 9F

October 2021 Issue

Spin Cycle FROM 8F

sumers on LinkedIn (57%) have a four-year college degree or higher. Younger adults, those ages 18 to 29, are far more likely to regularly get news on both Snapchat and TikTok than other age groups.

The majority of regular news consumers of many sites are Democrats or lean Democratic. This may be related to the relatively young age profile of the news consumer base of these social media sites. No social media site included here has regular news consumers who are more likely to be Republican or lean Republican.

American Express Launches Work-

station Ad Campaign

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used for private business phone calls.

The campaign, which will run through the end of the year, also includes buys on streaming TV, digital audio and social media platforms. The effort includes national and local marketing. Spots feature business owners going through revolutionary change to grow their businesses in new ways.

American Express is converting billboards and bench ads into workstations for a new ad campaign touting its business credit cards.

The pop-up installations in New York, Chicago, and Austin, Texas are part of the brand’s “Built for Business’’ campaign targeting small and mid-size business owners.

The financial services corporation is promoting its business cards as delivering business-centric rewards and savings with no pre-set spending limits.

The experiential installation developed in partTennessee and Kentucky are becoming hotbeds nership with Dentsu Mcgarrybowen will run for for electric vehicle manufacturing. a limited time starting this week. It includes billFord Motor Co., in what it says is the largest sinboards that turn into desks, park benches with gle manufacturing investment in its 118-year hischarging stations, and phone booths that can be tory, announced this week it would spend $7 billion and create nearly 11,000 jobs to build electric vehicles and batteries in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The investment, meant to vault Ford among the leaders in EV output, will include a 3,600-acre “mega campus” northeast of Memphis called Blue Oval City that will include Ford’s first new vehicle assembly plant in more than 50 years. The site – three times the size of the automaker’s sprawling Rouge Complex in Michigan – will hire nearly 6,000 people to assemble next-generation electric F-Series pickups and include battery cell production and a supplier park, Ford said. It’s expected to open in 2025.

South of Louisville, Ford will build a 1,500-acre battery park under its BlueOvalSK joint venture with battery supplier SK Innovation. The site will comprise two battery plants making advanced lithium-ion batteries, with one opening in 2025 and the other in 2026. Ford said the Kentucky site will create 5,000 jobs.

The automaker plugged the news with a video created by Wieden+Kennedy New York that Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted. In the video Ford calls it more than a factory, but “a reason to believe in the promise of tomorrow.”

SK Innovation is committing $4.4 billion on the projects, bringing the total investment to $11.4 billion, Ford said. Ford formed a partnership with SK Innovation in May after CEO Jim Farley reversed plans by his predecessor to buy batteries from outside suppliers, choosing to instead produce them in-house.

Ford said the two campuses will have annual battery production capacity of 129 gigawatt hours, which is enough to power 1 million EVs. The Tennessee battery plant will be dedicated to the next-generation F-Series, while the twin plants in Kentucky will make batteries for numerous Ford and Lincoln vehicles, the company said.

Now that’s some electric news!

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!

Electric Mic: Tennessee & Kentucky Land Major Ford Electric Vehicle, Battery Plants

TODD SMITH is co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Deane | Smith, a full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm – based in Nashville, Tenn. – is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@ deanesmith.agency, follow him @spinsurgeon on Twitter and like the ageny on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/deanesmithpartners, and join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/deane-smith-&-partners.

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October 2021 Issue

Privacy Concerns: Banks oppose reporting customer data to IRS As Congress considers the massive track and submit to the IRS information $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation pack- on the inflows and outflows of every acage, Mississippians need to pay atten- count above a de minimis threshold of tion to an easy-to-overlook provision of $600 during the year – or any account the White House’s proposal that would that has an average of $50.00 worth of acrequire financial institutions and other tivity each month. This proposal would financial service providers to report a create a dragnet, collecting the financial new, broad array of financial activity to information of nearly every American the IRS. As with every large and requiring significant legislative proposal, the bank industry and governdetails matter – and this ment resources to build, pois a particularly important lice, and maintain the data. detail found deep in the The IRS is a constant target White House’s proposal for hackers, has had multiple that every Mississippian data breaches, and continconcerned with privacy ues to deal with the fallout of should be aware of. identity theft and false tax reAs part of the “tax comturns. Adding this broad set pliance agenda” of the of data for every account that Americans Family Plan, the meets the $600 de minimis GORDAN FELLOWS administration has prothreshold will expose even posed that a broad set of details about more taxpayer data to cyber risk. The business and consumer bank and other cyber and privacy risks this proposal financial transaction details be reported entails are serious and must be considto the IRS. To be clear, Mississippi banks ered by Congress before this proposal is support compliance with federal tax adopted. Before such a broad proposal laws; however, the requirements that becomes law, policymakers must exthe administration have put forward are plain how account-holder data would vast and complicated. If enacted, this be used and protected, and whether a proposal would generate a new trove of program of this scale and scope infringdata that the IRS is unlikely to effectively es on the American people’s reasonable use or protect while impacting the pri- expectation of privacy. vacy of nearly every Mississippian that The proposal is also operationally has a bank account. complex. In a letter sent to CongressioThe White House’s plan would re- nal leaders on September 14, Secretary quire financial institutions and many of the Treasury Janet Yellen asserted other providers of financial services to that this proposed regime would be

simple to execute and represents a lowcost mechanism to help the IRS collect owed taxes. But designing system capabilities to capture and report account inflows and outflows and other information is complex, expensive to maintain, and will take years to fully implement. Banks will likely also be required to dedicate staff resources to complying with this proposal. Staff resources and costly system enhancements will be necessary on an ongoing basis to assist customers and their income tax preparers in understanding this new data. Implementing this proposal in its current form would be a significant operational undertaking, especially for Mississippi’s community banks that play such an important role in supporting economic growth at the local level. The potential costs of complying with such a broad proposal could seriously strain the resources of our state’s community banks,

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which could in turn dampen those banks’ ability to serve their communities. Every dollar a bank must spend on compliance and reporting could potentially translate into up to ten dollars in lost economic impact of a new loan.

Banking relationships are built on trust between the bank and its customer. In a poll recently commissioned by the Independent Community Bankers of America, the firm Morning Consult recently found that 67% of Americans oppose this proposal – and lack of trust was the largest reason cited for opposition. Bankers are not at all interested in seeing the trust they work so hard to build with their customers and communities erode due to an unvetted government proposal.

While Mississippi banks agree that the IRS should hold taxpayers accountable for what they owe, we question how helpful this proposal would be toward that goal. In her letter to House leaders, Secretary Yellen argued that this proposal will “help the IRS pursue high-end noncompliance...”, or, in other words, go after the wealthiest Americans the IRS believes are dodging taxes. But this proposal is neither targeted on the wealthy nor focused on those who dodge their tax bill. Instead, this proposal would create significant privacy concerns for everyday Americans without providing a proper explanation of how the IRS will store or protect this enormous new archive of individual and business information. Bankers want to serve their communities and help them grow, not act as data collection agents for the IRS. Mississippi banks will continue to oppose this proposal, and we hope you will join us in expressing your concerns to our elected officials. » GORDON FELLOWS is President and CEO of the Mississippi Bankers Association.

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Insurance and Employee Benefits

Workers’ Comp has tips for staying safe

BY LYNN LOFTON

No matter where a person works, safety on the job is important. As many employees are now working from home, safety there is also crucial to health and productivity.

LUBA Workers’ Comp is a leader in providing coverage when accidents happen, but they also provide employee safety tips. LUBA’s Sr. Vice President Kelli Bondy Troutman says workers’ comp can be one of the more complex coverages. “So it’s always a good idea to work with an insurance agent you can trust and rely on for good guidance and expertise,” she said. “As a carrier, we work in partnership with agents to make sure we are providing appropriate coverage, competitive pricing, and superior customer service.

They are invaluable parts of our business and the many businesses they represent.”

Furthermore LUBA has an entire department dedicated to tips for employee safety. “Our Loss Control team offers a wide variety of services to policyholders including onsite safety consultations, safety training and demonstrations, and customized safety resources,” Troutman said. “We have had some great success stories over the years of employers partnering with our safety team. The majority of the time it’s simple changes that businesses can make to drastically reduce–or even eliminate–on the job accidents.”

This year, she says LUBA has seen a slight increase in claims from last year which she attributes to the reopening of businesses and employees returning to work following the pandemic. “We have not seen a change in response time due to the pandemic. In our business, clear and timely communication is key and it’s something to which we are dedicated,” she said.

“From employers trying to secure coverage for their businesses to injured workers in need of immediate care and benefits, our policyholders depend on us to be there when they need us.”

Troutman states that companies can help employees conduct self-assessments to mitigate risks associated with injury claims, which will save them real money in the long run by improving health and wellness.

According to WebMD, Ergonomic Tips for a Home Office, medically reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, M.D., workers’ Comp carriers are responsible for in-

juries incurred by employees who are working from home, so cutting out as many risk factors as possible, and ultimately reducing claims, is in the best interest of everyone; insurers, businesses, and employees.

Common injuries for remote workers include eyestrain and musculoskeletal injuries such as neck or back pain. Holding an awkward position can put unnecessary strain on muscles, tendons, ligaments, or nerves.

Other tips include: make leg room a priority; protect your back; keep your screen at eye level; take frequent breaks; and make your phone hands free.

Life insurance rates stable amid pandemic

BY LISA MONTI

In the 2021 annual report by the Social Security and Medicare Trustees which looks at the current and projected financial status of the two programs, the Trustees project elevated mortality rates due to the pandemic by as much as 15 percent for those older than 15 before declining to 1 percent by 2023.

But indications are that life insurance rates won’t rise significantly as a result. Mississippi Department of Insurance Mike Chaney said, “The industry folks tell me the rates will remain relatively stable for 2022, with slight increases.”

That’s in line with an insurance industry index produced by Policygenius, an online insurance marketplace, which reported that “there were no significant changes to life insurance prices from August

to September, despite a recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the country due to the Delta variant.

While a new report from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees forecasts that mortality rates across the country will be as much as 15 percent higher than usual through 2023, life insurance pricing stability continues to be an MIKE CHANEY ongoing trend.”

Chaney said Covid has impacted the state health plan which has approximately actuarial report shows that 192,000 members including dependents and about incurred life insurance claims were about $21.5 109,000 full-time employees including teachers.

Chaney wrote that the 2021 state health plan public TURN TO LIFE INSURANCE, 12F

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Property & Casualty Insurance firms

Largest P&C Insurance firms Rank

Company

Premiums Written

Losses Incurred

Premiums Earned

Losses Paid

Market Share

1 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company $468,947,258 $308,112,311 $469,882,333 $303,068,258 2 Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company $456,602,615 $367,594,117 $453,260,724 $362,387,654 3 State Farm Fire and Casualty Company $343,735,936 $257,649,352 $339,445,424 $224,333,666 4 Progressive Gulf Insurance Company $193,175,706 $122,157,384 $209,093,430 $114,427,771 5 Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company $136,030,523 $78,666,721 $136,426,688 $70,423,328 6 Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois $113,641,236 $72,891,408 $113,923,238 $63,610,052 7 Mountain Laurel Assurance Company $109,174,762 $65,003,435 $103,543,159 $59,397,980 8 Shelter Mutual Insurance Company $105,502,042 $80,482,106 $104,716,305 $79,200,954 9 Alfa Insurance Corporation $102,095,948 $75,303,562 $100,421,542 $73,898,491 10 American Agri-Business Insurance Company $98,384,178 $128,444,953 $98,860,114 $129,289,663 11 Nationwide General Insurance Company $84,372,686 $65,692,863 $73,287,041 $51,822,814 12 United Services Automobile Association $81,362,947 $59,072,531 $80,148,740 $60,693,958 13 GEICO General Insurance Company $81,244,993 $62,678,437 $80,540,290 $57,616,642 14 Continental Casualty Company $66,806,637 $59,495,047 $67,245,584 $38,657,633 15 Safeco Insurance Company of America $66,592,670 $47,483,224 $69,281,685 $41,185,704 16 Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids, Michigan $54,240,749 $33,890,698 $53,975,464 $32,959,364 17 Zurich American Insurance Company $51,201,490 $49,534,187 $53,345,610 $23,932,851 18 Allstate Insurance Company $51,012,182 $27,120,317 $52,040,378 $26,178,634 19 Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Company $50,020,675 $35,781,399 $53,285,933 $37,106,080 20 USAA General Indemnity Company $49,066,952 $36,179,559 $48,158,866 $34,645,185 21 Blue Hill Specialty Insurance Co. Inc $48,764,136 $11,477,964 $22,922,017 $3,721,172 22 Travelers Property Casualty Company of America $44,205,476 $24,528,333 $46,350,430 $18,106,144 23 Direct General Insurance Company of Mississippi $40,368,541 $20,564,173 $36,557,806 $20,335,447 24 State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Company $40,091,582 $15,368,633 $41,843,438 $22,754,558 25 USAA Casualty Insurance Company $38,665,813 $22,126,615 $37,768,590 $24,749,254 26 GEICO Indemnity Company $37,826,638 $26,139,559 $37,425,963 $23,902,248 27 Meridian Security Insurance Company $36,667,715 $24,786,911 $30,782,555 $23,228,084 28 Safeway Insurance Company $35,037,392 $19,146,539 $34,904,553 $19,559,100 29 Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company $34,790,863 $20,087,778 $33,323,878 $18,774,649 30 Brierfield Insurance Company $34,269,189 $19,166,577 $32,434,299 $13,348,481 31 Government Employees Insurance Company $33,490,901 $25,871,160 $33,445,600 $23,295,984 32 Factory Mutual Insurance Company $32,673,140 $10,916,449 $28,672,059 $3,021,040 33 American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida $29,717,485 $18,145,892 $29,278,927 $15,115,441 34 American Strategic Insurance Corp. $28,635,092 $22,705,833 $25,580,458 $20,658,188 35 Lyndon Southern Insurance Company $28,620,960 $2,766,065 $26,491,857 $2,131,507 36 LM General Insurance Company $27,417,657 $16,493,833 $27,242,419 $14,594,313 37 Farmers Casualty Insurance Company $26,777,882 $19,655,109 $25,965,263 $18,131,495 38 ACE American Insurance Company $26,553,152 $11,708,834 $27,244,842 $6,727,841 39 Employers Mutual Casualty Company $26,289,333 $13,263,055 $26,516,649 $10,628,206 40 National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. $26,243,848 $8,831,166 $22,747,032 $10,292,934 41 Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company $25,185,918 $17,004,797 $23,749,379 $15,590,923 42 New Hampshire Insurance Company $24,922,283 $6,276,984 $26,260,197 $5,764,942 43 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company $24,677,217 $14,658,210 $25,037,549 $13,644,013 44 Ohio Security Insurance Company $24,413,896 $11,719,453 $21,902,066 $7,282,112 45 Travelers Indemnity Company, The $24,384,923 $8,384,945 $24,702,226 $11,584,816 46 Standard Fire Insurance Company, The $24,381,628 $14,007,748 $23,715,182 $13,026,040 47 Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company $23,495,947 $13,883,570 $22,185,552 $15,533,577 48 Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc. $23,005,717 $24,780,438 $25,804,764 $20,168,956 49 Scottsdale Insurance Company $22,878,696 $19,871,061 $23,694,755 $24,760,919 50 Federal Insurance Company $22,640,809 $4,426,742 $23,014,873 $10,385,488 51 Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America $22,473,863 $3,069,853 $22,638,101 $1,092,528 52 Farmers Property and Casualty Insurance Co. $22,449,336 $16,055,778 $22,160,081 $15,551,525 53 Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company, The $22,097,079 $13,283,675 $21,125,538 $8,572,347 54 Arch Insurance Company $21,956,675 $9,876,595 $21,547,795 $5,477,324 55 Union Insurance Company $20,579,026 $7,316,776 $20,082,209 $7,780,404 56 Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company $20,072,277 $10,734,768 $20,072,277 $8,094,816 57 Sentry Select Insurance Company $19,723,771 $16,285,569 $16,285,569 $5,923,128 58 Versant Casualty Insurance Company $19,426,039 $7,363,700 $14,196,248 $7,572,731 59 Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi $19,411,483 $13,833,796 $19,411,483 $7,700,361 60 Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company $19,090,255 $17,635,219 $19,742,854 $14,711,554 61 Travelers Indemnity Company of America, The $18,938,832 $12,437,125 $19,096,258 $10,206,968 62 Great West Casualty Company $18,245,536 $10,020,567 $17,170,551 $18,795,524 63 National Fire & Marine Insurance Company $18,055,483 $10,271,947 $14,936,828 $4,243,533 64 Liberty Insurance Corporation $17,416,471 $12,485,569 $17,056,041 $9,832,401 65 Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company $16,728,531 $12,933,567 $17,337,390 $13,680,793 66 Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company, The $16,721,313 $12,915,311 $17,686,550 $14,329,576 67 Trumbull Insurance Company $15,907,627 $3,759,962 $15,797,163 $8,297,468 68 Continental Western Insurance Company $15,737,495 $4,442,629 $14,300,924 $3,175,090 69 Western World Insurance Company $15,036,393 $15,398,334 $13,691,231 $7,387,236 70 American National Property and Casualty Company $14,866,786 $8,135,508 $14,444,484 $8,203,505 Companies are ranked by Market Share as of Dec. 31, 2020. Information provided by Mississippi Department of Insurance. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

Life Insurance FROM 11F

million in FY21, up about 50 percent versus the average for the prior four years. Overall, life insurance claims and expenses exceeded life insurance premium contributions by $3.8 million. This adverse experience is believed to be primarily due to COVID-19.

In the four fiscal years preceding FY21, the life insurance program had an average gain, calculated as the premium minus claims and expenses, of about $2.5 million a year. In FY21, there was a loss from life insurance of about $3.8 million.

Chaney said, “I have been on the Board officially and ex officio for over 20 years and I believe this is the largest loss we have suffered in two decades.”

Asked how Covid has impacted life insurance in general, Chaney replied in an email, “The U.S. life insurance industry recorded its largest year-over-year increase in direct and net death benefits in at least 24 years as excess mortality due to COVID-19 triggered an unusual volume of claims during 2020 with the trend continuing into 2021.

As for long term effects, Chaney said, “Double-digit increases in net individual life death benefits has been the rule for most of the largest U.S. life groups.

This will continue into mid 2022.”

8.11% 7.89% 5.94% 3.34% 2.35% 1.96% 1.89% 1.82% 1.76% 1.70% 1.46% 1.41% 1.40% 1.15% 1.15% 0.94% 0.89% 0.88% 0.86% 0.85% 0.84% 0.76% 0.70% 0.69% 0.67% 0.65% 0.63% 0.61% 0.60% 0.59% 0.58% 0.56% 0.51% 0.49% 0.49% 0.47% 0.46% 0.46% 0.45% 0.45% 0.44% 0.43% 0.43% 0.42% 0.42% 0.42% 0.41% 0.40% 0.40% 0.39% 0.39% 0.39% 0.38% 0.38% 0.36% 0.35% 0.34% 0.34% 0.34% 0.33% 0.33% 0.32% 0.31% 0.30% 0.29% 0.29% 0.27% 0.27% 0.26% 0.26%

He cited an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis that said aggregate net death benefits across all lines of business rose by 15.1 percent to $87.51 billion. Additionally, there was a total of $133.89 billion of individual life insurance lost to death in 2020, an increase of 11.8 percent from 2019.

The aggregate amount of direct incurred death benefits and matured endowments incurred increased in the individual life business by 14.3 percent in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia to $91.87 billion. In 31 states, the rates of increase hit double-digit percentages. Of those, 10 states including Mississippi posted increases in excess of 25 percent, Chaney said.

October 2021 Issue

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Architects and Engineers Canizaro Cawthon Davis a principal firm since 1938

BY NASH NUNNERY

projects over the years, including the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital, The modern-day architectural firm the B.B. King Museum, Mississippi has emerged from smoke-filled office Children’s Museum, Trustmark Bank spaces with men in starched white and Pinelake Church, to name a few. shirts sitting at broad drawing taThrow in state landbles bearing T-squares and penmarks such as St. James cils into a diverse collaboration of Church in Jackson, the architects and interior designers Armstrong Tire Plant in utilizing the latest in technology.

Natchez and the origiCanizaro Cawthon Davis, one of nal Trustmark Bank skythe Mississippi’s oldest and most scraper in Jackson, and recognizable architectural firms, it’s easy to see how CCD is no different. Headquartered has etched a hallowed in the historic Spengler-Thomas place among Mississippi DANNY CAWTHON building in downtown Jackson, architectural firms. the firm specializes in govern“We’ve built a regional mental, commercial, healthcare, ed- practice based on excellent service, ucational and religious facilities. functional solutions and unique but Founded in 1938 by the late James appropriate design, “said CCD prinT. Canizaro, CCD has been the prinTURN TO CANIZARO, 15F cipal architect on dozens of iconic

cipal Danny Cawthon.

Along with principal architects Steve Davis and Jared Pierce, Cawthon oversees three additional architects and 15 interior and graphic designers. Cawthon joined CCD in 1989 and was named a partner in 1993.

“Bob Canizaro (James’s son and Cawthon’s predecessor) was an influential mentor to me and many others, and contributed to our love of architecture and success,” he said. “I love my job, and architecture has been an exciting and rewarding career on many levels.”

One of Cawthon’s favorite projects is the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. CCD not only has been on the ground floor since the project was launched, but the firm also designed the museum, exhibit

hall and “The King of the Blues” memorial, the iconic bluesman’s final resting place.

“I’d like to say we’ve been lucky to be involved in the B.B. King Museum project,” he said. “Before we were commissioned, I met B.B. and rode through the Delta with him. When we arrived in Indianola (King’s hometown), we went by the old cotton gin where he used to work.”

Long story short, the cotton gin was purchased, restored and the museum was built with the gin serving as the centerpiece for one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions.

“It’s been a great relationship (with the King museum),” added Cawthon.

Another project close to Cawthon’s heart is Pinelake Church, headquartered in Brandon but with satellite churches all around the state. De-

Oldest Engineering Firms

Oldest Engineering firms Rank

Company Address

Phone

Website

Top officer

Allen & Hoshall 601-977-8993 allenhoshall.com Edwin K Dedeaux, Charles Bunniran 1675 Lakeland Drive, Suite 207, Jackson MS 39216 Cook Coggin Engineers, Inc. Kenneth P. Geno Jr, Jack Daniel Farmer, William Jess Wiygul, John 2 662-842-7381 cookcoggin.com Mark Weeden, James Matthew Estes, David McMullan Long 703 Crossover Rd., Tupelo MS 38802-1526 Chas. N. Clark Associates, Ltd. 601-649-5900 clarkengineers.com Lawrence R. Clark, Jeff Graves 714 Hillcrest Drive, Laurel MS 39440 Engineering Service 601-939-8737 engservice.com Charles S. Parker, R. Allen Scott, Tim Parker 115 Aerosmith Dr., Richland MS 39218 Eustis Engineering L.L.C. 228-575-9888 eustiseng.com Gwendolyn P. Sanders, Chad L. Held, Brian A. Deschamp 14368 Creosote Road, Gulfport MS 39503 Jordan, Kaiser & Sessions, LLC 6 601-442-3628 jksllc.com C. Hayden Kaiser III 279 Lower Woodville Rd., Natchez MS 39120 Stantec Consulting Services Inc. 601-354-0696 stantec.com John E. McKee 200 N. Congress St., Suite 600, Jackson MS 39201 Schultz & Wynne, P.A. 8 601-982-3313 Stanley D. Schultz, John M. Wynne 4523 Office Park Drive, Jackson MS 39206 Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons Architects & Engineers 601-366-3110 cdfl.com Gene Crager, David Burnet, Newell Kent Watkins 9 3221 Old Canton Road, Suite 200, Jackson MS 39216 Shows, Dearman & Waits 10 601-544-1821 sd-w.com Kyle Wallace, Nicholas Connolly, Shea McNease, John Weeks 301 Second Ave., Hattiesburg MS 39401 Southern Consultants Inc. 11 601-957-0999 mscivilengineers.com Susan H Lunardini 5740 County Cork Rd., Jackson MS 39206 Terracon Consultants Inc. 12 601-956-4467 terracon.com Ryan P. Steiner 859 Pear Orchard Rd., Ridgeland MS 39157 Willis Engineering Inc. 13 662-226-1081 willisengineering.net Robert Willis 133 S. Mound St., Grenada MS 38901 Brown, Mitchell & Alexander Inc. 228-864-7612 bmaengineers.com Dax Alexander, Ben Smith 401 Cowan Road Suite A, Gulfport MS 39507 Batson & Brown Inc. 15 601-947-8619 batsonandbrown.com Bob Diamond, Aron Chesney, Rodney Davis, Michael Brown 11267 Old 63 South, Lucedale MS 39452 Kemp Associates, LLC 662-724-2303 J. W. "Jimmy" Kemp PE/PS 11 E. Main St. / P.O. Box 304, Noxapater MS 39346 Michael Baker International, Inc. 17 601-607-8700 mbakerintl.com Ray Balentine 310 New Pointe Dr., Ridgeland MS 39157 Elliott & Britt Engineering, P.A. 18 662-234-1763 elliottbritt.com Larry L Britt 823 N. Lamar Blvd., Oxford MS 38655 Compton Engineering 228-762-3970 comptonengineering.com L. David Compton 1969 Market St., Pascagoula MS 39567 List is ranked by year Mississippi office opened. Information provided by company reps and MBJ research. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

1

Licensed Engineers

Founded

3

1915

14

1946

4

1946

6

1946

2

1946

2

1954

10

1954

2

1956

35

1961

5

1963

3

1964

13

1965 1967

7

1967

2

1968

1

1968 1972

3

1973

3

1973

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October 2021 Issue

‘61 ‘71 ‘81

‘91

‘01 ‘11 ‘21

Jackson

Birmingham

601.366.3110

205.402.8058

Jackson

Birmingham

601.366.3110

205.402.8058

cdfl.com

LEADING SPORTS DESIGN IN MISSISSIPPI AND BEYOND

cdfl.com

October 2021 Issue

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Canizaro FROM 13F

signing a mega-church to seat 2,500 presented a huge challenge.

“We’ve been the architect for all of their campuses since,” Cawthon said. “Pinelake is such a great client. It was a learning curve, as few churches in the state call for a structure to hold 2,500 people.

What’s been great is sharing that information with other churches. It’s been most rewarding and fulfilling.”

Like most other small businesses in Mississippi, CCD was impacted by COVID-19. A sub-category of the construction industry, architectural firms have been affected by the pandemic.

Cawthon says the combination of COVID and several natural disasters have slowed or even shutdown production.

“Like many firms, we adapted quickly to working remotely to keep our projects going and meeting the needs of our clients,” he said. “The pandemic has contributed to delays, material and workforce shortages and increases in construction prices.”

In 2017, the firm donated its founder’s architectural papers to Mississippi State University.

The “Canizaro Collection” features building design drawings and correspondence from the firm’s archives (1938-1980) that include sketches, working drawings, photographs and proposals. The collection offers prospective architects and interior designers a look into the architectural world of Mississippi in the mid-to-late 20th century.

Asked the secret to CCD’s long-term success, Cawthon replied the secret is no secret.

Canizaro Cawthon Davis building in Downtown Jackson.

“God has led and blessed us over the years with a and fulfill their unique needs. talented, dedicated staff and great clients,” he said.

“Along with a dedication to producing good ar“It’s a combination of many parts – great founding chitecture, all these factors have contributed to our partners, great workplace culture, commitment to professional reputation and in turn, our success.” our clients, and a collective desire to understand

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October 2021 Issue

Wise Carter announces Victoria Bradshaw, Charles Cowan, and Poteat Lutken as the Firm’s newest shareholders.

Banking and Finance Banking employees benefit from distance learning

BY LYNN LOFTON

Distance learning is changing the way people further their education and has come a long way as technology has progressed. Like employees of other sectors, banking personnel are taking advantage of this type of learning. Hancock Whitney Bank and Regions Bank say their employees have found online classes helpful in their careers.

Hancock Whitney Senior Vice President & Director of Corporate Learning & Development Stacey

Rester says the bank uses a blend of in-person and virtual (or distance) learning to deliver educational and professional development opportunities to associates. “While we offered in-person education and training before the pandemic, those learning plans often also included self-paced computer based training (CBTs) and virtual instructor-led training,” she said. “Live virtual training is a wonderful option with a number of positives. Virtual learning often allows us to reach more associates in less time.

“We must re-work our instruc-

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Victoria Bradshaw received her law degree from Mississippi College School of Law and practices in the areas of government relations and public policy, creditor’s rights and bankruptcy, railroad, and commercial litigation.

Charles Cowan received his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law and practices in the areas of commercial litigation, healthcare, appellate practice, insurance, and railroad.

Poteat Lutken received his law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law and practices in the areas of construction law, public utilities and energy, real estate transactions, business formations and transactions, and estate planning.

Congratulations to Victoria, Charles, and Poteat.

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October 2021 Issue tional content to fit the virtual format.

Engaging virtually looks different, but tools such as web cameras, polls, and chat functions help associates stay actively engaged in courses.”

Regions Bank spokeswoman Jennifer Elmore says the bank has been involved with distance learning for years. “Part of how we deliver a consistent, positive customer experience is by making sure associates across our business groups have foundational training on a wide range of topics,” she said. “Whether you work in a local branch, or you’re in an operations position at an office building, or you’re working remotely in various functions, you’re taking a core set of Regions training courses that all of your colleagues are taking as well. Many of these are courses that are required to be completed annually.”

There is also specialized training for different job functions, she adds, but all are united in common training about core aspects of banking. “Associates can also use our intranet to access a variety of additional trainings that speak to their own career, learning, and development interests.”

Elmore makes it clear that not all of Regions’ training is online. They use blended learning opportunities for associates that include in-person training in addition to online. During

COVID-19, online classes increased, and she says they will continue to rise in popularity as we move beyond the pandemic.

Hancock Whitney’s Rester says financial services at its core is about people and understanding their needs. “Our mission is to help our clients achieve their financial goals and dreams. We have to be good at listening, asking questions, and using that information to recommend solutions

that meet a client’s unique needs,” she explains. “Courses that teach or enhance good communication skills can serve people well in so many different types of roles, whether client-facing or supporting associates who do work directly with clients.” Regions requires several annual training courses for employees in entry level positions. “While several annual training courses are required, the online platform for our training enables associates to learn at specific times that are convenient for them, and at a pace that allows them to review information, study topics, and truly digest the material,” Elmore said. “The time for training is provided during the workday. In addition to required courses, our platforms provide on-demand videos, articles, and other courses on a number of important skills that associates can explore.”

The benefit to Regions’ employees is that they can choose topics and skills that interest them most. “We encourage associates to think about their current role, where they want to grow in their career, and then utilize the learning platforms provided to enhance or develop those skills,” Elmore said.

“We have committed resources to help associates with their career path and corresponding training in areas including our branch and retail banking businesses, mortgage, operations

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and technology, and others.” Elmore gives as an example the Hattiesburg Loan Operations Center expansion during COVID, which added roughly 80 jobs to keep up with the demand for mortgages. “Regions created an online training program for new employees to use and encouraged internal applicants to apply based on their career interest in mortgage fulfillment and servicing,” she said. “Prior to COVID-19, the training would have been in-person, but our team moved the entire training online to onboard employees. One of the many benefits is it provides opportunities to revisit the materials at any time.” Rester says Hancock Whitney has a mixture of formal learning opportunities. “Some of those options are required based on an associate’s role; others are available based on what an associate wants or needs for professional and personal development,” she said. “Associates have different needs and goals.

“Hancock Whitney supports associates by offering tuition reimbursement for eligible associates who want to pursue degrees or additional higher education applicable to our organization and who achieve a certain gradepoint average, whether they’re enrolled in virtual or in-person learning or both.”

REACHING YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS IS ABOUT MORE THAN NUMBERS At MAG CAP we listen to you first; your goals, your family, your dreams, and your obstacles. Then we focus on making your wealth work for you.

CONGRATULATIONS MAG CAP FOR REACHING OVER A BILLION IN ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT!

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October 2021 Issue

Saving for retirement doesn’t necessarily come with a roadmap (Editor’s note: This article is posted anonymously to protect the financial privacy of the author).

I

was raised by parents who went through the Great Depression.

One of the earliest lessons we were taught was to live within your means, and “a penny saved is a penny earned.” But although I had a college education, there was no class called Saving For Retirement 101.

I first invested in the stock market when I was in my 20s. I was clueless. I had $10,000 to invest. I went to a stock broker, and she helped me choose five stocks. I made two mistakes right out of the chute. One, it makes more sense for a small investor, in particular, to invest in an index mutual fund that diversifies your risk. An index fund has a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a financial market index such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Advantages can be that an index mutual fund provides broad market exposure and low operating expenses. Two, you shouldn’t invest in the market for short periods of time.

About a year later when I sold the stocks in order to invest in a home, some stocks had gone up and some had gone down. I was about even on stock

prices, but I lost the amount of money I had to pay the stockbroker to purchase and then sell the stocks.

Being self-employed, my best option going forward was to invest in a traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA). I particularly liked the Roth IRA, one of the best deals going because you don’t have to pay taxes on earnings upon withdrawal. But I also invested in a SEP IRA because of some tax savings from being able to invest the money before paying taxes on it.

For years I would put relatively small amounts in my IRAs each year. It seemed to take forever to get to $10,000 and many more years to get up to $28,000. Savers are advised to not trade frequently, but I noticed that my account was growing hardly at all. I contacted my stockbroker and asked if he could suggest a savings instrument that might bring better returns.

His response was that $28,000 wasn’t that much money, not enough to live on for even a year, and that it wasn’t

worth moving it to another fund. Actually, although I was offended at the time (it seemed like a lot of money to me!), the stockbroker did me a favor.

I would have had to pay commission fees if he had recommended another fund. All that you pay in commissions and annual fees hurts the bottom line.

Then I learned about Vanguard index mutual funds. Vanguard was founded “on a simple but revolutionary idea– that an investment company shouldn’t have any outside owners.”

“That’s why we’re structured the way we are: Our funds own our company, and investors like you own our funds,” the company states on its webpage. “We’re never distracted by the demands of private owners or other outside interests. So as more investors choose our index funds and new economies of scale help us lower costs, those benefits are passed directly to you.”

It was surprisingly easy to transfer all my funds from the account that had been managed by a major national brokerage firm. I was able to transfer online, and paid no fees for the index mutual funds I selected. Because the average expense ratio across Vanguard mutual funds is 65 percent less than the TURN TO RETIREMENT, 20F

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Our Employees MAKE the difference!

Staffing With a Personal Touch EMI knows staffing and we know Mississippi. As one of the largest and most successful independently owned staffing services in Mississippi, we pride ourselves on providing excellent service, with a personal touch.

Mississippi owned and operated since 1998, we have helped companies like yours find the best employees to get the job done. We are invested in Mississippi, operate at the highest level of excellence, and are experienced problem solvers. Our proactive approach sets us apart. From professional office to light industrial, we’re committed to placing qualified candidates in great jobs.

We Recruit for a Wide Range of Contract, Direct Placement and Temporary Positions, including (but not limited to): Upper Management, Professional, Administrative, Light Industrial, Mass Merchandising, Independent Grocers, Education and Much Much More!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

We are proud to call Mississippi home!!!

Grenada Office 142 South Main Street (662) 226-9025

Batesville Office 103-5 Woodland Road (662) 563-5888

Greenwood Office 209 Fulton Street (662) 453-1263

"Handling the Human Side of Business"!

www.emistaffing.com

October 2021 Issue

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Registered Investment Advisors

Registered Investment Advisers Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Company Name

Address

Phone

Founded

Website

Smith Shellnut Wilson, LLC 661 Sunnybrook Rd, Suite 130, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-605-1776 1995 ssw1776.com Trustmark Investment Advisors Inc. 1029 Highland Colony Pkwy, Ste 2000, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-208-7663 1925 trustmarkinvestmentadvisors.com Hardy Reed, LLC 101 S. Front Street, Tupelo, MS 38804 662-823-4722 2006 hardyreed.com The Molpus Woodlands Group 654 N. State Street, Jackson, MS 39202 601-948-8733 1996 molpus.com Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors 252 Sunflower Ave., Clarksdale, MS 38614 662-627-2225 1976 MAG CAP 4500 I-55 North, Ste 291, Jackson, MS 39211 601-362-5872 2019 magcapadvisors.com Ballew Advisors Inc. 100 Vision Dr., Ste. 325, Jackson, MS 39211 601-368-3500 1988 ballewwealth.com Medley & Brown, LLC 795 Woodlands Pky., Ste. 104, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-982-4123 1989 medleybrown.com Financial Concepts 1121 2nd Ave. N., Columbus, MS 39701 662-327-1480 1988 Trinity Capital Investors 1675 Lakeland Drive, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39157 601-956-3511 2000 CCG Asset Management 1880 Lakeland Drive, Ste C, Jackson, MS 39216 769-257-5039 2007 Element Wealth 800 Woodlands Parkway, Ste. 201, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-957-6006 2006 myelementwealth.com Peregrine Investment Advisors 801 Baptist Dr, Suite 200, Madison, MS 39110 769-216-3232 2013 peregrineinvest.com Coker & Palmer 1667 Lelia Drive, Jackson, MS 39216 601-354-0860 1991 cokerpalmer.com Legacy Wealth Management 300 Concourse Blvd, Ste 102, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-499-1970 2018 mylegacy.ms Optimum Financial Services Inc. 1817 Crane Ridge Dr., Ste. 200, Jackson, MS 39216 601-981-5900 2001 optimumfsi.com Sound Financial Strategies Group 579 Lakeland East Dr., Flowood, MS 39232 601-856-3825 1993 soundfsg.com Mascagni Wealth Management 205 E. Main St, Clinton, MS 39056 601-925-8099 1990 mascagniwealth.com Wealthview Capital, LLC 4500 I-55 North, Ste. 263, Jackson, MS 39211 601-981-4040 2009 wealthviewcapital.com EFP Advisors 1501 Lakeland Dr., Suite 250, Jackson, MS 39216 601-206-0006 2012 mcanielregister.com Langley Wealth Management 605 Foote St., Corinth, MI 38834 662-827-3051 langleywm.com Woodmont Advisory Group Inc. 301 Boler Estates Drive, Brandon, MS 39042 601-724-1926 2006 New Perspectives, Inc. 303 Highland Park Cv., Ste. B, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-991-3158 1993 piggyplanit.com E.T. George Investment Management 102 S. Jackson St., Starkville, MS 39759 662-323-8045 1974 etginvest.com McAllister Capital Management 1907 Dunbarton Drive, Ste. E, Jackson, MS 39216 601-362-1000 1995 mcallistercapital.com Easley Investment Consultants, Inc. 420 Liberty Park Ct. Ste A, Flowood, MS 39232 601-992-4101 easleyinvest.co Pinnacle Wealth 101 Port St., Ste 200, Madison, MS 39110 601-957-0323 Addicus Advisory 333 W. Franklin St., Tupelo, MS 38804 888-398-8156 weareaddicus.com AVL WealthCare, LLC 9490 Three Rivers Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503 228-863-0437 1999 avlwealthcare.com BankPlus Wealth Advisors 1200 Eastover Drive, Suite 300, Jackson, MS 39211 601-607-4290 2010 bankplus.net Olive Branch Capital 6208 Blocker St., Olive Branch, MS 38654 901-338-3400 2019 obcap.net Davenport, Watts & Drake Investment 32 234 W. School Street, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-898-8069 2003 davenportwattsdrake.com Advisors, LLC 33 Oxford Investment Advisors 2086 Old Taylor Road, Ste 1013, Oxford, MS 38655 662-550-4554 2009 oia-ria.com 34 Movement Capital 120 District Blvd., Apt. 508, Jackson, MS 39211 601-259-4668 movement.capital 35 Lee-Way Financial Services Inc. 1711 S. 28th Ave, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 917-952-4262 1991 leewayfinancial.com 36 Bergland Wealth Management Inc. 213 Draperton Drive, Ste B, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-956-5181 1982 berglandcapital.com 37 Vector Money Management Inc. 750 Woodlands Pkwy, Ste.201, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-981-1773 1988 vectormm.com 38 Renaissance Advisors 602 Steed Road, Suite 110, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-720-4357 renadv.com 39 Centerpoint Advantage, LLC 12 River Bend Place Ste 101, Flowood, MS 39232 601-969-3456 1974 thecenterpointgroup.com 40 Simplified Wealth Management 6668 U.S. 98, Suite A, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601-297-8719 mysimplifiedwealth.com 41 Newsong Capital Management 10 Bellegrass Blvd., Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601-909-6117 newsongcapital.com 42 Inspired Financial Planners 9211 Point Aux Chenes Road, Ocean Springs, MS 39584 228-200-8750 inspiredfin.com 43 W.A. Wimberly & Associates Inc. 1650 Lelia Drive, Ste. 105, Jackson, MS 39216 601-982-8000 2007 44 Wealth Management, LLC 6311 Ridgewood Rd., Ste. W402, Jackson, MS 39211 601-991-0230 2000 Wealthmanagementria.com 45 GranthamPoole PLLC 1062 Highland Colony Pkwy, Ste 201, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-499-2400 1977 granthampoole.com 46 Chatham Investment Counsel, LLC 6311 Ridgewood Road, Suite W 403, Jackson, MS 39211 601-899-4404 47 Elevated Retirement Financial Services 736 Waters Dr., Madison, MS 39110 601-668-8565 2018 elevatedretirement.com 48 William Denton Hartman 108 Sherwood Cove, Batesville, MS 38606 662-934-6501 49 Sovereign Capital Vantage 232 Goodman Road W. Suite 200, Southaven, MS 38671 662-510-8977 scvwealthmanagement.com 50 Legacy Financial Advisors, LLC 423 Weathersby Road, Ste 100, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601-261-2655 myadvisors.us 51 Guaranty Private Wealth 601 Crescent Blvd. Ste 300, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-605-7070 guarantyprivatewealth.com 52 Pathway Planning Inc. 123 S. Railroad Ave., Brookhaven, MS 39601 601-833-2129 1992 53 Langford Investment Company 4418 Deercreek Dr., Jackson, MS 39211 601-982-2268 54 Proctor Investments 815 Spring St., Waynesboro, MS 39367 601-735-6562 2019 tamberproctor.com 55 Jager Wealth Management 5 Cimarron Dr., Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601-260-0548 2018 jagerwealth.com 56 Lewis Capital Management 1200 Mill Road No. 137, Gulfport, MS 39507 228-896-4414 57 LeFleur Financial 3000 Old Canton Road, No. 445, Jackson, MS 39216 601-956-5600 2015 lefleurfinancial.com 58 Delta Hedge Financial 6338 Houston Lane, Olive Branch, MS 38654 901-870-7187 deltahedgefinancial.com 59 Varner CPA, P.A. 325 Cotton Row, Cleveland, MS 38732 662-846-6636 2005 60 Surgo Asset Management, LLC 120 N. Congress St., Suite 620, Jackson, MS 39201 601-953-2761 2013 surgoasset.com 61 RL2 Advisors 202 E. Government St., Brandon, MS 39042 601-953-3076 62 Akin Investments, LLC 102 N. Mill St., Suite 906, Jackson, MS 39201 601-974-0549 2019 FHZ Wealth Management, LLC 908 Cardigan Court, Madison, MS 39110 601-506-3334 fhzwealthmanagement.com 64 Inversso 109 Anchorage Road, Oxford, MS 38655 347-748-1101 inversso.com 65 Desai Capital 105 W. Washington St., Ste A2, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-376-9216 desaicompanies.com 66 Harmon Financial Advisors 10 Canebrake Blvd, Ste 110-10, Flowood, MS 39232 601-955-7554 2011 harmonfa.com 67 HWS Client Services 661 Sunnybrook Rd, Suite 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-326-1000 2019 68 Live, Learn, Plan, LLC 292 County Road 376, Water Valley, MS 38965 662-222-1227 69 Stonehenge Private Client Group 226 Winsmere Way, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-291-7519 2018 stonehengepcg.com List ranked by assets under management. Data provided by Mississippi Secretary of State's office as of Oct. 25, 2021. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

Assets under management $3,911,862,280 $2,553,202,468 $1,423,769,035 $1,100,240,784 $1,071,744,484 $1,039,310,055 $825,683,979 $803,322,506 $675,182,410 $437,484,870 $353,865,935 $318,690,679 $307,733,682 $284,343,538 $259,166,407 $258,819,044 $257,087,625 $254,047,319 $253,744,329 $237,657,987 $208,641,942 $175,007,151 $175,000,000 $165,041,504 $152,829,321 $145,913,046 $134,327,000 $118,500,000 $111,441,024 $100,671,362 $89,770,015 $77,923,966 $70,991,755 $70,200,010 $62,500,000 $60,591,324 $58,426,306 $54,564,957 $52,063,842 $45,299,178 $45,000,000 $27,362,777 $26,634,795 $25,843,091 $22,489,412 $21,387,647 $19,461,801 $17,185,000 $15,800,000 $15,767,397 $13,301,500 $10,490,000 $10,065,800 $5,500,000 $5,389,581 $5,150,000 $4,531,928 $4,010,000 $1,935,533 $1,878,071 $160,000 $100,000 $100,000 $5,257

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October 2021 Issue

Small Business EMI Staffing serves North Mississippi for 23 years

BY LYNN LOFTON

EMI Staffing began in Grenada in 1998 and has grown exponentially over the past 23 years. The original company name was Execugroup Mississippi Inc. but it has become knows as EMI Staffing, Inc. The company’s service area is North Mississippi and now includes offices in Greenwood and Batesville with 24 internal staff and 650 plus employees.

The company does not specialize in a certain type of employment but recruits for a wide range of contract and direct positions, according to spokesman Nathan McRee. “These include–but are not limited to–management, professional, administrative, light industrial, mass merchandising, auto industry, sales, independent grocers and education,” he said. “Normally EMI fills all job requests within 24 to 48 hours.”

McRee says the key to EMI’s success is its family friendly environment where people’s voices can be heard. “We encourage all of our employees to share their perspective and work together as a team,” he explained. “Each employee knows we have an open door policy and value their input. All of our employees are encouraged to contribute to decision making processes and they know they are valued and appreciated.”

EMI’s goal is to hire individuals who can work their way up in the company and maximize their full potential. “Knowing you are with a company that sees your value and invests in you while focusing on family first makes EMI a great place to work,” McRee said. There have been some challenges during the pandemic, mainly losing the face-to-face contact with the businesses for whom they staff. “That contact along with having meetings virtually for the first few months of the pandemic were very challenging,” McRee said. “After we got back to in-person meetings again, we had to adapt and overcome the limitations of keeping everything as safe as possible for our staff and for the people looking to become employees of EMI.” McRee says EMI has adjusted and overcome the challenges of what the pandemic brought because of the great staff and leaders who work there. Look-

Retirement FROM 18F

industry average, and because the index funds I selected outperformed the average–as most Vanguard funds do–I was rewarded with seeing my retirement savings start to grow nicely.

Vanguard has tons of education information available on investment options, it is easy to trade in and out of funds and to take money out when you reach the minimum age for withdrawals without a penalty.

Because Vanguard keeps track of your earnings over the years, you can see how much you’ve earned.

In about 15 years, I earned $58,000 on that initial

ing to the future, McRee says EMI Staffing is always growing, expanding, and looking toward the future of staffing in many markets in North Mississippi. “Since 1998, EMI Staffing has provided employers with top notch talent and services. Our home office is located in Grenada. In 2004, we opened our second location in Greenwood. Due to aggressive growth in expanding markets, in 2013 we opened our third location in Batesville,” he said. “We have since become one of the largest independent staffing services in Northern Mississippi. The five top reasons we are successful is due to our reputation, personal touch, customization, visibility and availability.” EMI Staffing has been awarded a number of honors, including the Grenada Corporate Citizen of the Year award; the Shining Star Award and the Award of Excellence from the Grenada

Area Chamber of Commerce; the Pacesetter Community Award from Lennox International; Top Partner Award from TempWorks; the Mississippi Business Journal’s Best Places to Work and Top CEOs; Best in Staffing – Grenada; and Best Places to Work in Panola County.

“We are strong supporters of Leadership Grenada and have sent several employees through the program,” McRee said. “All of our staffing specialists are certified through the American Staffing Association.

Several members of our team have served as president of Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Exchange Club, TempNet Board and the Board of Directors, and Ambassadors and Workforce Development for the Grenada Area Chamber of Commerce.”

$28,000 investment. Returns averaged about 9.9 percent a year. Maybe that still isn’t enough to live on for long if I had no other sources of income, but an IRA shouldn’t be your only asset. And it seems to me that those pennies saved turned into a major nest egg for me.

One Vanguard index fund alone returned nearly 28 percent in 2020. Then I made the mistake of moving nearly all my retirement funds out of the index funds into a money market account in late 2020 because I was concerned about political upheavals and that the stock market was way overvalued. Since then, the three stock market indexes have seen double digit increases. Those are crazy rates of return, and I don’t

see how they are sustainable. I can remember when the DJIA was below 1,000. Now it is around 35,000.

However, the experts will tell you that while some years will be up and others down, on average investments in the stock market will far outperform those in a money market account.

While I lost a bit by getting out when I did, I have less risk tolerance at my age and less time to roll with the market and not be overly concerned with market downturns. I’m looking at the Vanguard recommendations for asset allocations for my age. Vanguard recommends a higher percentage invested in bonds.

So, I will gradually move toward the recommended asset allocation.

October 2021 Issue

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Healthcare

Women’s hospitals and clinics are a preferred choice by many women

BY BECKY GILLETTE

Ask most women if they prefer to go to a women’s hospital or clinic and you will find that many are fans of going to a healthcare facility that focuses on women’s needs. Men and women have different healthcare needs, and women often feel they get superior nurturing and care during challenging times of their lives by choosing care from a women’s hospital.

“Most people in our community know Merit Health Woman’s Hospital as the premier location to deliver babies – and we are,” said Heather Sistrunk, MHSA, BSN, RN, CEO, Merit Health Woman’s Hospital, Flowood.

“But we are much more than that. We also have physicians who specialize in breast surgery, oncological surgery, plastic surgery and more.”

Sistrunk said having a myriad of women’s services all under one roof provides many advantages for their pa-

tients. It allows all of their healthcare professionals to work together behind the scenes for each patient, so that in most instances their patients can flow through their treatment plan without having to leave the building.

Feeling like you are being treated by staff like a friend or sister also goes a long way.

“The family atmosphere that we provide is second to none,” Sistrunk said.

“From the time patients walk through our doors, the staff knows them by name, and ensures that they and their families know they are our top priority. Every single person in our hospital is there to make sure patients feel safe and comfortable, from our environmental services department staff to cafeteria staff, to our nurses and physicians. Our patients know we are all on the same team.”

Many of their employees have worked at the hospital for decades.

Sistrunk said they are like family and all share one common goal–to provide the highest quality care to patients.

“Our staff sees our dedication to provide innovative technology that allows them to treat our patients with the safest, most effective tools possible,” Sistrunk said. “In fact, in the past two years we have implemented two new treatments at Merit Health Woman’s Hospital: ABUS (Automated Breast Ultrasound System) and IORT (Intraoperative Radiation Therapy) – the latter of which is the only procedure of its kind in Mississippi.”

The Merit Health Women’s Hospital employs about 220 and in 2020 about 1,000 babies were delivered at the hospital.

The Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants has provided care to patients in Mississippi for 20 years. Located on the campus of the state’s only academic medical center–the University of

Mississippi Medical Center--the physicians and staff of Wiser Hospital provide the full range of women’s health care services.

“We care for the sickest mothers and babies and have access to the full range of consultants in all medical and surgical specialties, including those specializing in intensive care,” said Dr. J. Martin Tucker, professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “From routine and high-risk obstetrical care, to care for gynecologic malignancies, to minimally invasive and robotic gynecologic surgery, and urogynecologic procedures, Wiser Hospital offers it all.”

The mother-baby unit offers care to postpartum and expectant mothers. The neonatal intensive care unit, one of two units at UMMC, gives care to extremely premature infants. The TURN TO WOMEN, 23F

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October 2021 Issue

Law professor sees vaccine mandates as more a political than legal controversy

BY BECKY GILLETTE

President Trump, and are one of his Matt Steffey, a Mississippi College most significant major achievements, School of Law professor, sees COVID-19 yet many people opposed to the vacvaccine mandates as more a political cines are Trump supporters,” he said. than legal controversy.

Steffey said the federal government is “There is no doubt that as a likely within its rights. spender of federal healthcare “As to its employees, the feddollars, the federal governeral authority is profound in a ment can attach conditions to case like this,” Steffey said. “Like receiving that money,” Steffey with anything else you don’t like said. “Eventually, I expect the about your job, your remedy is policy to be upheld–especially to seek another. Even in the prias it relates to employees and vate sector, your employer can expenditures. The federal gov- MATT STEFFEY require you to do lots of onerous ernment has the authority to things like showing up at 6 a.m. write emergency policy to save lives in and working as hard as possible at pay the worst pandemic in over 100 years. you think is inadequate.”

If this isn’t an emergency, I don’t know There are already a large number of what is. The delta variant is waning, requirements in order to receive federal but it would be preferable to head off funds. the next one at the pass. Mississippi “Putting strings attached to monhas teetered on the brink of having no ey should surprise no one, especially ICU beds available in the state, which healthcare providers, because vaccinais perilous for everyone who lives and tion is such an amazingly cost-saving breathes. People are one accident or healthcare policy,” Steffey said. “My heart attack away from unavailable daughter is a nurse. She has to get a flu medicine.” shot every year. No one is marching in Vaccines are coveted worldwide, but the street over that. I understand the many people in the U.S. have to be differences, but the similarities are probegged or bribed to take them. found.”

“The vaccines were developed under Steffey said it’s important to remem-

ber it’s not one policy, really, but four, as applied to: [1] federal employees, [2] federal contractors, [3] hospitals and other health care facilities receiving federal funding, and [4] large private employers. The legal grounds for imposing a vaccine or testing requirement vary from context to context.

“The federal government’s legal authority is strongest in one, where almost all observers expect it to be upheld,” Steffey said. “It is only slightly less strong in number two, where the great majority of observers expect it to be upheld. It is strong in number three, though there are some statutory questions that remain unclear until we see the actual policy. And it is strong in number four under OSHA’s emergency power to take action needed to protect workers from a ‘grave’ danger, though legal challenges to number four will focus on technical questions of administrative law and the scope of the actual policy.”

Some people are calling the mandates to get vaccinated or have weekly COVID-testing a tyrannical threat to liberty.

“If this is tyranny, we can no longer distinguish between a real threat and

mere shadow,” Steffey said. “A weekly testing requirement for employees of large companies in the middle of the deadliest pandemic in 100 years should not be a profound threat to liberty. If I worked for a big employer, I would prefer it because it is safer for everyone. It is not really a requirement to be vaccinated, just a requirement to test unvaccinated workers. I’m hopeful when we see the policy, it will be sensible.”

Steffey said he hopes the rules will include some discernment and exceptions for things like having had a recent case of COVID-19 or working remotely.

“Companies where employees work shoulder-to-shoulder such as at chicken or catfish processors--people who work in crowded conditions – should be doing everything they can to squelch the spread of COVID-19, particularly the delta variant, including testing of unvaccinated workers,” Steffey said.

“Otherwise, it can catch on at a workplace like a forest fire.”

Steffey considers the controversy “much ado about an overdue policy.

I understand people don’t like to be told what to do. But vaccine mandates TURN TO VACCINE, 23F

October 2021 Issue

Women FROM 21F

Women’s Urgent Care Unit is unique in its 24 hours a day service to treat acute needs related to women’s health care.

Gynecologic cancer patients are cared for in the dedicated chemotherapy infusion center, and Wiser Hospital has a separate operating room dedicated to obstetrical and gynecological surgery.

All subspecialists in OB-GYN–maternal fetal medicine, gynecologic oncology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery – are on staff at Wiser Hospital.

Women need more services than just those provided in hospitals, and women’s health centers can fill those important needs. A unique effort to provide healthcare to women in South Mississippi who are mainly rural and low income is the Women’s Health Center in Hattiesburg that opened in 2007. It is part of the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative (SeMRHI), a network of 17 health centers in five counties.

(SeMRHI) provides access to affordable, quality, primary, and preventive

healthcare to nearly 40,000 people each year.

“Women are excited to have a place to go that is specified for what they need.,” said Byron Dixon, outreach marketing coordinator, SeMRHI. “A lot of people in rural areas do not have access to healthcare and transportation.

We provide assistance with making sure they are able to get transportation to get the services they need. Anyone can come into our facility regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay.

We want to make sure everyone is taken care of as far as health goes.”

In 2000, the Women’s Health Center began offering a full range of OB/GYN services, prenatal care, birth control, pap smears, clinical breast and pelvic exams, screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, cryosurgery, and colposcopy.

“We also collaborate with the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program that focuses on early detection of breast and cervical cancer,” Dixon said. “This program is dedicated to reducing morbidity and mortality due to breast and cervical cancer. Women may qualify for free office visits, clinical breast exams, pap smears, breast ultrasounds, surgical consultations, and screening or diagnostic mammograms by referral.”

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Dixon said the patients they serve face countless barriers to accessing consistent healthcare. Factors such as lack of insurance, limited income, and little or no transportation options leave many working families and entire communities with few options for healthcare.

“The health of our communities as a whole depends on having a place for primary care,” Dixon said. “Primary care is critical for identifying and treating health problems so that people can avoid serious and preventable illnesses. Yet, today many families face barriers to healthcare including accessibility and affordability.

“Our goal is to help women across the Pine Belt make their health a priority one step at a time. Many of the chronic conditions that plague the women we care most about could be prevented with just a small measure of preventive health. It is our hope that the services we provide will be a positive step towards improving the health of our community and providing women with access to much-needed resources.

For more information about SeMRHI’s Women’s Health Center and services, please call (601) 544-4550 or visit www.semrhi.com.

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Vaccine FROM 22F

aren’t new. I put two kids through public school. I remember going around getting vaccines cards filled out. People will say they are going to quit and very few will. When they see their immediate short-term self-interest involved, keeping their job, their cost benefit calculation changes.”

Vaccine opposition has become part of the political identity of the country. But Steffey said most people are unwilling to lose their jobs over their political identity, especially to do something that billions have done and billions more are clamoring for around the world.

However, because of the nursing shortage that already existed before COVID, Steffey said losing even a small percentage of nurses could be consequential.

“The whole nursing staff seems greatly undervalued,” Steffey said.

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October 2021 Issue

YOUR WORLD MAY HAVE CHANGED...

Our commitment to your health hasn’t.

In a changing and complex world, your healthcare should be simple, responsive and geared to your needs. The right doctors and hospitals to guide you through your hardest medical decisions.

A dedication that remains constant in an often uncertain landscape.

Mississippi Health Partners is a network of 700 physicians and 13 hospitals, including Baptist Medical Center and St. Dominic Hospital, looking out for 100,000 lives. We’ve been providing businesses and their employees with the services and value they’ve come to expect for nearly 30 years.

Mississippi owned and managed, we’re here when you need us most.

We are Mississippi Health Partners.

www.mhpartners.com

October 2021 Issue

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Women's Medical Care Centers

Women's Medical Care Centers Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

11

Name & Address

Phone /Website

University Women's Care 2500 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39216 NMMC Women's Hospital 4566 S. Eason Blvd., Tupelo, MS 38801 Memorial Women & Children Services 4500 13th St., Gulfport, MS 39501 Baptist for Women 1225 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39202 Merit Health River Region Women's Services 2100 Hwy 61 N , Vicksburg, MS 39183 Jackson Healthcare for Women, P.A. 291 E. Layfair Dr., Flowood, MS 39232 28th Place 421 S. 28th Ave., Ste. 200, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 The Woman's Clinic of Mississippi 501 Marshall St., Ste. 400, Jackson, MS 39202 Merit Health River Oaks Women's Services 1030 River Oaks Drive, Flowood, MS 39232 Southwest Mississippi Regional Women's Center Maternity Suites 215 Marion Ave., McComb, MS 39648 Merit Health Central Women's Services 1850 Chadwick Drive, Jackson, MS 39204 East Lakeland OB/GYN Associates, P.A. 1020 River Oaks Dr., Ste. 320, Flowood, MS 39232 Southern Women's Health 1020 River Oaks Dr, Ste 310, Flowood, MS 39232

601-984-1000 umc.edu 662-377-3000 nmhs.net 228-575-2299 gulfportmemorial.com 601-948-6262 baptistonline.org/birthplace 601-883-5000 merithealthriverregion.com 601-936-9190 jhcfw.com 601-268-5640 hattiesburgclinic.com 601-354-0869 twc-ms.com 601-932-1030 merithealthriveroaks.com/

Director Martin Tucker Ellen Friloux Amy Haulsee Roselynn Middleton Ben Richaud

Services Offered OB/GYN, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology, gynecologic reproductive endocrinology, infertility and gynecologic oncology.

Labor & Delivery; Emergency Dept; Mother-Baby Unit; Neonatal ICU; Maternal Fetal Medicine; Surgery; Newborn Followup Clinic; Lactation Deliveries, breastfeeding center, classes, pediatrics, gynecological inpatient, Level III NICU, 24/7 in-house laborist program for OB Deliveries, breast health, surgery, NICU, OB-GYN, Urogynecology, gynecologic oncology, specialists-asthma, allergy, cardiology, surgery.

Labor and Delivery, OB/GYN surgery, breast health

550 320 210 175 100

Bryan N Batson

Obstetrics and Gynecology, Genius 3D Mammography, Hormone Pellet Therapy, OShot, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Ideal Protein, Counseling The Breast Center, OB-GYN, Plastic Surgery, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Lab, Pathology

93

Vickie Fant

OB/GYN, 12 physiciansl; clinic in Madison.

83

Sam Dean

Labor and Delivery, OB/GYN surgery, Newborn care, breast health, NICU, Micro NICU, surgical oncology

60

601-249-5500 smrmc.com

Kim Pace

Labor, delivery, recovery, post-partum unit nursery, NICU

60

601-376-1974

David Henry

Labor and Delivery, NICU, Breast Cancer Surgery, GYN Surgery

50

Janice Keyes

601-936-1400 Obstetric care, Gynecology, surgery, noninvasive surgery, mammography, Ginny Lloyd 12 eastlakelandobgyn.com ultrasound, and hormone therapy.

601-932-5006 Birth control, Well-woman exam, GYN surgery, Menstrual disorders, Obstetrics, Dawn Adams 13 swhealth.net Abnormal Pap Smears, Infertility, Ovarian cancer screening 601-200-4935 St. Dominic Hospital Center for Women's Health Mammography, breast stereotactic and ultrasound minimally invasive biopsies and 14 stdom.com/services/womens/ bone density.

970 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, MS 39216 mammography-center/ Merit Health Woman's Hospital 601-932-1000 Delivery, breast imaging, robotic and general surgery, urology, surgical oncology, 15 Heather Sistrunk merithealthwomanshospital.com NICU 1026 N. Flowood Drive, Flowood, MS 39232 Panola Women's and Children's Clinic 662-563-2163 Care for normal and high risk pregnancies, well woman exams, gynecologic 16 Andrea Byars https://www.panolamed.com/ procedures, routine testing, surgical procedures, birth control, STD screenings 255 Medical Center Dr, Batesville, MS 38606 Merit Health Madison Women's Services 601-855-4000 17 Brit Phelps breast health merithealthmadison.com/ 161 River Oaks Drive, Canton, MS 39046 Data provided by company representatives and MBJ research. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

STATEMENT REQUIRED BY TITLE 39 U.S.C. 3685 SHOWING OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION OF MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL, publication number 000-222, filed October 1, 2021 Published weekly, 25 issues plus one annual, $109.00 annually, at 132 Riverview Drive, Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232.

The General Business offices of the Publishers are at 132 Riverview Drive, Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232.

The names and addresses of the Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor are: William Bronson (Publisher), Tami Jones (Editor), Ross Reily (Managing Editor); 132 Riverview Drive, Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232.

Mississippi Business Journal is owned by Journal, Inc., 1242 South Green Street, Tupelo, MS 38804. There are no Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities.

The average number of copies of each issue during the preceding 12 months is: (A) Total number of copies printed 1,527. (B1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions 633. (B2) Paid In-County Subscriptions: 190 (B3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales: 505. (B4) Other classes mailed USPS: 0; (C) Total Paid and /or Requested Circulation: 1,328; (D1) Free Distribution outside-county by mail, samples complimentary and other free copies: 0; (D2) In-county free distribution: 0; (D3) Other classes mailed Free Distribution: 0; (E) Free distribution outside the mail: 0; (F) Total Free distribution: 0; (G) Total Distribution: 1,328; (H) Copies not Distributed: 5; (I) Total: 1,333; Percent of Paid: 100%.

The actual number of copies of a single issue published nearest to the filing date are: (A) Total number of copies printed 1,267; (B1) Paid/ Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions: 586; (B2) Paid In-County Subscriptions: 176. (B3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales: 505; (B4) Other classes mailed USPS: 0; (C) Total Paid and /or Requested Circulation: 1,267; (D1) Free Distribution outside-county by mail, samples complimentary and other free copies: 0; (D2) In-county free distribution: 0; (D3) Other classes mailed Free Distribution: 0; (E) Free distribution outside the mail: 0; (F) Total Free distribution: 0; (G) Total Distribution: 1,267; (H) Copies not Distributed: 5; (I) Total: 1,272; Percent of Paid: 100%.

William Bronson, Publisher

Staff

98

35 32 25 20 6 3

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Mississippi Top 100

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Ranking of top five private businesses in the state remains the same in 2021

BY BECKY GILLETTE

D

espite the challenges of the pandemic including keeping workers and customers safe, dealing with labor and supply shortages, and keeping companies on track during a time of many uncertainties, the top five private businesses in Mississippi retained the same rankings this year.

The largest private business in Mississippi in fiscal 2021 is Ergon, Inc., which has about 3,000 employees. The company established in 1954 does oil and gas refining, asphalt/emulsions and midstream/logistics. Demand for petroleum products was down due to the pandemic.

Ergon’s revenues dropped an estimated $500 million from $3.5 billion in the previous fiscal year to $3 billion for the most recent fiscal year. The company remained on the top of the Mississippi Business Journal list of top 100 private businesses.

The company has a worldwide reach with its products. “Whether you are looking for asphalt in Mexico or transformer oil in the Arctic, Ergon’s synergistic organization is prepared to meet your needs,” the company’s website, ergon.com, states. “We support customers and partners from coast to coast in the U.S. and Mexico and in more than 90 countries around the world.”

The Yates Companies, Inc., based in Philadelphia, continue as the second largest private business in Mississippi. Revenues in the most recent fiscal year were about $2.65 billion compared to $2.76 billion the previous fiscal year.

The best-known of the Yates Companies is Yates Construction based in Philadelphia. Founded in 1964 by William G. Yates Jr., the company has steadily grown to become one of the top construction providers in the nation for both commercial construction and industrial building.

The family-owned company is ranked #3 on Engineering News-Record Southeast’s 2021 Top Contractors list.

The company’s portfolio includes commercial and industrial projects from various sectors including arts and culture, civil, commercial, education, entertainment and gaming, federal, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, municipal, retail, and technology.

“We work hard to understand our client’s business needs and continually look for opportunities to provide additional value to our clients and their projects,” the company states. “Our client relationships are the foundation of our success, and our primary goal is to help each of our clients achieve their vision. We do this by carefully managing the details and complexities of each project and communicating constantly with all team members.”

Other companies in Yates Companies, Inc., include JESCO, Inc., a construction compa-

ny based in Tupelo, Blaine Construction Corps in Knoxville, Tenn., Edwards Electric Service in Philadelphia, and Superior Asphalt Inc in Byram. The construction companies work both nationally and internationally.

Southern Tire Mart based in Columbus, the third largest private company in Mississippi, saw the biggest increase in revenues of the top ranked companies. The company saw an impressive $400 million increase in sales over the past year. Southern Tire Mart estimates its latest fiscal year revenue at $2 billion, compared to $1.6 billion in the previous year.

The company that began in 1973 now has locations throughout the Southern U.S. It has been named the #1 North America Commercial Tire Dealer since 2012 and the #1 Commercial Tire Dealer in the U.S. since 2008.

Southern Tire Mart is a provider of tires and services to many essential industries such as United Parcel Services, Amazon, FedEx, Waste Management, etc. They company has recently added 10 locations for a total of 117 locations.

Jim and Tommy Duff, the owners of Southern Tire Mart, were the recipients recently of Modern Tire Dealer’s 2021 Tire Dealer of the Year Award, the most prestigious honor in the tire industry.

Southern Farm Bureau Casualty based in Ridgeland retained its position as the fourth largest private company in the state.

The company that sells property TURN TO TOP FIVE, 30F

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October 2021 Issue

Staplcotn looks to the future after reaching century milestone

BY LISA MONTI

» FOUNDED IN 1921, STAPLCOTN IS THE OLDEST COTTON MARKETING COOPERATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

W

ith its hundred-year legacy of growth, service and success, the leadership and members of the Greenwood-based Staple Cotton Cooperative Association known as Staplcotn, are looking forward to more milestones in the future.

“There is nothing like being in the right place at the right time,” said Hank Reichle, president and CEO of Staplcotn and Stapldiscount said of leading the cooperative at the 100-year mark. “I, like the rest of our staff, am appreciative of those before us who molded this company to be in the position to celebrate this milestone.”

Founded in 1921, Staplcotn is the oldest cotton marketing cooperative in the United States and one of the largest, with nearly 14,000 farm accounts in 11 states – Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It also has 6,992 association members, consisting exclusively of growers and share rent landlords, in 46 states.

Stapldiscount is the “lending arm” of Staplcotn and is its own cooperative that is governed by the same board HANK REICHLE and shares officers of Staplcotn. It was founded in 1923, two years after Staplcotn was formed.

Staplcotn marked its centennial with a commemoration in September that where participants included Gov. Tate Reeves, U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly, Mississippi’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson, former CEO and former board chairman Woods Eastland and current board chairman Mike Sturdivant. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, and Antony Bahr from CoBank sent video messages. At a celebratory dinner that evening, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and National Cotton Council President and CEO Gary Adams gave remarks.

Staplcotn serves its members with marketing, warehousing, sales and shipping to sell their cotton globally to textile customers as one company and market it under the respected Saplcotn name. Proceeds are distributed to the members based on the quantity and quality delivered, according to the company.

The cooperative’s inventory of U.S. grown Memphis/Eastern upland cotton averages between 2.5 million and 3.5 million bales a year.

The 100-year timeline that tells the Staplcotn story begins in 1919 with a train ride that led to the cooperative’s start. During a time when cotton prices were in a post-World War I flux, Oscar Bledsoe Jr. overheard two cotton merchants on a train to Memphis joke

about taking advantage of Delta planters. That set Bledsoe on a mission to help growers market their cotton to their own advantage. He planned and rallied support for an organized growers’ cooperative that came to fruition in 1921. Staple Cotton Cooperative Association had to be incorporated in Tennessee because at the time Mississippi law didn’t allow growers to form coops. Greenwood, however, became home for the group.

That same year Bledsoe was elected president and chairman.

Even during the Great Depression, Sta-Former CEO and former board chairman Woods Eastland. plcotn kept momenrecord-setting bales and the formation of Staple Cottum by creating a fertilizer and insecticide division ton Services to offer warehousing to members. Stapland purchasing its first cotton picking machine. services merged with Staplcotn during the decades of In the 1940’s and ‘50s, branch offices were established. The 1960s saw a 40th anniversary celebration, TURN TO STAPLCOTN, 30F

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C Spire a constant in the Mississippi 100

BY BECKY GILLETTE

C Spire refers to 5G service as “game-changing.”

In addition to 600 sites in Mississippi representing The global COVID-19 pandemic which started in 60 percent of the state, the ultra-fast broadband March 2020 upended the world of business and ed- services will also be provided to about 24 Alabama ucation requiring a quick transition to remote work markets. and learning. The pandemic was really tough on There is a lot of competition for wireless services. a lot of businesses. But it helped propel C While formed as a wireless compaSpire to its most successful year since they ny in 1988, the company changed started operating in 1988 as consumers and its name to C Spire in 2011 to reflect businesses turned to C Spire to provide vithe fact that wireless was changing, tally important voice and data communicaevolving and maturing from connections during the stay-at-home orders and tivity (network only) to applications lockdowns. (apps on the phone), said Craig JackNow the company is aggressively seeking son, general manager of the compato expand its services even more. In Januny’s wireless division. ary, C Spire announced it is ramping up an C Spire took significant steps startunprecedented growth project with a $1 biling in 2012 and 2013 to diversify its lion investment over the next three years, core services with the introduction representing the largest capital spend in of C Spire Fiber (home gigabit interASHLEY PHILLIPS company history, to accelerate the deploynet and related services) and C Spire ment of ultra-fast 5G wireless technology Business (managed IT, a myriad of and all-fiber gigabit broadband internet in voice and data services for businesskey parts of its service area in the Southes ranging from sole proprietors to eastern U.S. The company said the project enterprises). will result in faster delivery of 5G wireless Company leaders attribute C technology in Mississippi markets and proSpire’s success to being customer-invide ultra-fast, all-fiber broadband services spired and focused while continuing to more than 200,000 homes and businesses to innovate and work to make adby 2025 in Mississippi and Alabama. vances simple, easy and intuitive for C Spire CEO Hu Meena said they have a consumers and businesses. strong reputation of providing world-class “C Spire will always put the cusproducts and services to consumers and tomer first and at the center of everybusinesses, and this investment signals thing we do,” Meena said. “We exist that they intend to deliver these benefits CRAIG JACKSON to serve the customer and meet all of faster than ever before. The deployment is their communication and technoloexpected to put fiber within reach of half of Mis- gy needs. Our goal is to be and become known as sissippians. Secondary economic benefits include the best telecommunications and technology sercontracts and agreement with firms who will help vices provider in the world. It’s a daily challenge, C Spire with the infrastructure development and but one that we passionately and aggressively emconstruction. brace as our 1,700 plus employees work together to

move our region forward in this 21st century digital economy.”

C Spire has enjoyed tremendous growth in consumer broadband internet and business services, Meena said. The business has also grown through acquisitions of other companies (Teklinks in 2018 and Harbor Communications in 2020) and the expansion of services into Alabama and Tennessee.

The wireless division still drives the lion’s share of revenue.

“We focus on handset quality and network reliability,” Jackson said. “Our goal is to make sure that your smartphone works when you need it to and that we have the best network for speed, coverage and reliability.”

Ashley Phillips, general manager of C Spire’s Fiber and Business markets, said the company’s broadband division, started in 2013, continues to grow exponentially as consumers and small businesses understand the central importance and role of internet access and connectivity to customer service and overall operations including back office, supply chain, fulfillment, inventory control, etc. The company has continued to open and operate more complex, sophisticated data centers and offer businesses of all sizes products and services that help them provide more efficient customer service while reducing costs and incorporating advanced technology, innovation and simplicity into the delivery.

There have been questions raised about the competition challenges that could come from disruptive technology such as the SpaceX Starlink, which has plans to deliver internet services via satellite around the world. Meena said that in the past, innovations and applications in the space program have led to many advances in products and services for consumers and businesses, especially in the areas of consumer staples in the home and business TURN TO C SPIRE, 30F

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Top Five FROM 27F

and casualty services was established in 1947 has about 1,610 employees. Sales were very similar for the past two years with sales estimated at about $1.576 billion for both years.

The company markets insurance products through its six state offices and the independent contractor agents in those states, which include Mississippi, Arkansas, Florida, Colorado, South Carolina, and Louisiana. The company’s motto is: Real Service.

Real People.® Southern Farm Bureau Casualty advertises that its local agents live where you live and are invested in your community. The company also prides itself on helping customers save money through a variety of discounts,

Staplcotn FROM 28F

the 1970s. The coop created the largest warehousing facility in the southeastern United States in the 1980s and the Mill Sales marketing program kicked off. Warehouse space continued to grow in the 1990s and the Warehouse division volume topped 1 million bales.

The early 2000s saw association membership surge 50 percent in part because of increased acreage in the Southeast and Staplcotn’s success in returning relatively high prices to growers. Also, Staplcotn sales exceeded $1 billion for the first time.

Staplcotn became the largest cotton warehouser in the United States, handling more than 1.7 million

C Spire FROM 29F

that we take for granted today.

“Advances in wireless technology in the space program during the 1960s and 70s helped build the foundation for the smartphone revolution, which has changed the world in less than two decades,” Meena said. “We will continue to embrace and welcome disruptive technology as we continue to focus on customer service and quality – two attributes that consumers, and businesses, will always value and put at the top of their lists. We are committed to smart growth and expansion. We go where there are needs and consumers and businesses are seek-

and having local adjusters who get your claims processed quickly and fairly.

Another large insurance company based in Mississippi is Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance (SFBLI), which has 650 employees and is based in Jackson. The company that began in 1946 is the fifth largest private company in Mississippi for 2021. The company reported about $1.513 billion in revenues for the most recent fiscal year, compared to $1.499 billion the previous year’s earnings.

SFBLI serves Farm Bureau members. Products include term life insurance, whole life insurance, fixed annuities, business insurance and auto and home insurance.

The company is known for its community involvement. During April and May, SFBLI partnered with the Mississippi State Medical Association to provide relief for physicians and healthcare workers working in hospitals and clinics in Hinds, Madison and Rankin

counties.

“Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company has an on-site Café that is run by Sodexo,” the company said in a press release. “Our Sodexo staff prepared over 500 meals to hand out to various healthcare workers in the tri-county area. This partnership was a small way that SFBLI could show its appreciation and thanks to the frontline heroes who worked tirelessly to protect Mississippians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We delivered meals to all four local hospital systems and directly to nurses and physicians treating COVID -19 patients. We also delivered meals to several more community outpatient clinics busy with testing and treating patients throughout the metro area. It was a way to show these workers that Southern Farm Bureau appreciates the dedication and service of our community healthcare workers.”

bales, and began taking a more active role in the international marketplace as U.S. mill consumption continued to decline.

Another record was broken when members delivered more than 4.4 million bales for marketing in 2004.

In the mid 2000s the demand for corn resulted in less cotton acreage planted, and for the first time in history, Mississippi’s corn acres exceeded cotton acres.

By 2009, Mid-South cotton acreage was down more than 60 percent from 2006. Southeastern cotton acreage was reduced less but was still some 43 percent lower than 2006.

In 2010 Woods Eastland retired as CEO and Meredith Allen became the fifth chief executive to lead the 89-year-old company. Eastland returned to the

position of board chairman, a position he held from 1981 – 1986 prior to becoming CEO. Eastland retired from the board in 2014 and Mike Sturdivant III, Staplcotn’s current board chairman, was elected to serve.

By 2011, cotton prices nearly tripled from the summer of 2010 to the spring of 2011 but fell below the fabled “dollar cotton” level only four months later.

The year 2015 saw Staplcotn receive its 100 millionth bale to be marketed by the association.

Looking to the future after recently marking Staplcotn’s remarkable century-long history, CEO Reichle said, “I am thankful for all the past and present members that entrusted their livelihoods to our organization. It’s both inspiring and motivating in that I want to work to make our organization even better and ensure its sustainability for the next century.”

ing more options and better service.”

The C Spire Foundation made a $1 million commitment in January to help train school teachers across the state to implement computer science programs in K-12 public elementary and high schools in Mississippi.

“Now more than ever, we need to be equipping all of our children to master the digital tools of the 21st century and providing them with educational opportunities to hone their knowledge and skills on the building blocks of meaningful and relevant learning that will form the foundation of our state’s economic future,” Meena said.

Exposing all students to computer science in public schools will enhance education and job opportunities so they can pursue their hopes and

dreams for success in life, he said.

C Spire also successfully lobbied this year for legislation that passed in March to make computer science available in all state public schools by the 2025 academic year. Many districts and schools have made progress and will not need to make changes while others will need to boost teacher training and update courses to the latest curriculum. C Spire executives, education advocates and technology leaders hailed the legislation’s impending passage as a major boost for efforts to give elementary, middle and high school students equal access to computer science curriculum.

C Spire has approximately 75 retail and business office locations in Mississippi and a total of 85 in their three-state region.

Spend

it here, it stays here.

For every $100 spent locally, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. Spend it online or out of town and nothing comes home.

Think about it. Shop local!

October 2021 Issue

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Mississippi 100

Mississippi 100 2021 Rank

2020 Rank

2019 Rank

Company Corporate Address

Phone / Website Products/Services

Top Officer Founded

Employees

Annual Revenue

1

1

1

Ergon Inc. P.O. Box 1639, Jackson, MS 39215

601-933-3000 / ergon.com Refining, asphalt/emulsions, midstream/logistics

Emmitte Haddox 1954

3,000

$3,000,000,000*

2

2

3

The Yates Companies, Inc. P.O Box 385, Philadelphia, MS 39350

601-656-5411 / yatescompanies.com Construction services

Bill Yates, William Yates 1963

3

3

5

Southern Tire Mart, LLC 800 Hwy 98, Columbia, MS 39429

601-424-3200 / stmtires.com Commercial tire sales & service

Thomas Duff, Jim Duff 2003

3,800

$2,000,000,000

4

4

4

Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance 1800 E. County Line, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-957-7777 / sfbcic.com Property/Casualty Insurance

Duff Wallace 1947

1,610

$1,575,688,549

5

5

6

Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. 1401 Livingston Lane, Jackson, MS 39213

601-981-7422 / sfbli.com Life insurance

Randy Johns 1946

650

$1,513,014,773

6

6

8

Hood Companies Inc 15 Professional Parkway, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

601-264-2962 / hoodindustries.com Packing & Container, Atlas Roofing

Warren Hood 1999

1,350

$1,400,000,000*

7

7

7

Irby 815 Irby Dr., Jackson, MS 39201

601-969-1811 / irby.com Lighting

Tyler Mitchell, Joe LeNoir 1926

900

$1,389,700,000

8

8

9

Staplcotn 214 W. Market St., Greenwood, MS 38930

662-453-6231 / staplcotn.com Cotton marketing & warehousing

Hank Reichle 1921

170

$1,007,169,596

9

9

10

C Spire 1018 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157

855-277-4732 / cspire.com Mobile, data, voice, Internet, TV, cloud services

Hu Meena 1988

1,750

$1,000,000,000*

9

9

11

Vertex Aerospace 555 Industrial Dr. S., Madison, MS 39110

601-856-2274 / vtxaero.com

John "Ed" Boyington Jr. 1975

3,500

$1,000,000,000*

9

9

13

Howard Industries Inc. 3225 Pendorff Rd., Laurel, MS 39440

601-425-3151 / howard.com Transformers; computers; lighting; transportation

Billy W. Howard Sr. 1968

4,000

$1,000,000,000*

12

12

12

KLLM Transport Services, LLC 135 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218

601-932-8616 / kllm.com Temperature-Controlled Carrier

James M. Richards Jr 1963

13

13

15

Dunlap & Kyle Co Inc. 280 Eureka St., Batesville, MS 38606

662-563-1143 / dktire.com Tires; tubes

1956

14

17

17

Farmers Grain Terminal Inc. P.O. Box 1796, Greenville, MS 38702

662-332-0987 / fgtcoop.com Grain marketing & storage

15

14

15

Merchants Foodservice 1100 Edwards St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401

16

21

23

17

15

18

$2,653,000,000

$917,000,000 1,500

$900,000,000*

Steven F. Nail 1968

125

$882,000,000

601-584-4000 / merchantsfoodservice.com Foodservice distributor

Andrew B. Mercier 1904

850

$805,000,000

Irby Construction Company 318 Old Highway 49 South, Richland, MS 39218

601-709-4729 / irbyconstruction.com Transmission, distribution, substation const.

Lee M Jones 1946

1,600

$750,000,000

14

Cooperative Energy 7037 U.S. 49, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

601-268-2083 / cooperativeenergy.com Wholesale Electricity

Jeff C Bowman 1941

500

$739,000,000

20

18

Southern Pipe & Supply 4330 Hwy. 39 North, Meridian, MS 39301

601-693-2911 / southernpipe.com Plumbing, HVAC, industrial, mechanical

19

16

19

Taylor Group Inc. 3690 N. Church Ave., Louisville, MS 39339

662-773-3421 / taylorbigred.com Manufacturing

20

18

20

Yak Access 2438 Highway 98 E, Columbia, MS 39429

601-633-6584 / yakaccess.com Matting solutions

HONORED TO BE CHOSEN AS ONE OF THE

21

19

22

Lane Home Furnishings 5380 Hwy 145 South, Tupelo, MS 38801

662-447-4000 / LaneFurniture.com Furniture manufacturing

22

23

29

Viking Range, LLC 111 Front St, Greenwood, MS 38930

662-455-1200 / vikingrange.com Consumer & commercial appliances

23

21

25

Southern Motion Inc 298 Henry Southern Drive, Pontotoc, MS 38863

662-488-4007 / southernmotion.com Reclining & stationary furniture

24

26

21

Jones 16 Office Park Drive, Ste 5, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

844-500-2438 / jones.com Industrial Services Company

25

23

24

Herrin-Gear Automotive Group 1685 High St., Jackson, MS 39205

601-354-3882 / herringear.com Automobile dealership

26

43

43

Puckett Machinery Company 100 Caterpillar Dr, Flowood, MS 39232

601-969-6000 / puckettmachinery.com Caterpillar equipment, rental, and engine dealer

27

25

62

Blossman Companies 809 Washington Ave, Ocean Springs, MS 39564

28

57

71

29

28

30

Jay Davidson 1938

1,023

$600,000,000

W. A. Taylor III 1927

1,300

$546,000,000

802

$500,000,000*

Mike Watson 2000

2,000

$500,000,000

Kevin Brown 1984

750

$350,000,000

1,500

$325,000,000

Jonathan Jones 1949

765

$310,000,000

Reed Howell 1968

300

$300,000,000

Jonathan Duhon 2017

MISSISSIPPI

TOP 100 Roger Bland, Mark Weber 1996

LEADING PRIVATE COMPANIES Richard Puckett, Hastings Puckett Jr., Rob Puckett 1982

475

$292,000,000

228-875-2261 / blossmangas.com Propane Gas and Appliances

Stuart E Weidie 1951

945

$285,000,000*

Pine Belt Motors 7300 HWY 98, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

601-264-8500 / mypinebeltchevy.com Automotive

Jared Waldrop 2013

400

$285,000,000

30

Franklin Corporation 600 Franklin Dr., Houston, MS 38851

662-456-4286 / franklincorp.com Upholstered furniture

Hassell H. Franklin 1970

1,100

$240,000,000*

30

34

Newk's Eatery 2680 Crane Ridge Drive, Jackson, MS 39216

601-982-1160 / Newks.com Food & Beverage

Chris Newcomb 2004

987

$230,000,000*

31

38

2

BancPlus Corp./BankPlus 1068 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-898-8300 / BankPlus.net Community & Business Banking

William A. Ray 1909

950

$221,626,000

32

27

26

Deepwell Energy Services, LLC. 4025 Hwy 35 North, Columbia, MS 39429

601-522-2300 / dwservices.com Oilfield services

Austin Morgan 2014

2,025

$220,000,000

33

32

30

Southern Ionics Inc. 579 Commerce St, West Point, MS 39773

662-494-3055 / southernionics.com Manufacturer of specialty inorganic chemicals.

Milton Sundbeck 1980

308

$220,000,000

34

34

36

Butler Snow LLP www.ttgcompanies.com 1020 Highland Colony #1400, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-948-5711 / butlersnow.com Law firm

Christopher R. Maddux 1954

699

$215,731,000

35

33

32

Lyle Machinery Co. 650 US Hwy 49 S, Richland, MS 39218

601-939-4000 / lylemachinery.com Equipment, parts, service, sales, rental

Daniel A Lyle 1995

215

$205,000,000

9

9

11

Vertex Aerospace 555 Industrial Dr. S., Madison, MS 39110

601-856-2274 / vtxaero.com

John "Ed" Boyington Jr. 1975

3,500

$1,000,000,000*

9

9

13

Howard Industries Inc. 3225 Pendorff Rd., Laurel, MS 39440

601-425-3151 / howard.com Transformers; computers; lighting; transportation

Billy W. Howard Sr. 1968

4,000

$1,000,000,000*

135 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218

601-932-8616 / kllm.com Temperature-Controlled Carrier

James M. Richards Jr 1963

32 n 12

Mississippi Business Journal n October 2021 Issue KLLM Transport Services, LLC 12

12

13

13

15

Dunlap & Kyle Co Inc. 280 Eureka St., Batesville, MS 38606

662-563-1143 / dktire.com Tires; tubes

1956

14

17

17

Farmers Grain Terminal Inc. P.O. Box 1796, Greenville, MS 38702

662-332-0987 / fgtcoop.com Grain marketing & storage

Merchants Foodservice 1100 Edwards St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401

601-584-4000 / merchantsfoodservice.com Foodservice distributor

Mississippi 100

Mississippi 100 15

14

15

2021 16 Rank

2020 21 Rank

2019 23 Rank

117

115

114

218

220

318

319

316

519

420

418

420

521

519

622

622

623

829

723

721

725

824

826

921

925

923

24 10

926

943

11 43

9 27

9 25

13 62

12 28

12 57

12 71

13 29

13 28

15 30

14 30

17 30

17 34

15 31

14 38

15 2

16 32

21 27

23 26

17 33

15 32

14 30

18 34

20 34

18 36

19 32

2021 20

2020 18

2019 20

Rank

Rank

Rank

21 36

19 54

22 52

22 37

23 31

29 28

23 38

21 39

25 35

24 39 25 40

26 35 23 40

21 37 24 41

26 41

43 52

43 40

27 42

25 37

62 42

28 43

57 36

71 38

29 44

28 51

30 48

30 45

30 43

34 46

31 46

38 65

2 71

32 47

27 43

26 45

33 47

32 43

30 39

34 47

34 43

36 46

35 50

33 49

32 48

51

50

53

Steven F. Nail 1968

125

$882,000,000

Andrew B. Mercier 1904

850

$805,000,000

1,600 Employees

$750,000,000 Revenue

500 3,000

$739,000,000 $3,000,000,000*

1,023

$600,000,000 $2,653,000,000

1,300 3,800

$546,000,000 $2,000,000,000

802 1,610

$500,000,000* $1,575,688,549

2,000 650

$500,000,000 $1,513,014,773

750 1,350

$350,000,000 $1,400,000,000*

1,500 900

$325,000,000 $1,389,700,000

765 170

$310,000,000 $1,007,169,596

300 1,750

$300,000,000 $1,000,000,000*

3,500 475

$292,000,000* $1,000,000,000

4,000 945

$1,000,000,000** $285,000,000

400

$917,000,000 $285,000,000

1,500 1,100

$900,000,000** $240,000,000

125 987

$882,000,000 $230,000,000*

850 950

$805,000,000 $221,626,000

1,600 2,025

$750,000,000 $220,000,000

500 308

$739,000,000 $220,000,000

1,023 699

$600,000,000 $215,731,000

1,300 215

$546,000,000 $205,000,000

802

Annual* $500,000,000

2,000 275

$500,000,000 $200,000,000

750 120

$350,000,000 $197,478,000

1,500 3,800

$325,000,000 $197,000,000

765 500 300 841

$310,000,000 $190,000,000*

475 100

$292,000,000 $175,000,000*

945 333

* $285,000,000 $174,260,000

400 675

$285,000,000 $170,000,000

1,100 393

* $240,000,000 $168,000,000

987 450

* $230,000,000 $156,000,000

950 2,000

$221,626,000 $152,000,000

2,025 1,000

$220,000,000 $150,000,000*

308 265

$220,000,000 $150,000,000*

699 1,750

$215,731,000 $150,000,000*

215 412

$205,000,000 $140,000,000*

600

$135,000,000

Top Lee MOfficer Jones Founded 1946

Cooperative Ergon Inc. Energy 7037 U.S. 49, Hattiesburg, MS39215 39402 P.O. Box 1639, Jackson, MS Southern Pipe & Supply The Yates Companies, Inc. 4330Box Hwy. 39 Philadelphia, North, Meridian, 39301 P.O 385, MS MS 39350

601-268-2083 // ergon.com cooperativeenergy.com 601-933-3000 Wholesale Electricity Refining, asphalt/emulsions, midstream/logistics 601-693-2911 // yatescompanies.com southernpipe.com 601-656-5411 Plumbing, HVAC, industrial, mechanical Construction services

Jeff C Bowman Emmitte Haddox 1941 1954 JayYates, Davidson Bill William Yates 1938 1963

662-773-3421 // stmtires.com taylorbigred.com 601-424-3200 Manufacturing Commercial tire sales & service 601-633-6584 // sfbcic.com yakaccess.com 601-957-7777 Matting solutions Insurance Property/Casualty

W. A. Taylor Thomas Duff,IIIJim Duff 1927 2003 Jonathan Duhon Duff Wallace 2017 1947

662-447-4000 // sfbli.com LaneFurniture.com 601-981-7422 Furniture manufacturing Life insurance 662-455-1200 // hoodindustries.com vikingrange.com 601-264-2962 Consumer & commercial Packing & Container, Atlasappliances Roofing

Mike Watson Randy Johns 2000 1946 Kevin Brown Warren Hood 1984 1999

662-488-4007 // irby.com southernmotion.com 601-969-1811 Reclining & stationary furniture Lighting 844-500-2438 // staplcotn.com jones.com 662-453-6231 Industrial Services Cotton marketing &Company warehousing

RogerMitchell, Bland, Mark Weber Tyler Joe LeNoir 1996 1926 Jonathan Jones Hank Reichle 1949 1921

Herrin-Gear Automotive Group C Spire 1685 Highland High St., Jackson, MS 39205 1018 Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-354-3882 // cspire.com herringear.com 855-277-4732 Automobile Mobile, data,dealership voice, Internet, TV, cloud services

Vertex PuckettAerospace Machinery Company 555 Madison, 39110 100 Industrial CaterpillarDr. Dr,S., Flowood, MSMS 39232

601-969-6000 / puckettmachinery.com 601-856-2274 / vtxaero.com Caterpillar equipment, rental, and engine dealer

Howard Industries Inc. Blossman Companies 3225 Pendorff Rd., Laurel, MS 39440 809 Washington Ave, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 KLLM Transport Services, LLC Pine Belt Motors 135 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218 7300 HWY 98, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Dunlap & Kyle Co Inc. Franklin Corporation 280 Eureka St., Batesville, MS 38606 600 Franklin Dr., Houston, MS 38851 Farmers Grain Terminal Inc. Newk's Eatery P.O. Box 1796, Greenville, MS 38702 2680 Crane Ridge Drive, Jackson, MS 39216 Merchants Foodservice BancPlus Corp./BankPlus 1100 Edwards St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401 1068 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157 Irby Construction Company Deepwell Energy Services, LLC. 318 Old Highway 49 South, Richland, MS 39218 4025 Hwy 35 North, Columbia, MS 39429 Cooperative Energy Southern Ionics Inc. 7037 U.S. 49, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 579 Commerce St, West Point, MS 39773 Southern Pipe & Supply Butler Snow LLP 4330 Hwy. 39 North, Meridian, MS 39301 1020 Highland Colony #1400, Ridgeland, MS 39157 Taylor Group Inc. Lyle Machinery Co. 3690 N. Church Ave., Louisville, MS 39339 650 US Hwy 49 S, Richland, MS 39218 Yak Access Company 2438 Highway 98 E, Columbia, MS 39429 Corporate Address

601-425-3151 / howard.com 228-875-2261 / blossmangas.com Transformers; computers; lighting; transportation Propane Gas and Appliances 601-932-8616 / kllm.com 601-264-8500 / mypinebeltchevy.com Temperature-Controlled Carrier Automotive 662-563-1143 / dktire.com 662-456-4286 / franklincorp.com Tires; tubes Upholstered furniture 662-332-0987 / fgtcoop.com 601-982-1160 / Newks.com Grain marketing & storage Food & Beverage 601-584-4000 / merchantsfoodservice.com 601-898-8300 / BankPlus.net Foodservice distributor Community & Business Banking 601-709-4729 / irbyconstruction.com 601-522-2300 / dwservices.com Transmission, distribution, substation const.

Oilfield services 601-268-2083 / cooperativeenergy.com 662-494-3055 / southernionics.com Wholesale Electricity Manufacturer of specialty inorganic chemicals.

601-693-2911 / southernpipe.com 601-948-5711 / butlersnow.com Plumbing, HVAC, industrial, mechanical Law firm 662-773-3421 / taylorbigred.com 601-939-4000 / lylemachinery.com Manufacturing Equipment, parts, service, sales, rental 601-633-6584 / yakaccess.com Phone / Website Matting solutions Products/Services

Reed Howell Hu Meena 1968 1988 Richard Puckett, Hastings Puckett Jr., John "Ed" Boyington Jr. Rob Puckett 1975 1982 Billy W. Howard Sr. Stuart E Weidie 1968 1951 James M. Richards Jr Jared Waldrop 1963 2013

Lane Home Furnishings Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. 5380 Livingston Hwy 145 South, 1401 Lane, Tupelo, Jackson,MS MS38801 39213 Viking Range, LLC Hood Companies Inc 111Professional Front St, Greenwood, MS 38930 MS 39402 15 Parkway, Hattiesburg,

Southern Motion Inc Irby 298 Irby Henry Pontotoc, MS 38863 815 Dr.,Southern Jackson,Drive, MS 39201 Jones Staplcotn 16 Office Park Drive, Ste 5, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 214 W. Market St., Greenwood, MS 38930

Mississippi 100 16 33

$900,000,000*

Phone / Website 601-709-4729 / irbyconstruction.com Products/Services Transmission, distribution, substation const.

Mississippi 100

19 35

1,500

Company Irby Construction Company Corporate Address 318 Old Highway 49 South, Richland, MS 39218

Taylor Group Southern Tire Inc. Mart, LLC 3690 N. Church Ave., Louisville, 800 Hwy 98, Columbia, MS 39429MS 39339 Yak Access Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance 2438 E. Highway E, Columbia, 1800 County98 Line, Ridgeland,MS MS39429 39157

Lane Home Furnishings Century Construction 5380 Hwy 145 South, Tupelo,Group MS 38801 705 Robert E. Lee LLC Dr., Tupelo, MS 38802 Viking Range,

111 FrontConstruction St, Greenwood, Company MS 38930 White 613 CrescentMotion Cir., Ste.Inc 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157 Southern 298 Henry Southern RPM Pizza, LLCDrive, Pontotoc, MS 38863 15384 5th St., Gulfport, MS 39503 Jones 16 Office Park JESCO, Inc.Drive, Ste 5, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 2020 McCullough Blvd., Tupelo,Group MS 38801 Herrin-Gear Automotive 1685 High St., Jackson, MS 39205 Community Bancshares/Community Bank 1255 W. Government St., Brandon, MS 39402 Puckett Machinery Company Peavey Electronics Corp 100 Caterpillar Dr, Flowood, MS 39232 5022 Hartley Peavey Dr., Meridian, MS 39305 Blossman Companies Quality Steel Corp.

809 Ave, Ocean P.O.Washington Box 249, Cleveland, MSSprings, 38732 MS 39564

662-447-4000 / LaneFurniture.com Furniture manufacturing 662-844-3331 / centurycr.com General;Highway Road Bridge demolition; 662-455-1200 / vikingrange.com

1956 Hassell H. Franklin 1970 Steven F. Nail Chris Newcomb 1968 2004 Andrew B. Mercier William A. Ray 1904 1909 Lee M Jones Austin Morgan 1946 2014 Jeff C Bowman Milton Sundbeck 1941 1980 Jay Davidson Christopher R. Maddux 1938 1954 W. A. Taylor III Daniel A Lyle 1927 1995 Jonathan Duhon Top Officer 2017 Founded Mike Watson 2000 Colin Maloney Sr 1997 Brown Kevin

Consumer & commercial appliances 601-898-5180 / whiteconst.com Construction; Management; Design Build 662-488-4007 / southernmotion.com

1984 Guy H. White, Steve Burch 1971 Bland, Mark Weber Roger

Industrial Services Company 662-842-3240 / jescoinc.net General Construction, Mechanical Construction 601-354-3882 / herringear.com Automobile dealership 601-825-4323 / communitybank.net Banking & financial services 601-969-6000 / puckettmachinery.com 601-483-5365 / peavey.com Caterpillar equipment, rental, and engine dealer Sound equipment; musical instruments 228-875-2261 662-843-4046 // blossmangas.com qualitysteelcorporation.com Propane and Appliances Propane,Gas anhydrous ammonia pressure vessels

1949 Steven Staub 1941 Howell Reed 1968 Charles W. Nicholson Jr. 1905 Puckett, Hastings Puckett Jr., Richard Rob Puckett Hartley Peavey 1982 1965

Reclining & stationary furniture 228-832-4000 / rpmpizza.com Pizza carryout/&jones.com delivery 844-500-2438

Pine Belt Motors Ivey Mechanical Company, LLC 7300 HWY 98, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 134 W. Washington St., Kosciusko, MS 39090 Franklin Corporation Jones Logistics 600 Franklin Dr., Houston, MS 38851 6184 Hwy 98 W, Suite 210, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Newk's Eatery American Furniture Mfg 2680 Crane Ridge Drive, Jackson, MS 39216 604 Pontotoc Co Industrial Park Rd, Ecru, MS 38863 BancPlus Corp./BankPlus HORNE 1068 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157 661 Sunnybrook Rd, No. 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157 Deepwell Energy Services, LLC. H.M. Richards 4025 Hwy 35 North, Columbia, MS 39429 414 CR 2790, Baldwyn, MS 38824 Southern Ionics Inc. Mississippi Ag Co. 579 Commerce St, West Point, MS 39773 441 Haley Barbour Parkway, Yazoo City, MS 39194 Butler Snow LLP Community Eldercare Services, LLC 1020 Highland Colony #1400, Ridgeland, MS 39157 2844 Traceland Dr., Tupelo, MS 38801 Lyle Machinery Co. Eutaw Construction 650 US Hwy 49 S, Richland,Co., MS Inc. 39218 P.O. Box 2482, Madison, MS 39130

662-494-3055 / southernionics.com 662-746-6208of/ agup.com Manufacturer specialty inorganic chemicals.

John Deere Agriculture and turf equipment 601-948-5711 / butlersnow.com 662-680-3148 Law firm Assisted living, skilled nursing, rehab care, ther 601-939-4000 / lylemachinery.com 601-855-7474 / eutaw.com Equipment, parts, service, sales, rental Highway & heavy civil construction

F.L. Crane & Sons Inc. 508 S. Spring St., Fulton, MS 38843

662-862-2172 / flcrane.com Drywall, Plaster, Acoustical, Ext. Metal Panels

601-264-8500 / mypinebeltchevy.com 662-289-3646 / iveymechanical.com Automotive Ivey is a full service mechanical contractor 662-456-4286 / franklincorp.com 800-956-1151 / joneslogistics.com Upholstered furniture Logistics 601-982-1160 / Newks.com 662-489-2633 / americanfurn.net Food & Beverage Uphosltered products: sofas, sectionals, recliners 601-898-8300 / BankPlus.net 601-326-1000 / hornellp.com Community & Business Banking professional services, CPA, economic recovery 601-522-2300 / dwservices.com Oilfield services/ hmrichards.com 662-365-9485

$917,000,000

1996 Glenn A Mueller Sr 1981 Jonathan Jones

Stuart E Weidie Sean Wessel 1951 1957 Jared Waldrop Larry Terrell 2013 1947 Hassell H. Franklin Brian E Haynes 1970 1999 Chris Newcomb Steve Lindsey 2004 1998 William A. Ray Neil Forbes 1909 1962 Austin Morgan Joey Tarrant 2014 1997 Milton Sundbeck Kyle Fulcher 1980 1947 Christopher R. Maddux Douglas Wright Jr. 1954 2000 Daniel A Lyle 1995 1980

Chip Crane 1946

Employees

Annual

Revenue

$300,000,000 $180,331,000

44

51

48

Jones Logistics 6184 Hwy 98 W, Suite 210, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

800-956-1151 / joneslogistics.com Logistics

Brian E Haynes 1999

393

$168,000,000

45

43

46

American Furniture Mfg 604 Pontotoc Co Industrial Park Rd, Ecru, MS 38863

662-489-2633 / americanfurn.net Uphosltered products: sofas, sectionals, recliners

Steve Lindsey 1998

450

$156,000,000

46

65

71

HORNE 661 Sunnybrook Rd, No. 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-326-1000 / hornellp.com professional services, CPA, economic recovery

October 2021 Issue n Neil Forbes 1962

Mississippi Business Journal

n

33

2,000

$152,000,000

47

43

45

H.M. Richards 414 CR 2790, Baldwyn, MS 38824

662-365-9485 / hmrichards.com

Joey Tarrant 1997

1,000

$150,000,000*

47

43

39

Mississippi Ag Co. 441 Haley Barbour Parkway, Yazoo City, MS 39194

662-746-6208 / agup.com John Deere Agriculture and turf equipment

Kyle Fulcher 1947

265

$150,000,000*

Community Eldercare Services, LLC 2844 Traceland Dr., Tupelo, MS 38801

662-680-3148 Assisted living, skilled nursing, rehab care, ther

Douglas Wright Jr. 2000

1,750

$150,000,000*

412 Employees

* $140,000,000 Revenue

600 275

$135,000,000 $200,000,000

350 120

$131,000,000 $197,478,000

2,000 3,800

* $130,000,000 $197,000,000

625 500

$128,000,000 $190,000,000*

600 841

* $125,000,000 $180,331,000

100 100

$120,000,000* $175,000,000*

400 333

$116,678,000 $174,260,000

244 675

$115,649,755 $170,000,000

350 393

$115,000,000 $168,000,000

220 450

$105,540,625 $156,000,000

1,511 2,000

* $100,000,000 $152,000,000

415 1,000

$100,000,000* $150,000,000*

300 265

$100,000,000* $150,000,000*

575 1,750

$100,000,000* $150,000,000*

100 412

$100,000,000 $140,000,000*

200 600

$95,000,000 $135,000,000

1,400 350

$90,000,000* $131,000,000

29 2,000

$90,000,000* $130,000,000*

400 625

$85,000,000* $128,000,000

334 600

$85,000,000* $125,000,000*

191 100

$82,965,273 $120,000,000*

Mississippi 100

Mississippi 100 47

2021

43

46

2020

2019

Company Eutaw Construction Co., Inc. Corporate P.O. Box 2482,Address Madison, MS 39130

Phone / Website 601-855-7474 / eutaw.com Products/Services Highway & heavy civil construction

Top Officer 1980 Founded

F.L. Crane & Sons Inc. Century Construction Group 508 S. Spring St., Fulton, MS 38843 705 Robert E. Lee Dr., Tupelo, MS 38802 Sayle Oil Company White Construction Company 327 Main St., Charleston, MS 38921 613 Crescent Cir., Ste. 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157 Pearl River Resort RPM Pizza, LLC 13541 Hwy 16 W. , Choctaw, MS 39530 15384 5th St., Gulfport, MS 39503 T.L. Wallace Construction Inc. JESCO, Inc. 4025 Highway 35, Columbia, MS 39429 2020 McCullough Blvd., Tupelo, MS 38801 Consolidated Catfish Producers, LLC Community Bancshares/Community Bank 299 South St., Isola, MS 38754 1255 W. Government St., Brandon, MS 39402 Morgan White Group Peavey Electronics Corp 500 Steed Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157 5022 Hartley Peavey Dr., Meridian, MS 39305 America's Catch Inc Quality Steel Corp.

P.O. Box 584, Itta Bena, MS 38941 P.O. Box 249, Cleveland, MS 38732 Waters Truck & Tractor / Waters International Ivey Mechanical Company, LLC 96 E. Plymouth Rd., Columbus, MS 39705 134 W. Washington St., Kosciusko, MS 39090 Delta Industries, Inc. Jones Logistics 100 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, MS 39213 6184 Hwy 98 W, Suite 210, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Structural Steel Services American Furniture Mfg 6210 Saint Louis St., Meridian, MS 39307 604 Pontotoc Co Industrial Park Rd, Ecru, MS 38863 The View Casino Resorts HORNE 3300 W. Beach Blvd, Gulfport, MS 39501 661 Sunnybrook Rd, No. 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157 MMC Materials, Inc. H.M. Richards 133 New Ragsdale Road, Madison, MS 39110 414 CR 2790, Baldwyn, MS 38824 Reed's Metals Mississippi Ag Co. 19 E Lincoln Rd. NE, Brookhaven, MS 39601 441 Haley Barbour Parkway, Yazoo City, MS 39194 Total Transportation of Mississippi, LLC Community Eldercare Services, LLC 125 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218 2844 Traceland Dr., Tupelo, MS 38801 The Blackburn Group, LLC Eutaw Construction Co., Inc. 310 Enterprise Dr., Oxford, MS 38655 P.O. Box 2482, Madison, MS 39130 McNeely Plastics F.L. Crane & Sons Inc. 1111 Industrial Park Dr., Clinton, MS 39056 508 S. Spring St., Fulton, MS 38843 YoungWilliams, P.C. Sayle Oil Company P.O. Box 23458, Ridgeland, MS 39157 327 Main St., Charleston, MS 38921 Newman Lumber Co Pearl River Resort 11367 Reichold Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503 13541 Hwy 16 W. , Choctaw, MS 39530 Golden Manufacturing T.L. Wallace Construction Inc. 125 Highway 366, Golden, MS 38847 4025 Highway 35, Columbia, MS 39429 Corinthian Wholesale Furniture Consolidated Catfish Producers, LLC 41 Henson Road, Corinth, MS 38834 299 South St., Isola, MS 38754 Hotel & Restaurant Supply Morgan White Group 5020 Arundel Rd, Meridian, MS 39307 500 Steed Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157

662-862-2172 / flcrane.com 662-844-3331 / centurycr.com Drywall, Plaster, Acoustical, Ext. Metal Panels General;Highway Road Bridge demolition; 662-647-5802 / sayleoil.com 601-898-5180 / whiteconst.com Fuel oil and fuel; c-stores; quick lubes; propane Construction; Management; Design Build 866-447-3275 / pearlriverresort.com 228-832-4000 / rpmpizza.com Gaming; hospitality Pizza carryout & delivery 601-736-4525 / tlwallace.com 662-842-3240 / jescoinc.net Construction General Construction, Mechanical Construction 662-962-3101 / countryselect.com 601-825-4323 / communitybank.net Catfish processing & sales Banking & financial services 800-800-1397 / morganwhite.com 601-483-5365 / peavey.com Insurance and administrative services Sound equipment; musical instruments 662-254-7207 / catfish.com 662-843-4046 / qualitysteelcorporation.com Fresh & frozen catfish Propane, anhydrous ammonia pressure vessels 662-328-1575 / waterstruck.com 662-289-3646 / iveymechanical.com Truck and Trailer Dealerships, Wrecker Services Ivey is a full service mechanical contractor 601-354-3801 / delta-ind.com 800-956-1151 / joneslogistics.com Ready Mix Concrete and Construction Materials Logistics 601-483-5381 / sssvc-inc.com 662-489-2633 / americanfurn.net Fabricated structural metal Uphosltered products: sofas, sectionals, recliners 877-774-8439 / islandviewcasino.com 601-326-1000 / hornellp.com Gaming, Entertainment, Restaurants, Hotel professional services, CPA, economic recovery 601-898-4000 / mmcmaterials.com 662-365-9485 / hmrichards.com Ready Mixed Concrete 601-823-6516 / reedsmetals.com 662-746-6208 / agup.com Metal Roofing, Metal Buildings, Pole Barns, PEMB John Deere Agriculture and turf equipment 601-942-2104 / totalms.com 662-680-3148 Trucking company Assisted living, skilled nursing, rehab care, ther 662-513-4194 / blackburngroup.net 601-855-7474 / eutaw.com Real Estate development, General construction Highway & heavy civil construction 601-926-1000 / mcneelyplastics.com 662-862-2172 / flcrane.com Plastic bags and films for packaging applications Drywall, Plaster, Acoustical, Ext. Metal Panels 601 / youngwilliams.com 662-647-5802 / sayleoil.com BPO for Gov. Human Services Agencies Fuel oil and fuel; c-stores; quick lubes; propane 228-832-1899 / newmanlumber.com 866-447-3275 / pearlriverresort.com Specialty lumber Gaming; hospitality 662-454-3428 601-736-4525 / tlwallace.com Military uniforms Construction 662-287-7835 / corinthianwholesale.com 662-962-3101 / countryselect.com Furniture Catfish processing & sales 601-482-7127 / hnrsupply.com 800-800-1397 / morganwhite.com commercial/industrial food service equipment Insurance and administrative services

Chip Crane Colin Maloney Sr 1946 1997 Ike Sayle Guy H. White, Steve Burch 1947 1971 William "Sonny" Johnson Glenn A Mueller Sr 1994 1981 Austin Morgan Steven Staub 1975 1941 Richard Stevens Charles W. Nicholson Jr. 1967 1905 David R. White Hartley Peavey 1987 1965 Solon A. Scott III Sean Wessel 1987 1957 Mike Waters III Larry Terrell 1938 1947 J. Thomas Evans Jr. Brian E Haynes 1945 1999 Tommy E. Dulaney Steve Lindsey 1975 1998 Lindsey Inman Neil Forbes 2006 1962 Judd Beech Joey Tarrant 1927 1997 Bernie T. Reed Kyle Fulcher 1998 1947 John Stomps Douglas Wright Jr. 1990 2000 David B Blackburn 1980 2006

1995 Stevens Richard 1967 Jerry Greene, Mason Greene David R. White 1953 1987

America's Catch Inc P.O. Box 584, Itta Bena, MS 38941

662-254-7207 / catfish.com Fresh & frozen catfish

Solon A. Scott III 1987

400

$116,678,000

Waters Truck & Tractor / Waters International 96 E. Plymouth Rd., Columbus, MS 39705

662-328-1575 / waterstruck.com Truck and Trailer Dealerships, Wrecker Services

Mike Waters III 1938

244

$115,649,755

Delta Industries, Inc. 100 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, MS 39213

601-354-3801 / delta-ind.com Ready Mix Concrete and Construction Materials

J. Thomas Evans Jr. 1945

350

$115,000,000

Structural Steel Services 6210 Saint Louis St., Meridian, MS 39307

601-483-5381 / sssvc-inc.com Fabricated structural metal

Tommy E. Dulaney 1975

220

$105,540,625

27

The View Casino Resorts 3300 W. Beach Blvd, Gulfport, MS 39501

877-774-8439 / islandviewcasino.com Gaming, Entertainment, Restaurants, Hotel

Lindsey Inman 2006

1,511

$100,000,000*

54

MMC Materials, Inc. 133 New Ragsdale Road, Madison, MS 39110

601-898-4000 / mmcmaterials.com Ready Mixed Concrete

Judd Beech 1927

415

$100,000,000*

61

56

Reed's Metals 19 E Lincoln Rd. NE, Brookhaven, MS 39601

601-823-6516 / reedsmetals.com Metal Roofing, Metal Buildings, Pole Barns, PEMB

Bernie T. Reed 1998

300

$100,000,000*

62

61

59

Total Transportation of Mississippi, LLC 125 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218

601-942-2104 / totalms.com Trucking company

John Stomps 1990

575

$100,000,000*

65

67

90

The Blackburn Group, LLC 310 Enterprise Dr., Oxford, MS 38655

662-513-4194 / blackburngroup.net Real Estate development, General construction

David B Blackburn 2006

100

$100,000,000

66

70

78

McNeely Plastics 1111 Industrial Park Dr., Clinton, MS 39056

601-926-1000 / mcneelyplastics.com Plastic bags and films for packaging applications

Greg McNeely 1983

200

$95,000,000

67

67

70

YoungWilliams, P.C. P.O. Box 23458, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601 / youngwilliams.com BPO for Gov. Human Services Agencies

Rob Wells 1994

1,400

$90,000,000*

67

67

63

Newman Lumber Co 11367 Reichold Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503

228-832-1899 / newmanlumber.com Specialty lumber

Doug Newman 1947

29

$90,000,000*

69

72

78

Golden Manufacturing 125 Highway 366, Golden, MS 38847

662-454-3428 Military uniforms

James Fennell 1978

400

$85,000,000*

69

72

71

Corinthian Wholesale Furniture 41 Henson Road, Corinth, MS 38834

662-287-7835 / corinthianwholesale.com Furniture

1995

334

$85,000,000*

71

71

69

Hotel & Restaurant Supply 5020 Arundel Rd, Meridian, MS 39307

601-482-7127 / hnrsupply.com commercial/industrial food service equipment

Jerry Greene, Mason Greene 1953

191

$82,965,273

50 Rank

49 Rank

48 Rank

51 36

50 54

53 52

52 37

41 31

54 28

53 38

52 39

43 35

54 39

65 35

75 37

55 40

54 40

56 41

56 41

54 52

59 40

57 42

58 37

61 42

58 43

48 36

51 38

59 44

61 51

63 48

60 45

94 43

92 46

61 46

29 65

27 71

62 47

61 43

54 45

62 47

61 43

56 39

62 47

61 43

59 46

65 50

67 49

90 48

66 51

70 50

78 53

67 52

67 41

70 54

67 53

67 52

63 43

69 54

72 65

78 75

69 55

72 54

71 56

71 56

71 54

69 59

57

58

61

58

48

51

59

61

63

60

94

92

61

29

62

61

62

Greg McNeely Chip Crane 1983 1946 Rob Wells Ike Sayle 1994 1947 Doug Newman William "Sonny" Johnson 1947 1994 James Fennell Austin Morgan 1978 1975

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Mississippi Business Journal

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October 2021 Issue

Mississippi 100

Mississippi 100 2021 Rank

2020 Rank

2019 Rank

Company Corporate Address

Phone / Website Products/Services

Top Officer Founded

Employees

Annual Revenue

72

74

76

People Lease 689 Towne Center Blvd., Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-987-3025 / peoplelease.com Payroll; benefits; human resources

Larry L. Lewis 1984

22

$82,500,000

73

79

81

Neel-Schaffer, Inc. 125 S. Congress St., Ste. 1100, Jackson, MS 39201

601-948.3071 / neel-schaffer.com Civil, Transportation, Water, Environmental eng.

W. Hibbett Neel Jr. 1983

450

$82,100,000

74

75

74

Minact 5220 Keele St., Jackson, MS 39206

601-362-1631 / minact.com Academic and Skills Training

Reuben Anderson, Augustus Collins 1978

1,250

$80,178,292

75

76

77

Timber Lake Foods Inc. 2605 Old Belden Cir., Tupelo, MS 38801

1-800-804-0662 / timberlakefoods.com Meat trading

Joseph D Estess 1994

18

$80,000,000*

76

42

50

MVP Sonic Group P.O. Box 2128, Ridgeland, MS 39158

6019143401 / mcclainsonics.com Sonic Drive-In franchisee

Buddy McClain 1984

1,400

$75,000,000

77

77

68

Heartland Catfish Co. 55001 U.S. 82 W., Itta Bena, MS 38941

(662) 254-7100 / heartlandcatfish.com Various cuts of fresh and frozen catfish

Danny Walker 1996

400

$75,000,000*

78

91

NR

Wilson Auto Group 4200 Lakeland Dr., Flowood, MS 39232

888-380-1763 / wilsonautogroup.com KIA & Hyundai franchises & used cars

Doug Wilson 1988

100

$75,000,000

79

81

87

Miskelly Furniture 101 Airport Rd., Pearl, MS 39208

601-939-6288 / miskellys.com Furniture/ Mattress retailer/ 7 locations in Ms

Oscar Miskelly 1978

225

$74,000,000

80

59

63

Hol-Mac Corporation P.O. Box 349, Bay Springs, MS 39422

601-764-4121 / hol-mac.com Refuse Collection Equip, Forklifts, Hydraulics

Jamie V. Holder, Jeffrey D Holder 1963

600*

$72,800,000

81

88

NR

Parish Tractor Company 7065 US 49, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

601-261-2670 / parishtractor.com Kubota dealership

Lee Parish 2012

95

$70,000,000

82

80

99

SDT Solutions, LLC 130 N. Second St., Brookhaven, MS 39602

601-823-9440 / www.sdt-1.com Telecommunications & utility infrastructure

Charlie Smith, James Ezell Jr. 1993

200

$65,000,000*

83

85

89

Gulf Coast Restaurant Group 12068 Intraplex Parkway, Gulfport, MS 39503

228-326-2830 / halfshelloysterhouse.com Half Shell Oyster House / Rackhouse

Bob Taylor 2006

1,100

$63,000,000

84

81

83

Dunn Roadbuilders, LLC 411 W. Oak St., Laurel, MS 39441

601-649-4111 / dunnroadbuilders.com Heavy Highway Construction

Clifton L. Beckman Jr. 1878

175

$60,000,000*

85

83

82

Butch Oustalet Autoplex 9274 U.S. 49, Gulfport, MS 39503

(228) 863-5525 / butchoustalet.com New/used automobiles, parts and service

A.J. Oustalet III 1984

76

$57,000,000

86

86

88

TEC 700 S. West St., Jackson, MS 39201

601-353-9118 / tec.com IP Voice Services and High Speed Internet

Joey F. Garner 1923

250

$55,000,000*

87

95

98

Business Communications Inc. 442 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-898-1890 / bcianswers.com Information Technology and Managed Services

Jonathan Hollingshead 1993

93

$55,000,000

88

84

NR

Thrash Commercial Contractors Inc. 211 Commerce Dr, Brandon, MS 39042

601-825-8967 / thrashco.com General Contracting; Design-Build

Josh Thrash 2001

52

$54,580,560

89

92

90

Deepwell Equipment Rentals, LLC. 4025 Hwy 35 North, Columbia, MS 39429

601-522-2300 / dwservices.com Oilfield Services

Kade Comeaux 2014

125

$52,000,000

90

87

83

Dickerson & Bowen, Inc. 669 Industrial Park Dr NE, Brookhaven, MS 39601

601-833-4291 / dickersonandbowen.com Highway construction; asphalt paving

Lester Williams 1947

155

$50,000,000

91

88

86

Affordable Furniture Mfg Co 6496 Redland Sarepta Rd, Houlka, MS 38850

662-568-7981 / affordablefurniture.ms/ Upholstered Stationary and Motion Furniture

Jim Sneed 2004

285

$50,000,000*

91

88

NR

Jackie's International 1554 W. Peace St., Canton, MS 39046

601-855-0146 / jackiesinternational.com Restaurants; hotels; c-stores; construction

Sunny Sethi 1973

1,500

$50,000,000*

93

93

96

Fountain Construction Co., Inc. 5655 Hwy. 18 W., Jackson, MS 39209

601-373-4162 / fountainconstruction.com Construction & maintenance

Brad Fountain 1959

135

$47,100,000

94

NR

NR

Cadillac of Jackson 700 Adcock Dr., Ridgeland, MS 39157

(888) 264-5969 / cadillacofjacksonms.com Cadillac Sales & Service, New & Preowned Vehicles

Jon Hill 2019

48

$42,000,000

95

78

80

Treasure Bay Casino & Hotel 1980 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, MS 39535

228-385-6000 / treasurebay.com Gaming, hotel, dining

Susan Varnes 1993

670

$40,000,000

96

97

94

Mid State Construction 300 Briarwood West Dr., Jackson, MS 39206

601-956-9500 / msconst.com Building construction

William Ware, P G Bernheim 1958

50

$40,000,000

97

96

95

Fusion Hospitality 1020 N Gloster St; No.110, Tupelo, MS 38804

662-205-4031 / fusion-hospitality.com Hospitality Management

Bruce R Patel 2010

596

$39,000,000

98

100

100

Central Pipe Supply Inc. P O Box 5470, Pearl, MS 39288

601-939-3322 / centralpipe.com Pipe Valves and fittings

Sheriee Townsend, Nyle Luke 1975

67

$37,500,000

99

98

NR

Freshwater Farms Products, LLC 4554 State Hwy. 12 East, Belzoni, MS 39038

662-247-4205 / freshwatercatfish.com Fresh & Frozen Catfish Food Service/Retail Sales

Dean Kiker 2004

180

$35,000,000

Concord Capital/Duckworth Realty 601-914-0800 / duckworthrealty.com Ted Duckworth, Breck Hines 13 $30,130,000 Real estate investments, management, brokerage.

1989 308 E. Pearl St., Jackson, MS 39201 NR-not ranked. The Mississippi 100, the top Mississippi-based private companies, ranked by revenue in the latest fiscal year, is compiled by the Mississippi Business Journal from data submitted by companies and MBJ research. Some data is estimated, and may be based on market calculations and industry analysis. Submit comments to frank.brown@msbusiness.com. * MBJ estimate

100

NR

NR

October 2021 Issue

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Mississippi Business Journal

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35

Sky-rocketing cotton prices leave market worried textile mills can’t buy

BY TED CARTER

» COTTON MERCHANTS COULD BE LEFT WITH UNSOLD INVENTORY

M

ississippi cotton growers are getting historically high prices for their crops as demand reaches new highs.

But while cheers from farmers are going up across the Delta, other parts of the cotton business are seeing flashing caution lights.

A frenzy of speculation has pushed futures pricing so high textile mills might be unable to honor delivery contacts. Meanwhile, a U.S. tariff war with China and worldwide logistics failures are adding worry to a U.S. cotton market in which Mississippi is the fourth largest producer.

With speculation reaching a level never seen before, no telling where the prices will ultimately settle on as many as 14.7 million bales already sold, said Dr. O.A. Cleveland, a cotton market consultant and professor emeritus in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University.

“We have a situation where the world has gone wild with respect to buying cotton,” he said.

» READ MORE – BIG REWARDS IN COTTON BOOM GO TO SPECULATORS

In Cleveland’s recounting, Chinese speculators futures 22 percent over the last couple of weeks, movsaw huge pent-up demand for cotton products. They ing the price up to $1.22 a pound. Cleveland attrijumped in with a level of enthusiasm that pushed up butes the last 22 cents solely to bets placed by Chinese

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Mississippi Business Journal

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October 2021 Issue

speculators.

The U.S. tariff war with China helped to ignite demand. A particular spark came from a U.S. ban on exports of clothing and other products produced with cotton grown in the cotton-rich Xinjiang region. This forced manufacturers to buy U.S. cotton, Fortune magazine reported.

“It has been a real boon to U.S. farmers,” Cleveland said of the cotton trade prohibition enacted by President Trump and left in place by President Biden.

The high-flying prices are unwelcome news to the Memphis-based American Cotton Shippers Association. Normally it would not be, but the merchant members of the cotton organization are facing the prospect of owning huge volumes of cotton that foreign textile mills say they no longer can afford. Defaults could occur on all or portions of the contracts, according to Cleveland.

Acting as middlemen for sellers and buyers, the ACSA and its member firms expected to net $10 to $15 a bale from the million or so bales on contract so far. Instead, “the merchant has futures contracts to honor,” said Cleveland, who does cotton market consulting and lives in Starkville.

“Losses could easily get up into the millions of dollars,” he said, and explained that the $500 bales the merchant will own could easily grow to $600 once freight insurance, storage and shipping to Asia are factored in.

“The certainly have concerns,” Cleveland said.

“Textile mills are going to say, ‘Sorry, we don’t want it,’” he said.

Cleveland expects some mills may honor half or a quarter of their purchase contracts. So, the merchants may not lose on every bale they have sold, he said. “But it is definitely a major disaster for some merchants.”

ACSA president William H. “Buddy” Allen did not

O.A. CLEVELAND respond to a phone message and email seeking comment.

Defaults on cotton futures have never occurred and Cleveland does not expect one this season. Two reasons, he said, are the deposits the International Cotton Exchange requires merchants to place on all sales of futures and the backstop provided by such brokers and lenders as the Rosenthal Collins Group, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and other investment banks.

One way the market keeps the sanctity of the futures contract intact is through a requirement that the merchants cover margin requirements when called upon.

Not doing so, Cleveland said, would cause the invest-

ment bankers to take the cotton and in turn attach the assets of the merchants.

“They’ll attach anything, the company, the company building, the personal assets of the officers,” he said.

When they take the remaining contracts off the merchants’ hands and pay a high commission to have them sold, “This would show up as a loss on the balance sheet,” Cleveland said.

A price slide to 95 cents a pound, the maximum price overseas textile mills say they can handle, would alleviate some grief for the merchants and an Asian manufacturing sector eager to profit from renewed consumed demand after 18 months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“They need prices around 95 cents for the mills to make any money,” Cleveland said.

In a more normal year, the cotton merchants would get a higher profit margin than the growers as a reward for their risk taking, Cleveland noted.

They take title to cotton they buy from growers, giving them physical ownership. “Then they turn around and sell it,” Cleveland said.

Each and every bale has different value, grade ad quality, and it’s the merchants’ job to identify and set the grade for the bales they buy and sell. “The merchants consolidate the ‘like’ bales,” Cleveland said, “They can put an increased value on some and less on others,” he said.

The MSU professor emeritus figures the New York Cotton Exchange set the stage for today’s haywire market. First it hiked the number of contracts speculators can trade from 2,000 to 11,900 and declined to raise margin requirements.

“They allowed more contracts as prices went higher and they didn’t require more margin,” Cleveland said.

“It was a double-edged sword.”

Big rewards in cotton boom go to speculators

BY TED CARTER

» MANY MISSISSIPPI GROWERS LOCKED-IN THEIR CROP AT ABOUT 85 CENTS

M

ississippi cotton growers are getting handsome paydays from some of the highest cotton futures prices in the history of the U.S. market.

But few of them cashed in on sustained bump-ups in futures prices from exceptionally high demand worldwide. They had already sold most of their crops at around 85 cents a pound as the new-found demand pushed futures prices to a dollar followed by a 22 percent rise over the last two weeks.

“They have not enjoyed” the full benefits of the rise in pricing, said Dr. O.A. Cleveland, a Starkville cotton consultant and professor emeritus in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University.

That benefit goes to the speculators who drove the prices up to the upper 5 percent of the historic level, he said.

» READ MORE – SKY-ROCKETING COTTON PRICES LEAVE MARKET WORRIED TEXTILE MILLS CAN’T BUY Dr. Brian Pieralisi, associate professor and cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said he expects that some – but not a lot – of the crop has yet to be priced as growers hold on in hopes of better prices.

“A rule of thumb is to not price over 75 percent of expected production, but like anything else with cotton, it

is more of an art than a science at times.” Pieralisi said.

The benchmark for an extraordinarily good year is a one-dollar price, he said.

“For some reason – hoping cotton gets to a dollar was a big thing in the 1970s, and strangely it’s still a target price in the market today, Pieralisi said in an email.

Last year’s U.S. cotton market closed at 78 cents a pound and 69 cents in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Looking at next year, Cleveland said he is strongly advising growers to lock-in on an 85-cents a pound price or suffer a drop to around 70 cents. “I put that on my Twitter yesterday,” he said in a phone interview.

Why the worry?

This year’s pricing bonanza is expected to lead to huge increases in acreage planted in the United States and acreage increases of 10 percent to 15 percent in Brazil, India and China, Cleveland said, adding, “This will drive prices down.”

Mississippi acreage has decreased the last three

years. The USDA estimates this season’s planted acreage at between 445,000 and 450,000.

Pieralisi said he expects this fall’s excessively wet weather to hurt yields. Plus, he said, a long planting window has exposed some cotton to different environmental stresses throughout the growing season. He attributed the long window to late planting and cool, wet weather in May and June.

“Cotton did put on a hefty fruit load during the month of August and we will need dry, warm weather to successfully harvest this crop in October – and even early November,” said.

Growers, he said, will try to get the 2021 crop out as quickly as possible “to put this one in the books and get ready for 2022.”

Cleveland estimates that only 3 percent of Mississippi’s crop has been picked.

And the best is yet to come, Pieralisi said. “Typically, your best cotton is not the first picked, which hopefully will be the case as we progress through harvest season.”

October 2021 Issue

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Mississippi Business Journal

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October 2021 Issue

AC brand bringing new hotel concept to Jackson area

BY LISA MONTI

Business and leisure travelers to the Jackson Ridgeland area will have a new option for accommodations by the end of the year. Work is nearing completion on the AC by Marriott Jackson Ridgeland, the brand’s first property in Mississippi. The hotel is expected to open in December within The Township at Colony Park on Township Avenue. The five-story hotel will have 132 rooms and suites. Ground was broken on the project in March 2019.

The AC brand, named for Spanish hotel entrepreneur Antonio Catalan, is “very European with a modern feel, very sophisticated but approachable,” said Amber Davis, director of sales for the new hotel. “It’s a more modern, upscale feel for this area.”

Catalan, AC Hotels and Marriott formed a joint venture in 2011 and now have more than 175 locations around the world, mainly in North America and also throughout Europe. Two hotels are in neighboring Alabama and one is in the French Quarter of New Orleans, according to the company’s website.

The location puts the AC Hotel Jackson Ridgeland in walking distance of a variety of shops, restaurants and four other hotels. The Township was developed by Kerioth Corporation, an invest-

The AC Marriott Hotel on Ridgeland is expected to open by the end of the year. ment and real estate company which is headquartered in Ridgeland.

In all, the Township at Colony Park includes some 160,000 square feet of retail space; 130,000 square feet of office space, a health and fitness center; a 110unit retirement center; four banks; nine restaurants and 133 single-family residences and 36 townhouses.

The hotel site offers quick access to the interstate and is within a short drive to Jackson. The hotel also is close to sporting events and major hospitals and businesses.

“It’s like an all-in-one package,” Davis said. “The hotel offers a place to stay and within walking distance you have other exclusive amenities within The Township.”

Brent Barron of Barron Studio Architects in Jackson is the architect of the new hotel which will be managed by McKibbon Hospitality of Tampa, Fla. McKibbon Hospitality operates dozens of hotels for Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and other major hospitality brands.

Davis said the AC Hotel will attract the attention of travelers who know about

the international brand but haven’t stayed in one of the properties under the Marriott umbrella. “They’ll be knocking on the door just to see what it’s all about,” she said.

What they’ll find is European-inspired touches throughout the property including the guest rooms furnishings, open closet system and hardwood floors.

The hotel has 1,050 square feet of meeting and event space. Small Media Salons equipped with up-to-date audio-visual technology can accommodate small private meetings. Flex Space near the bar is also available for meetings. The AC Patio can host outdoor gatherings.

The hotel will feature the AC Lounge, a collaborative workspace by day and a social hub featuring local beers, signature cocktails and tapas-style small bites at night. Styled like a residential kitchen, the AC Kitchen is a multi-functional space featuring a European-inspired continental breakfast selection.

Davis said the new property is in the process of hiring 30 to 40 employees to work in all areas of operation, from the front office and finance to engineering and housekeeping. Those interested in applying for a job can contact Shernae O’Brien, assistant general manager, at (601) 605-1101.

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www.bankofokolona.com

October 2021 Issue

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Mississippi Business Journal

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39

Sharp cuts in federal help ahead for Mississippi’s safety-net hospitals

BY TED CARTER

Mississippi hospitals that serve the state’s poor are bracing for a 2024 loss of $131.6 million in federal help for uncompensated care costs. {p class=”p4”}And that is likely just the start of the federal cutbacks. Reductions at or near the $131.6 million level are expected to continue annually through 2027 as the federal help in the form of Disproportionate Share Hospital payments decline by $8 billon a year nationally through 2027.

The Mississippi cuts, representing a 68.3 percent reduction in federal help for 2024, are trouble hospital executives have worried over for nearly a decade.

The losses in Disproportionate Share Hospital, or DSH, payments have been headed off by a series of congressional postponements over the last decade but are back on track starting in 2024.

Reductions in DSH payments were to be offset by federal funding for Medicaid expansion. But the U.S. Supreme Court blew up that plan by ruling in 2012 that states could opt out of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

The ACA had set the reductions to begin in all states in 2014. Framers of the landmark healthcare law had intended for all of the states to expand Medicaid and greatly increase the number of in-

sured residents in each state.

Lower numbers of uninsured and lower levels of uncompensated care would lessen the need for federal help, the thinking went. But the ruling giving states an opt-out option changed the equation. States could decline to expand Medicaid but would lose federal funding designed to compensate for the steep reductions in DSH payments.

The DSH cutbacks remain on the books. The fiscal pain they inflict will be more severe in Mississippi and the other opt-out states since not expanding Medicaid left them with high numbers of uninsured residents. }The result: Mississippi’s safety-net hospitals will not only be treating low-income, uninsured patients who otherwise would be covered through expanded Medicaid, Washington will give them significantly less money to offset uncompensated expenses for doing so.

Cutting back on uncompensated care is not an option. Federal law prohibits safety-net hospitals from refusing services to patients uninsured or unable to pay.

In an analysis this month of the economics of expanding Medicaid in Mississippi, State Economist Corey Miller noted the prospect of serious cutbacks to Mississippi hospitals.

These hospitals likely will resort to

some combination of increasing prices or reducing services to offset the reduction in DSH payments, Miller said in an email. “It likely will vary by hospital, but I would expect layoffs and declines in the level of care are possibilities.”

Miller did not have specific estimates on DSH losses for Mississippi for the period from 2025 through 2027. But he noted the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, a non-partisan legislative branch agency, reports that DSH allotment reductions among states are expected to be largely the same in the 2025-2027 period.

“Based on that statement, my expectation is the reductions for Mississippi in those years will be similar to 2024,” Miller said.

Mississippi’s federal share of DSH payments totaled $178.3 million in 2020. The state’s safety net hospitals responsible for treating low-income residents bore $616 million in uncompensated care costs in 2019.

Expanding Medicaid, according to Miller, would not save Mississippi from the DSH cuts. But adding an estimated 330,875 low-income Mississippians to the ranks of the insured could lower the costs of charity care for the state’s hospitals, he said.

Miller estimates expanding Medicaid would cut uncompensated care costs by 25 percent, giving the state a savings

of $158.7 million in 2022. Based on an assumed 2.6 percent increase in costs, Mississippi would save an average of about $169.3 million a year through 2027 with Medicaid expansion, Miller wrote in a report this month titled “A Fiscal an Economic Analysis of Medicaid Expansion in Mississippi Under the Affordable Care Act.” The analysis by Miller and Senior State Economist Dr. Sondra Collins cites research that Medicaid expansion reduced uncompensated care costs in Arkansas by an estimated $45 million in fiscal 2021, equal to 24 percent of the total expected costs of expansion in 2020.

Miller said Arkansas’ numbers may not be “instructive” to other states because its hybrid Medicaid expansion included a work requirement since suspended by the Biden administration and the courts.

Louisiana, however, may be a more suitable guide, having expanded Medicaid in 2016 through an executive order.

A recent study by researchers at Tulane University found uncompensated care costs at Louisiana hospitals decreased 33 percent in the first three years of expansion. “Medicaid expansion in Louisiana appears likely to continue, and the state’s experience provides examples of what to do and what not to do,” Miller said.

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October 2021 Issue

COVID-related law suits being filed in state

BY LYNN LOFTON

A

s the COVID pandemic continues, it keeps affecting all facets of life and business.

Early on there were predictions by some in the legal profession that numerous law suits relating to the pandemic would be filed. Lawyers are beginning to see some evidence of that prediction coming true.

Sherry Vance Allen, chief marketing and communications officer with the Butler Snow law firm, says there have been many lawsuits filed. “The nature of the suits run the gamut since so many areas of our lives have been impacted by the pandemic, she said. “The following are a few examples: • We saw a lot of business interruption suits being filed early into the pandemic related to shutdowns.

• Industries that charge recurring fees were particular targets of class action litigation seeking refunds, such as schools and universities, gyms, and ski resorts. In addition, there were many class action refund cases filed against cruise and airlines related to cancellations.

• There were also quite a few suits filed challenging executive orders.

• There were suits filed against nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and other businesses related to COVID-19 protocols. As one example, several meat processing companies have been sued in actions alleging that workers got sick and/or died from COVID-19 exposure while at work.

• Employment-related suits due to requested workplace accommodations and alleged retaliatory discharge have also frequently been filed.

• We have also seen fraud suits filed due to the sale of fake N95 masks and

price gouging suits related to mask sales.

• There have been many suits filed against businesses for past due rent.”

Additionally, Allen says they are seeing suits being filed due to mask and vaccine mandates.

Others in the legal profession are aware of COVID suits being filed.

“There were some suits filed early on against municipalities and the state but I don’t know where those have gone and haven’t heard any buzz about them,” said Ashley W. Gunn with the Gulf Coast Office of Carter Wise law

firm. “This may be a developing body of law but the situation is still so new and unprecedented and the pandemic is still ongoing that people who have suits may have to utilize any applicable statutes of limitation.”

Adam Kilgore, general counsel with The Mississippi Bar, says the primary function of his office is handling ethics and attorney discipline matters. “While we certainly have a sense of what is happening in the legal profession, we do not tend to monitor cases and most of our information along these lines is word of mouth or within the context of

a disciplinary complaint,” he said. “The Bar has compiled all the court orders related to COVID that have been issued since the pandemic began. Those will show what steps our courts have been taking to fulfill their roles in government and society while also trying to balance the health and well-being of others.”

To date, the State Supreme Court has had no COVID related cases reach that level. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t any. I don’t have a way of monitoring for subject matter,” said Beverly Pettigrew Kraft, public information officer.

October 2021 Issue

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Mississippi Business Journal

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October 2021 Issue

New boutique hotel in Greenville blends history with hospitality

BY LISA MONTI

A

new boutique hotel is preserving some of Greenville’s most cherished history while revitalizing the city’s Main Street area.

Hotel 27, named for the historic flood of 1927, is Greenville’s only boutique hotel. Located in the old Levee Board Building complex, the property consists of three structures and a courtyard, now owned and operated by Main Street Greenville.

The property evolved from two buildings, one a bank constructed in 1880, the other offices of the Mississippi Levee Board, built in 1883. The Levee Board bought the bank building in 1919 and both were used as board offices for more than a century. In 1997, the property became a hotel, with most rooms in a third building that was added between the two original structures.

The Historic Greenville Inn and Suites was operated by Trop Casino Greenville for 24 years. It closed in 2020 and the operators decided not to renew the lease when it expired earlier this year. Main Street Greenville purchased the hotel for an undisclosed price in June.

Main Street Greenville is a nonprofit that is part of the Greater Greenville Development Foundation which is involved in promoting the city’s quality of life through economic planning and development, education, housing and cultural development.

Main Street Greenville is “dedicated to the preservation and economic redevelopment of Downtown Greenville.” The program aligns with the National Trust for Historic Preservation model to stop the loss of historic commercial architecture and loss of community sense of history.

Daniel Boggs, CEO of the Greater Greenville Development Foundation, said, “The property presented itself to us. After analyzing its potential, we felt this project would align nicely with our mission. The building has a lot of character and history, and we are working to tell its story while bringing visitors to downtown.”

The hotel had a soft opening last weekend, opening 15 of the 36 rooms to guests. After more finishing touches are complete, Boggs said, “We hope to open in September.” That’s just in time for the start of the fall festival season. The annual Delta Hot Tamale Festival, a major draw to the city, is Oct, 14-16 this year.

Boggs said in addition to offering accommodations to guests, the historic hotel’s courtyard is an attractive feature. “Continuing cultural experiences in such a unique space is important to the Greenville community,” he said.

Main Street Greenville’s purchase of the property was welcomed by the Mississippi Levee Board when it was announced in June. Kenny Rodgers, board president, said, “After 138 years, the Levee Board is very pleased to have this building in the capable hands of Greater Greenville Development Foundation.”

Peter Nimrod, the board’s chief engineer, called it a win-win for downtown Greenville. “They will do an excellent job in preserving a downtown landmark and will run a very successful and unique hotel or visitors to stay while visiting Greenville,” he said.

Hotel 27 is boutique hotel located in Downtown Greenville.

Many guest rooms recently underwent renovations in 2018. Upgrades are planned for the lobby, breakfast area and the fitness and business centers.

“The goal is to create a unique Delta Southern experience by adding modern touches while showcasing the Italianate style of the hotel,” Boggs said.

The hotel was remodeled in the late 1990s and a lot of the equipment was original. “Since purchasing the property, we have worked diligently to update the technology in the building,” he said.

As with renovations to any old building, there were unexpected costs. “But for us we feel like it is going to be worth it for downtown,” Boggs said.

The hotel will bring back about a dozen jobs lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

Thomas Gregory, state coordinator of the Mississippi Main Street Association, said, “We are incredibly proud of Main Street Greenville for taking on this challenging project to restore a historic hotel and bring it back to life. What an asset to downtown Greenville to attract visitors and increase the economic vitality of the Main Street district.”

The hotel isn’t the only new development expected to boast downtown foot traffic and development, Boggs said. Construction on a new $38 million federal courthouse a block away will begin in September.

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Refuge golf course honored by Golf Inc. Magazine The Refuge Golf Course in Flowood, Miss. was recently honored as one of the top “Renovations of the Year” by Golf Inc. Magazine in the publication’s summer issue. The daily-fee golf course reopened for play on April 19, 2021 following a $1.9 million, multi-year renovation and enhancement project under the direction of golf course architect Nathan Crace.

Originally designed by Roy Case, The Refuge opened in 1998. In an effort to modernize the layout and increase playability, The Refuge closed in 2017 for an extensive renovation and restoration by Crace. In August 2020, Honours Golf, a division of Troon®, was hired to oversee the final stages of the renovation and to manage course operations. The course reopened to rave reviews in April with Crace saying, “In over 26 years, I don’t recall a project where we transformed a course so drastically.”

“The city recognized the need to redesign and update The Refuge Golf Course,” said Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads. “Through the hard work and contributions of many people, we are proud that the course is a destination location to be enjoyed by visitors and citizens alike. Flowood is honored for The Refuge to be recognized as one of the Renovations of the Year.”

The newly redesigned 18-hole layout ranges in length from 4,439 yards to 7,013 yards making it suitable for players of every skill level from beginner to professional. As part of the renovation, invasive trees were removed and playing corridors were widened. Many modifications were made to the overall routing including three new holes, the relocation of several water hazards, as well as new and enlarged cart paths. Irrigation and drainage systems were also enhanced and all course bunkers were rebuilt using the Better Billy Bunker™ method which provides a technically advanced drainage and liner system, while providing optimal playing conditions much deeper into the life of the bunker. In addition, all greens were re-grassed with TifEagle Ultradwarf Bermuda and multiple tee boxes were added on each hole to improve the overall playability.

“I’m impressed with the innovative approach,” said Golf Inc. Competition Judge and President of the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation Martin Elgison, a “Major improvements at a minimal cost is also impressive.”

Golf Inc., the world’s only magazine for golf course developers, owners and management company ex-

ecutives, annually recognizes the top golf course renovations of the year in its summer issue. Judging for all “Renovation of the Year” entries was based on achievement of goals, improved playability, maintainability and course aesthetics. Winners were chosen through blind judging. In total, Golf Inc. recognized nine “Renovation of the Year” honorees this

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Simmons Catfish dismisses animal rights group’s claims slaughter methods cause needless suffering

BY TED CARTER

S

immons Farm-Raised Catfish has landed in the cross-hairs of an international animal rights group that claims the company’s Yazoo City operation inflicts unnecessary pain on the catfish it processes.

Simmons Catfish says it’s stunned by the accusations it says are the first in the company’s 40-year history. Why would it degrade quality of its product by overly stressing the catfish during processing? the company asked.

“This is the first time anyone has tried to make false accusations against us,” said Andy Prosser, operations manager and former Mississippi deputy commissioner of agriculture and commerce.

The group making the claims, Los Angeles-based Animal Equality, said Simmons operates in a way that leaves the fish suffocating out of water far too long and doesn’t ensure the fish are unconscious at slaughter.

Animal Equality said it knew of no specific inhumane practices at Simmons before persuading a worker to wear a hidden video camera into the plant.

It selected Simmons randomly, the group said, from among Mississippi catfish farms and processors. “We had no information on how they conducted their operations,” said Sean Thomas,

– COURTESY, ANIMAL CRUELTY

Animal Equality’s international director of investigations.

But he said that from what Animal Equality has learned, Simmons could make production changes to increase the likelihood a catfish is not awake when slaughtered. He added, however, the group has had no success persuading the 150-employee Simmons Catfish to consider such changes.

Simmons said it doesn’t see cause to and accuses the group of acting in bad faith by doctoring the video. “They altered the film,” Prosser said in an interview. “It doesn’t show the whole story

of the processing operation.”

Thomas said the group edited the video for length to create the “highlight” film it released to the public. “I can assure you we did not fraudulently edit anything,” he added, and emphasized that its complaints about Simmons are backed up by raw footage.

Animal Equality released the video to support its claims that Simmons lets large numbers of its farm-raised catfish suffocate while on a dry conveyor belt that leads to a decapitation station.

The group’s video also shows many of the catfish regaining their senses after

passing through an electrocution, or stunning, station.

What the video does not show, according to Prosser, is that any fish that become awake before beheading are re-stunned.

But they are awake at beheading, Thomas insisted in an interview, and blamed this on what he said was Simmons’ practice of sending piles of fish through the electrocution stunner at the same time. The ones on the bottom receive very little of the charge, according to Thomas. “Those fish might be immobile but are not incapacitated or devoid of pain,” he said.

Simmons Catfish and Animal Equality give different versions of what happens when line workers take a 15-minute break or leave the line for a 45-minute lunch. Animal Equality claims the workers leave the line with intact fish struggling to breathe still on the conveyor built.

“Everyone kind of walks away,” Thomas said. “Those fish are left there to regain their sensibilities.”

Not true, Prosser countered.

“After entry into the processing system, stunned/incapacitated, intact fish do not remain on the processing belt during the allotted employee breaks,” Prosser wrote in an email.

But time stamps on video showing the start of the employee breaks display TURN TO SIMMONS, 46F

Feds best bet for catfish slaughter changes, Animal Equality says

BY TED CARTER

» YAZOO PROSECUTOR WON’T ACT ON CRUELTY COMPLAINTS

O

utside of an act of Congress, Animal Equality has few options to force Yazoo City’s Simmons Farm-Raised Catfish to stop processing practices the group says are inhumane.

The California-based international animal rights organization says Mississippi animal cruelty laws make clear commercially farmed catfish are protected. It cites a section of the statute that addresses protections for all animals other than cats and dogs, though not specifically mentioning catfish.

Animal Equality said its main gripe is that processing is set up in a way that too often leaves the catfish awake at slaughter, an outcome that follows an electrocution that is supposed to render the fish senseless.

The group’s quest for change hit a wall in early May after John Donaldson, a retired Yazoo City lawyer who handles misdemeanor cases in county court, said he wanted no part in prosecuting Simmons Catfish, not when the company says the group’s complaints are groundless. The Yazoo County Sheriff’s Office referred the complaint, according to Animal Equality.

“I responded, ‘In Mississippi, we like to eat catfish, thank you very much,’” Donaldson said in a recent interview.

“I’m very good friends with Harry Simmons,” added Donaldson, referring to the founder and owner of the 40-yearold catfish enterprise.

Simmons Catfish and its workforce of 150 people are a “very important” part of Yazoo County’s economy, he said, and acknowledged representing the company while in private practice.

The prosecutor called the animal rights advocates outsiders who “really

just want to meddle.”

Donaldson is ignoring state statutes that extend cruelty protections to animals other than cats and dogs, said Kathy Hessler, director of the Animal Law Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.

“Section 1 of the Cruelty to Animals chapter explicitly states that it is to be applied to any living creature except for dogs and cats who are separately provided for in” another section of the law, Hessler wrote in an analysis for the animal rights group.

The “logical conclusion” is that when a particular section does not limit the scope of its application to certain species or categories of animals, limitations were not desired and should not be construed where they do not exist, Hessler said.

Sean Thomas, director of international investigations for Animal Equality, said the group will try to persuade the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office to act

against Simmons. And legislators, he said, will be asked to adopt more specific protections.

But the most likely remedy, he said, is to have Congress insert cruelty protections for commercial catfish processing into the 2024 Farm Bill.

The current Farm Bill, enacted in 2014, transferred inspection authority from the Food and Drug Administration to the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. But the law has “an exemption that the USDA will not inspect for the humanness of the slaughter,” Thomas said.

Animal Equality wants the exemption removed and replaced by specific language against depriving the fish of life-sustaining conditions ahead of slaughter, according to Thomas.

“Just because fish have a different appearance to us that shouldn’t cloud how TURN TO FEDS, 46F

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Simmons FROM 45F

the time the workers leave and the time they return, with intact fish remaining on the belt all the while, Thomas said.

Animal Equality also has an eyewitness to this, he said.

Aside from stunning the fish individually and making a more efficient and uniform movement of the fish to the beheading station, Thomas said Simmons should clear off the conveyor belt before stopping it for employee breaks.

Thomas and Simmons’ Prosser also give different versions of what the processor does with turtles and unwanted fish that are caught in harvesting nets and pulled from the ponds.

The turtles and discarded fish are released back into “the environment,” Prosser said.

Thomas said they are left in a box “for many hours” before put on a separate conveyor belt that sends them through a macerator to grind them into usable feed.

Simmons Catfish, said Prosser, has neither a separate conveyor belt nor an animal grinding machine.

Prosser and Thomas also dispute the role the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has at the plant. In this instance, the Food Safety and Inspection Service backs Simmons Catfish – to a point.

The agency says its inspectors are at the plant daily and inspect both the processing and packaging. Prosser noted Simmons has received zero citations.

But Thomas portrayed a more limited scope of work for

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the inspectors. The inspectors in his version stick to watching over the cleaning and packaging of the slaughtered fish. One reason for this, according to Thomas, is that federal regulations in the 2008 Farm Bill do not address inhumane treatment in processing catfish.

That assessment is halfway correct, according to Buck McKay, spokesman for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Inspectors are not authorized to cite processors for inhumane treatment of catfish but they do watch the production line to ensure the fish are not enduring suffocation and other distress ahead of slaughter. This is to keep the product from becoming unsafe through adulteration, McKay said.

Inspectors are “absolutely watching the whole process,” he said, and noted they pop in at least one time each shift without advance notice to Simmons Catfish.

The USDA received the goahead in the 2014 Farm Bill to take over food safety inspections from the Food and Drug Administration for domestic and imported catfish. The bill marked a victory for Mississippi’s commercial catfish operators who supply over half of the nation’s farm-raised catfish. They and other domestic operators successfully pushed for USDA inspection of imported pangasius Asian catfish, a product the domestic industry says was largely free of food-safety scrutiny and undercutting prices of the U.S. product.

Nonetheless, catfish imports to the United States increased by 65,000 additional tons in 2019 compared to 2015, Food Safety News reports.

Feds FROM 45F

we see their ability to suffer,” he said in an interview.

“To the USDA we are saying you need to take a second look at this,” Thomas added, and noted his organization is collecting signatures to give Congress in support of the changes.

In the meantime, the animal rights organization says it will pressure wholesale buyers of Simmons Farm-Raised Catfish to insist on more humane practices.

Buyers include national restaurant chains Cracker Barrel and Captain D’s, as well as grocery stores Kroger, Save A Lot, and Piggly Wiggly, the group says.

Kroger, according to Thomas, has agreed to investigate the cruelty claims. Animal Equality says it hopes that once Kroger confirms the claims, the national supermarket chain will insist that all its catfish suppliers follow humane slaughter practices.

The group is in initial stages of seeking similar investigations by Cracker Barrel, Captain D’s and Save A Lot, Thomas said.

Animal Equality is also asking attorneys general in states where Simmons’ catfish are sold to examine the group’s cruelty claims. It has already achieved a victory of sorts by forcing Simmons Catfish to remove a claim from its website that its fish are fully processed within 30 minutes. “It whittles away at Simmons’ ability to make unsubstantiated claims,” Thomas said.

A study published in January 2021 by the journal “Aqua-

– COURTESY, ANIMAL CRUELTY

culture” and cited by Animal Equality gave an idea of what the group says a more humane process could look like.

Rapid action is key. It would start with an electrical or percussive stun to immediately induce insensibility, the study says.

It advises the blood of the stunned fish should be immediately drained with that followed by immersion in an ice slurry to maintain insensibility until death.

Percussive stunning is the best way, the study says. A severe blow to the skull of the animal induces immediate insensibility, according to the Humane Slaughter Association.

The catfish’s insensibility is irreversible, he study notes.

The study, conducted on African sharptooth catfish, emphasizes that a fish may look unconscious but actually is only immobilized. “It has become increasingly clear that behavioral measures alone are not sufficient to assess insensibility, as some commercially used methods may induce sedation and/or paralysis without analgesia or anaesthesia prior to insensibility,” it added.

This is why validation of stunning methods should be

based on neurophysiological indicators, the study in Aquaculture says. The findings stressed the importance of distinguishing between actual insensibility and paralysis and immobilization.

The U.S. farm-raised catfish industry has accepted change in its processing practices over the decades and is expected to continue to, said Mississippi State University associate professor Dr. Peter Allen, a specialist in fish physiological ecology as applied to aquaculture.

“Like any animal production industry, slaughter procedures for wild and farmed fish are constantly being refined as we learn more about the animals and available technology improves,” Allen said in an email.

Maintaining animal welfare is a bottom-line proposition, according to Allen. Without it, a company risks a product of inconsistent quality and a loss of profits, he said.

The domestic catfish industry is hardly 50 years. In a quest for quality, Allen said, it has taken to heart the contribution animal welfare makes to success and profits.

“As the understanding of fish biology increases,” he said, “processing techniques continue to be modified.”

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October 2021 Issue

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M-Bar Sports Grill donates $16,000 technology, forms JPD partnership

M

-Bar Sports Grill – a premier sports bar and grill located in Northeast Jackson’s thriving County Line Road corridor – today donated more than $16,000 in technology to the city of Jackson to deter crime, strengthen security and enhance community safety during a Community Safety

Day at the venue.

In partnership with the Jackson Police Department, M-Bar donated numerous high-definition Active Solution SafeCity Neighborhood Watch cameras that will connect to Jackson’s Real Time Command Center to increase community safety, strengthen security and deter crime.

“Our top priorities are the safety, security and well-being of our community, and we are 100% committed to stopping crime in its tracks,” said Richard Bradley, founder and owner of M-Bar. “Crime is on an upsurge, and we will use all resources to combat it. We have been working closely with the Jackson Police Department, city officials

and business leaders a variety of services on strategies to stem to thwart crime inthe surge in violence. cluding video anaThis new video camlytics, license plate era system will help recognition, envimake our city safer.” ronmental moniThe wireless intoring and surveilfrared cameras, lance. In addition which are powered to these cameras, by streetlights and RICHARD BRADLEY M-Bar has taken connect directly to numerous steps to the police department, offer increase safety and security in the area including tripling the number of security guards, increasing the number of Hinds County sheriff officers patrolling the area and shortening hours of operation during the week.

“We are thrilled to partner with M-Bar and its leadership to fight crime in every corner of our city,” said JPD Chief James E. Davis. “These new high-definition surveillance cameras will help us keep a watchful eye on the County Line area as we strive to keep the community safe from crime and violence.”

M-Bar is committed to enhancing vitality and success in the community. Last month, the business held a Back-to-School day, donating more than $4,000 in laptops, desktop wireless printers and an array of school supplies to Jackson Public School students.

In July, the venue announced an outdoor entertainment expansion behind the venue as it continues to grow and spur economic development. The first phase of the expansion will begin in September and be completed in August of 2022. Phase two – which is still in the planning stages – will be completed in 2024. The estimated cost of the expansion is $8-$10 million.

The outdoor entertainment venue will feature an amphitheater and stage for live music, windowed garage doors that turn the inside outside, beer garden with more than 20 beers on tap, a giant 500-inch LED big screen, multiple fire pits, game field for cornhole and other games, mesmerizing fountains and waterfalls and string lighting throughout the new venue.

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