Montgomery Business Journal – November December 2013

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LIFE IN THE

NEW

NORMAL AUM’S KEIVAN DERAVI FORECASTS SLUGGISH ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR MONTGOMERY IN 2014

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ALABAMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM CHANCELLOR MARK A. HEINRICH WORKS WITH BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP A SKILLED WORK FORCE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH JERRY KYSER HAS DEVELOPED A WIDE RANGE OF PROJECTS INVESTMENT ADVICE REGIONS FINANCIAL CORP. AND BBVA COMPASS OFFER TIPS FOR 2014

Contents

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NOV/DEC 2013

6

Calendar

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Guest Commentary by John Sawyer

10

Guest Commentary by Sean Johnson

13

Q&A with Mark A. Heinrich

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Investor Profile: Jerry Kyser Builder, Inc.

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DENSO Corp. announces creation of 45 jobs

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Reporter's Notebook

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Member Profile: Knox Kershaw

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The New Normal: Economics professor Kevian Deravi predicts sluggish economic growth for Montgomery

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Mims Management Group announces new home

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Chamber Ambassadors play pivotal role

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SCORE receives platinum rating

44

Business Buzz

51

Members on the Move

55

New Members

58

Ribbon Cuttings & Ground Breakings

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Economic Intel

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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THE NUMBER ONE BUSINESS SOURCE FOR MONTGOMERY AND THE RIVER REGION PUBLISHER

Randall L. George EDITORIAL

Tina McManama David Zaslawsky Lashanda Gaines Melissa Bowman DESIGN

Copperwing Design PHOTOGRAPHER

Robert Fouts ON THE COVER:

Keivan Deravi is an economics professor at Auburn University at Montgomery and special assistant to the chancellor.

ADVERTISING:

Linda Drumheller 334-240-9494 mbjsales@montgomerychamber.com Montgomery Business Journal c/o Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Post Office Box 79 41 Commerce Street Montgomery, Alabama 36101 Telephone: 334-834-5200 Fax: 334-265-4745 Email: mbj@montgomerychamber.com www.montgomerychamber.com/mbj The Montgomery Business Journal (USPS NO. 025553) is published monthly except for the combined issues of June/July/August and November/December, by the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, 41 Commerce Street, Montgomery AL 36104, (334) 834-5200, www.montgomerychamber.com. Subscription rate is $30 annually. Periodicals Postage Paid at Montgomery Alabama, 36119+9998, USPS NO. 025553. Volume 5, Issue 9 POSTMASTER send address changes to Montgomery Business Journal, c/o Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 79, 41 Commerce Street, Montgomery AL 36101, or email mbj@montgomerychamber.com. The Montgomery Business Journal welcomes story ideas from its readers. Email to: editor@montgomerychamber.com. Subscriptions are a part of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce dues structure. Subscriptions can also be purchased for $30 per year at www.montgomerychamber.com/mbjsub.

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Superior Real Estate Services.

Norman Azar

Steve Wallace Zach Rolen Amy Knudsen Frank Potts

John Argo Mickey Griffin Dawn Casey

Gary Jones

Leslie Zeanah

David Potts

Jamie Golomb

Scott Harris

Robin Raiford

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Management | Leasing | Marketing Brokerage | Development

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3500 Eastern Boulevard | Montgomery, Alabama 36116 aronovcommercial.com

334.277.1000

Calendar Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Events

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

5

2

6 7 18 21

EGGS & ISSUES WITH CONGRESSWOMAN TERRI SEWELL Presenting sponsor Ropir Industries 7:30 AM @ RSA Activity Center 201 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery For registration and details contact Brenda King at 334-230-8361 or bking@montgomerychamber.com

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60 MINUTE COFFEE Sponsored by Capitol Hill Rehab First 8 AM @ Capitol Hill Rehab First 520 South Hull Street, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members

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POINT OF LIGHT AWARD RECEPTION 5 PM @ Union Station 300 Water Street, Montgomery Free event. Registration required: montgomerychamber.com/light

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BUSINESS PLANNING SEMINAR 4 PM @ Small Business Resource Center 600 South Court Street, Montgomery $10 at the door BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Sponsored by Marquirette’s Exquisite Jewelry 5 PM @ Marquirette’s Exquisite Jewelry 7818 Vaughn Road, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members

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BUSINESS PLANNING SEMINAR 4 PM @ Small Business Resource Center 600 South Court Street, Montgomery $10 at the door 60 MINUTE COFFEE Sponsored by Henig Furs 8 AM @ Henig Furs 1044 Eastern Bypass, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members 2013 HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE Presenting Sponsor: Publix Super Markets, Inc. 5 PM @ Small Business Resource Center 600 South Court Street, Montgomery Free event 141ST ANNUAL MEETING Presenting Sponsor: Alabama State University 5:30 PM @ Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center 201 Tallapoosa Street, Montgomery Registration: montgomerychamber.com/annualmeeting CHAMBER ORIENTATION Sponsored by Charter HR 8 AM @ Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce 41 Commerce Street, Montgomery Reservations: Sandra Kelley, 240-9298 or skelley@montgomerychamber.com PAYROLL TAX UPDATE 8 AM @ Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center 201 Tallapoosa Street, Montgomery Registration: montgomerychamber.com/payroll-tax BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Sponsored by Charlotte’s Jewelry 5 PM @ Charlotte’s Jewelry 8161 Vaughn Road, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

BUSINESS PLANNING SEMINAR 4 PM @ Small Business Resource Center 600 South Court Street, Montgomery $10 at the door

Guest Commentary

Q&A with BBVA Compass Chief Investment Officer

As the Federal Reserve prepares to exit the accommodative monetary policy of the past five years, BBVA Compass Chief Investment Officer John Sawyer shares his thoughts regarding changes in investor mindset and behavior since the Great Recession began. Consumers and corporations were afforded the opportunity to repair their balance sheets in a low-interest environment and they were not irresponsible with the opportunity. To some degree, government debt is also coming down and, while it is difficult to say how meaningful the change actually is, there has been a correction in the spending trend. Because of these and other factors, according to Sawyer, the U.S. economy has begun the current expansion on a sounder debt/equity footing, which could possibly enable a longer expansionary period. A recent Wall Street Journal article postulates that individuals and corporations have become more risk averse in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Do you see changes in the willingness of investors to assume risk? Traditionally, investors take more or less risk through their equity allocations and to conditions to which they are willing to expose their capital. Coming out of 2008 and 2009, there was a pretty substantial shift in confidence leading many investors to shift assets to cash and bonds. With the run up in the market, there has been a reallocation into traditional market assets and much less of a tendency for investors to remove their

assets from an at-risk position during times of market volatility. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that some of the comfort with risk taking in the equity markets may be with the misplaced belief that high-yielding stocks are a more conservative equity investment, regardless of the actual underlying strength of the company. This behavior is evidenced in the extreme performance of two areas of the equity market: low-quality stocks and highyield stocks. We recently examined stocks within the S&P 500 Index to determine what is driving returns. We found that that there is a fairly substantial outperformance of low-quality stocks, that investors are paying a higher multiple for whatever is the relevant variable, be it price-to-book, cash flow or earnings. If investors have become more risk-averse, you would think they would only be buying high-quality stocks and that is not what our research indicates. There is some overlap of the low-quality/highquality stock and the dividend-paying stock phenomenon. Some outperformers within the index are low-quality stocks with high-paying dividends. Given the yield grab of the past few years, investors may increasingly consider high-yield stocks as a risk-off equity play, that the dividend alone is a measure of quality, which it is not. The history of companies with high payout ratios is fairly consistent. Most fail to fix their problems through increased revenues because high payout levels leave little for reinvestment. Ultimately those companies cut dividends in order to reinvest in and grow the company, rather than expanding through revenue growth. This is the classic value trap: believing that the catalyst for reduced revenues is about to correct itself and the company will return to a normalized payout. Such a turnaround is very much the exception, not the rule. The outperformance we have recently seen in low-quality stocks is frequently based on broad-based price momentum rather than price appreciation accrued over a market cycle. It is important to look at the long-term opportunity set of these stocks.

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Compare the level of difficulty currently faced by the Fed to normalize monetary conditions in an orderly fashion relative to their challenge to shore up financial markets after the Great Recession. Obviously how the Fed unwinds quantitative easing is of great relevance and John Sawyer interest. What the Fed has been doing for the life of the program, in earnest the last 18 months and particularly for the last two weeks (late September), is talk about it before they make any changes. They will talk about normalizing monetary policy for a long time with the hope that when they actually make a change that there will be no one left under any rock that does not know this is coming. Representatives from the Fed clearly tried to talk the chairman’s announcement back because they were worried that the markets

overreacted. In my opinion, they would have been better off to manage through the nearterm volatility and allow it to establish a new beachhead in the dialogue. Someone at the Fed attributed quantitative easing in context of a car. Quantitative easing is the accelerator. The Fed is talking about reducing pressure on the accelerator. The discount rate is the brake. Bernanke was clear that the Fed is not even contemplating touching the discount rate until 2015 or later. So the idea that the Fed is going to stop providing liquidity does not mean they are trying to contract the growth rate of the economy. What factors should investors consider when rebalancing their portfolios in the next six months?

the recent rise in interest rates may be a bit overdone, in the long term we are probably entering an era of higher interest rates. Just because rates are going up does not mean investors do not need to own bonds – bonds are still the risk anchor in any portfolio. Investors need to use the opportunities afforded them to rebalance their portfolio rather than make substantial changes that are out of line with their risks and overall objectives. Now is as good a time as any to make sure that any allocation is the right one. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment, tax or legal advice. Please consult your own professional for advice regarding your personal circumstances. • BBVA Compass is a trade name for Compass Bank, member FDIC. John Sawyer is chief investment officer for BBVA Compass.

Hopefully, they are properly allocated already and it is a matter of periodic rebalancing. Investors do need to consider that while

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November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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Guest Commentary

Financial Considerations for 2014 by Sean Johnson

2014 is really not too far away. Fall is the time of year when the financially savvy start to look for ways to reduce their taxes and make year-end moves in pursuit of key financial objectives. What might the big picture hold? Absent a crystal ball, let’s turn to the September edition of the Wall Street Journal’s Economic Forecasting Survey. The WSJ asks 52 economists for their take on things each month, and here is how they see 2014 shaping up for America: GDP (gross domestic product) of 2.8 percent, a jobless rate declining from the present 7.3 percent to 6.6 percent by the end of next year and consumer inflation of 2.5 percent or less through the end of 2015. These analysts also see the Federal Reserve keeping the benchmark interest rate at 0-0.25 percent for all of 2014. As for the yield on the 10year note, their consensus projection has it hitting 3.28 percent in June 2014 and 3.57 percent in December 2014. They also see home prices rising 5.22 percent YOY (year over year) in 2014 after a 7.85 percent gain across 2013. Oil, they think, will average $102.73 a barrel on the NYMEX this December, declining to $98.17 a barrel

next December. For its part, the International Monetary Fund projects 3.8 percent inflation-adjusted global growth next year, and a 4.3 percent tumble for global non-fuel commodities in U.S. dollar terms. These are all macro forecasts worth keeping in mind.1,2 Now, how about your picture? Beyond these macro forecasts that may affect your business and personal finances, what moves might you consider? Can you max out your IRA or workplace retirement plan contribution? If you have, congratulations (especially if you benefit further from an employer match). If you haven’t, you still have the chance to put up to $5,500 into a traditional or Roth IRA for tax year 2013, $6,500 if you are 50 or older this year, assuming your income levels allow you to do so. (Or you can spread that maximum contribution across more than one IRA.) Traditional IRA contributions are tax-deductible to varying degree. The contribution limit for participants in 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans and the Thrift Savings Plan is $17,500 for 2013, with a $5,500 catch-up contribution allowed for those 50 and older.3,4 Incidentally, the FY (fiscal year) 2014 federal budget set out by the White House proposes some changes to IRAs and 401(k)-style plans in 2014. First, if an individual’s total tax-deferred retirement savings through

Sean Johnson

these plans is great enough to produce yearly retirement income of $205,000 for the individual and his/her surviving spouse, then further contributions to such accounts would be nixed. (Today, it would take savings of nearly $3.5 million to produce such a retirement income stream.) Second, the Stretch IRA strategy would basically vanish: the FY 2014 budget proposes that all IRA inheritors follow the five-year rule, in which an inherited IRA balance is reduced to zero by the end of the fifth year after the year in which the original IRA owner dies. (Disabled IRA inheritors and certain other beneficiaries would be exempt from the five-year rule.)5 Should you go Roth in 2014? The younger you are, the more sense a Roth IRA conversion may make. If you have a long time horizon to let your IRA grow, have the funds to pay the tax on the conversion, and want your heirs to inherit tax-free distributions from your IRA, it may be worth it. If you think you will pay less tax in the future or you might die with a large charitable bequest, then it may not be a wise move. Can you harvest portfolio losses before 2014? This is the time of year to think about tax loss harvesting – dumping the losers in your portfolio. You can claim losses equivalent to any capital gains recognized in a tax year, and you can claim up to $3,000 in additional losses beyond that, which can offset dividend, interest and wage income. If your losses exceed that limit, they can be carried over into future years. It is a good idea to do this before December as that will give you the necessary 30 days to repurchase any CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

INNOVATION AND PERSONAL COMMITMENT – TWO WAYS REGIONS KEEPS THE WHEELS OF PROGRESS TURNING FOR SMALL BUSINESS.

Employment Screening Services, Inc., has come a long way since its inception in 1994 as a small division of what was actually a title company. In fact, this thriving business now employs 55 people and currently completes more than 1 million background checks every year. Recently, Sheila Benson and her company started a relationship with Regions to purchase a new state-of-the-art 10,000-square-foot facility. “People love coming to work in such a creative space,” says Sheila.

“Regions convinced me that even though it is a large bank, it could have a community bank feel. The closing on our building was the easiest I’ve ever experienced.” After financing the building, the relationship with Regions expanded to include many services, such as Treasury Management and Regions Commercial Cards. She has even switched some of her personal accounts to Regions Private Wealth Management. “I feel extremely confident now that Regions can take care of all our banking needs. It’s about feeling that they’re my partner,” says Sheila. To learn more about Employment Screening Services, Inc., and how Regions can help your business, visit regions.com/success.

Loans | Checking | Savings | Treasury Management | Wealth Management © 2013 Regions Bank. All loans and lines subject to credit approval.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

shares should you wish. In terms of taxes, should you delay a big financial move until 2014? Talk with a tax professional about the impact that selling or buying a home or business might have on your 2013 taxes. You may want to wait. Receiving a bonus, getting married or divorced, exercising a stock option, taking a lump-sum payout – these events have potentially major tax consequences as well. Business owners may want to consider whether to make a capital purchase or not. 6

Look at tax efficiency in your portfolio. Investors were strongly cautioned to do this at the end of 2012 as the fiscal cliff loomed; it is a good idea before any year ebbs into the next. You may want to put income-producing investments inside an IRA, for example, and direct investments with lesser tax implications into brokerage accounts.Finally, do you need to change your withholding status? If major change has come to your personal or financial life, it might be time. If you have married or divorced, if a family member has passed away, if you are self-employed now or have landed a much higher-salaried job, or

12

if you either pay a lot of tax or get unusually large IRS or state refunds, you will want to review this with your tax preparer. If you’re ready to pursue your financial goals, Regions Investment Solutions is here to help you get where you want to go. Call 1-800761-BANK (2265) seven days a week or visit your local branch to arrange a meeting with a financial consultant and begin building your plan today. Regions Investment Solutions, 250 Riverchase Parkway East, Hoover, AL 35244. Regions Investment Solutions is a marketing name of Cetera Investment Services. Securities, insurance products, and advisory services are offered through Cetera Investment Services LLC, member FINRA/ SIPC. Cetera Investment Services is not an affiliate of Regions Bank. Investments are Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value | Not Financial Institution Guaranteed | Not A Deposit | Not Insured By Any Federal Government Agency. This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

as to its completeness or accuracy. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. • Sean Johnson is executive vice president and Central Alabama area president for Regions Financial Corp. Sources: 1 - online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/infoflash08.html?project=EFORECAST07 [9/12/13] 2 - forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2013/09/02/economicassumptions-for-your-2014-business-plan/ [9/2/13] 3 - irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Plan-Participant,-Employee/ Retirement-Topics-IRA-Contribution-Limits/ [9/12/13] 4 - shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/articles/pages/2013-irs401k-contribution-limits.aspx [10/19/12] 5 - blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/09/09/budgettalks-could-alter-401k-ira-rules/ [9/9/13] 6 - dailyfinance.com/2013/09/09/tax-loss-selling-dont-waitdecember-dump-losers/ [9/9/13]

Fouts Commercial Photography

EARN AND LEARN PARTNERSHIPS

Alabama Community College System Chancellor Mark A. Heinrich oversees an annual budget of about $1 billion.

Q & A WITH MARK A. HEINRICH

Mark A. Heinrich is the chancellor of the Alabama Community College System. He recently was interviewed by the Montgomery Business Journal’s David Zaslawsky. Montgomery Business Journal: What are your responsibilities as chancellor of the Alabama Community College System? Heinrich: In essence, I am responsible for the entire system, which means all 26 institutions; about 11,000 employees. We run somewhere in the 200,000 to 250,000 credit and non-credit students. MBJ: Who are the non-credit students? Heinrich: We have a lot of continuing-ed (education) and a lot of training programs. When you look at the credit (students) – it’s more like in the 85,000 to 86,000 range. We touch so many different entities.

MBJ: Whatever those businesses and industries need to hire skilled workers?

MBJ: What is the community college system’s annual operating budget?

Heinrich: We can address virtually anything. If the community college cannot address that need, then the Alabama Technology Network (ATN), a division of the college community system, a group of industry experts that the community colleges can borrow for special projects. If there is a need in their area they can go to ATN and ATN will send in experts in that area to help ensure that we have the highest quality education.

Heinrich: We’re basically a billion-dollar-ayear business – just under a billion dollars and that is everything. MBJ: How many community colleges are there? Heinrich: There are 26 and we have ATN. MBJ: I read that there are a huge number of facilities in the system. CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

MBJ: Do you have an example? Heinrich: In the general sense, ATN is working with the Chamber on a fairly regular basis and in conjunction with Trenholm Tech. There are ATN units all over the state – little pods.

MBJ: Would you please give me an example? Heinrich: Yes, one is our training for existing business and industry units. Most of our colleges have TEBI (training for existing business and industry) units. They will go out and will contract with businesses – large, medium and small – and run short-term programs.

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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ALABAMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM TOTAL 2012-2013 ENROLLMENT

109,000 NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN DUAL ENROLLMENT (HIGH SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE)

12,000 PLUS NUMBER OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES/INSTITUTIONS

26 NUMBER OF INSTRUCTIONAL SITES

172 NUMBER OF BUILDINGS

806 AMOUNT OF SQUARE FEET

12.9 MILLION NUMBER OF ACRES OF PROPERTIES

4,594 CURRENT TUITION

$111 PER SEMESTER HOUR NUMBER OF PROGRAMS

143 NUMBER OF HEALTH CARE RELATED PROGRAMS

31 NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO GRADUATED WITH AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN 2012*

9,370 NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A CERTIFICATE IN 2012 FROM A COMMUNITY COLLEGE*

5,091 *Denotes unduplicated count Sources: Alabama Community College System and Department of Postsecondary Education

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Heinrich: We have 172 instructional sites. Most of our community colleges will have additional instructional sites in an effort to deliver services as close to the citizens as possible. MBJ: I was surprised to see the number of freshmen and sophomores attending community colleges. Please elaborate. Heinrich: We run between 45 and 50 percent of the freshmen and sophomores attending college in this state are at one of our community colleges. We have a large number of college students that begin their careers at one of our community colleges for a variety of reasons and not the least of it is cost. MBJ: What percent of those students will attend a four-year school? Heinrich: It varies a little bit, but about 15 percent will go on. Our students when they transfer graduate at a higher rate at the fouryear institutions than their native students. MBJ: Out of dozens and dozens of programs about eight were the most prevalent at the 26 community colleges: welding (20 sites); administrative assistant/secretarial science (24 sites); child development (21 sites); computer and information science (24 sites); cosmetology (20 sites); drafting and design technology (20 sites); emergency medical technology/technicians (21 sites); nursing/LPN (licensed practical nurse) (22 sites); nursing/RN (registered nurse) (20 sites). Please elaborate on the emphasis of these programs. Heinrich: Many of those programs that you mentioned are market-driven. One of the first things you mentioned was the welding program. We cannot turn out welders quickly enough. I’m talking about good welders. Frankly, the areas with the steepest curve at this point are the allied health. Nurses are in the greatest demand. We talk a lot about manufacturing and that’s critical – there’s no question about it. Welders along the coast are in huge demand and other places in the state, but certainly allied health still has the steepest curve. MBJ: All of these programs and others that we haven’t discussed yet will have a major impact on developing skilled workers, but how soon will that happen? When will you hear that there are enough welders?

Heinrich: I think what you’re seeing is that we have pockets of that right now. The key and what we’re working very hard at is to take those programs to other community colleges. One of the things that I’m going to say is the system is so under-resourced by anybody’s standards. We have lost virtually almost a third of our state funding over the last three or four years. That sourcing is critically important. There are a number of programs that I think are game-changers. MBJ: What are those game-changers? Heinrich: The earn-and-learn approach. I was directly involved in it and that was the Mechatronics program with Mercedes. It was between Mercedes and Shelton State. MBJ: How did the program work? Heinrich: When Markus Schaefer first came to town as Mercedes CEO, I was president at Shelton State. I went over and said, ‘How can we help you with your training needs? We want to be responsive to what you need.’ He said, ‘I’ll call you.’ It was three or four months later when he called and said, ‘Will you bring your leadership team over?’ Over the next six, eight or 10 months, we in essence stripped one of our associate degree programs of everything but what was absolutely essential, and with them at the table, we developed a curriculum that specifically met their needs and the first one was Mechatronics. Once it was in place, they were certainly very generous in the way they approached it, as were we – we both had skin in the game. They (Mercedes) were part of the screening process. They also gave scholarships to a percentage of the students. They guarantee the top tier of students jobs when they graduate. The first day the students start in class, they start working at the factory at $14.50 an hour. MBJ: That’s twice the minimum wage. Heinrich: It is great money for a student and many of our students are a bit older. The average age of our students is 25.4 years and is down from about 27 years of age. MBJ: That Mechatronics program sounds like a game-changer. Heinrich: That’s the earn-and-learn piece. What’s happening is one complements the other. It’s a really positive model. When they (students) finish up they are in pretty significant demand. These jobs are basically industrial maintenance positions that pay very, very well – $60,000 to $70,000. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

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MBJ: Is this a model that could become fairly widespread? Heinrich: We are planting that in other areas already. MBJ: Do you have a similar program in Montgomery? Heinrich: We do not have anything in Montgomery, but we’re working on one right now in North Alabama at Drake (J.F. State Technical College). There are modifications of that approach at a number of our community colleges, where businesses and industries are already working with them. MBJ: Please talk about dual enrollment. You’ve said that you would like to see dual enrollment available to all students in the state and how that would change “work force development forever” in the state. Heinrich: I think it’s a game-changer for the State of Alabama and I’ve seen it happen in some other states. When you can make dual enrollment available at every high school in the state and make it available for nothing because many of rural high schools and rural students can’t afford it – it is so beneficial. We have about nine or 10 percent of our high school students that are currently in dual enrollment (enrolled in high school and at a community college). When you go across the state and talk to business and industry and educational professionals – K-12 folks – you usually hear that 40 to 50 percent would like to be able to participate if dollars were available. There is a real interest. MBJ: Could businesses and industries step forward and fund the program because those students are their future employees? Heinrich: Yes. What I would like to do … we’re going to ask for some state funds and then go to the private sector so it would be this public-private partnership. It’s like that Mercedes model. I like it when everybody has skin in the game. What happens is that students are taking college-level courses while they are taking high school courses. We have a number of individuals each year that when they graduate from high school they graduate with their two-year degree. So at 18, they are finished with their community college degree. MBJ: Don’t some of the students end up with certificates?

16

Heinrich: They do. As soon as they walk off the stage, they are employable and I think that really is the point. As the high schools and community colleges work closer and closer together – we really have a good working relationship. It’s a game-changer because all of a sudden we have a whole other group of workers that can go right into the marketplace. One of the areas where this is particularly important (is in) some of our rural areas. We know – we are absolutely convinced – that business and industry would land in our rural areas if there was some assurance there was a work force there. We have the resources of the men and women who are willing – we are just not providing and delivering the training. If the community colleges do that through the high schools, then all of a sudden you have individuals in their junior and senior years that are also involved pretty intently in college-level courses. When they leave, they have a certificate – industry recognized training necessary for them to go to work. MBJ: Is this something that can be implemented in the next five years? Heinrich: I think it’s quicker than that because the dual enrollment structure is in place right now. Our biggest hold-back is the finances, but the mechanism – the vehicle – is there. It would just be a matter of upping from nine or 10 percent to easily get to 25 percent pretty quickly if funds were available. MBJ: How much would that cost? Heinrich: To increase dual enrollment 25 percent in this state would cost about $10 million. We could go from 10 percent to 35 percent with an extra $10 million. That is one of my passions by the way – dual enrollment. It is huge in terms of economic and work force development. MBJ: On the agency’s website it states: “… will unite the system in a common goal to improve the state’s economy by providing a well-educated and highly-skilled workforce.” How do you unite all of these facilities into a common goal? Heinrich: Gov. (Robert) Bentley put together the College and Career Ready Task Force. This task force is actually doing the work that needs to get done and the reason is you’ve got K-12 at the table; you have the two-year system at the table; you have the four-year system at the table; you have state government at the table; you have business

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

and industry at the table. The governor has basically said that ‘we’re going to get this done.’ He has a series of sub-committees working right now with a pretty tight timeline. He is interested in a specific plan coming out of that to address exactly what you’re talking about: to make sure all these entities are working together. I’ve got to tell you that it’s working. I’m a member of that. I chair the soft skills task force. That is a critical piece. If you look at the literature out there you realize that about 85 percent of the people who lose jobs or fail to secure jobs – it’s because of those soft skills and 15 percent because of the hard skills or technical skills. MBJ: When all these various entities get on the same page, what are we looking at in terms of employment and economic development? Heinrich: It becomes kind of one-stop shopping for business and industry. I think it’s fairly easy right now, but it will become even easier for business and industry to basically go to the buffet bar of resources; see what’s there and pick and choose what they need most, and of course, work force is a big part of that. This kind of organization where everybody is working together just allows us to be so much more responsive – getting out of the silos. One of the things that I’m seeing happening and I believe it will continue is that people are beginning to recognize that if everyone works together and everybody is at the same table, there actually is more for everyone. The governor has done a great job leading the way and communicating and actually demonstrating through this task force that that’s what is going to happen. MBJ: I saw an economic impact report that the Alabama Community College System averaged $1.3 billion for a three-year fiscal period as well as nearly 17,000 full-time jobs and a combined payroll of nearly $600 million. Please elaborate. Heinrich: Most of the communities where our community colleges reside – we’re the biggest employer. That in itself has a huge impact on each of those communities. I think another piece that’s on their (website) and it’s in all of our literature, and this was done by an outside firm: Every dollar the state invests in the community college system returns $6. Not only are we a great employer and contribute to those communities in a lot of ways, we can demonstrate that this CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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6-to-1 return is pretty consistent and in some communities is much larger than that. It’s 12to-1 depending on the circumstances. MBJ: In the more rural areas? Heinrich: Absolutely. I think the piece that you mentioned – that’s important, that often we don’t focus on the fact that we employ a lot of people. We are the community’s college. MBJ: I read where you talked about being “committed to listening to business and industry.” Isn’t that the bottom line of being responsive to the needs of the employers and provide them with the workers they need? Heinrich: The trick for us is making sure we are listening and hearing what business and industry (say) and then translating that into the curriculum or programming that specifically meets their needs. The real key is that it is ongoing. It never ends. There is this constant flow of information back and forth. This is not a one-time deal. This is how

18

we are staying in touch with them all the time. Most of our campuses have a host of advisory committees from various businesses and industries in the area that are feeding information back to them. Some do this better than others. This is a re-emphasis on our part to make sure that we’re listening because these are the people we are serving. I think business and industry are beginning to understand that we really do want to hear from them. I think sometimes that the academic world tends to be a little removed. MBJ: Aren’t business and industry listening more and more to agencies such as the community college system because that’s where many of their workers come from? Heinrich: They absolutely do and they are really good to work with. Yes, they are coming to us. I think we are being increasingly responsive. We’re still not there yet – we are not where we need to be in terms of responding fully to business and industry, but we are working on that and we will get there.

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

MBJ: I read where the Alabama Community College System has job-training partnerships with about 1,000 companies. That’s impressive. Heinrich: We work with between 1,000 and 1,200 companies right now. The vast majority of employers in Alabama are the small businesses in the 25 to 50 range. MBJ: All the facts and figures about the community college system are eye-opening. I just don’t think people realize how large the system is and its impact. Heinrich: They see the community college system as this little school that’s in their small community and that’s it. I don’t think they recognize the tentacles. The genius of those who set up the community college system … among other things is having some sort of an instructional site within fairly easy access of every Alabama resident. And they accomplished it. At the end of the day, it really does what it was initially intended to do. •

Christmas Parade

Investor Profile Jerry Kyser is CEO of Jerry Kyser Builder, Inc.

Jerry Kyser Builder’s ‘fairly conservative projects’ pay off by David Zaslawsky photography by Robert Fouts

Jerry Kyser owns a vacant, 35,000-square-foot building across from the Montgomery Advertiser on Maxwell Boulevard. The CEO of Jerry Kyser Builder, Inc. said he would like to convert the building to an arts complex with working spaces for a wide range of artists; space to display and sell their works; an upscale gift shop; and an educational aspect for people to learn about various arts. That is the short-term idea for the space, but he has a much grander long-term view: a four- or five-story building that is mixed-use on the first floor and apartments or condominiums above it. Oh, there is a roof-top restaurant overlooking the Alabama River and a parking deck to eliminate any parking issues. After 40-plus years, Kyser knows a thing or two about developments. His company owns apartment buildings, offices, shopping centers, warehouses and land. He and his brother own Kyser Fine Furnishings, Office Works and Kyser Property Management.

JERRY KYSER BUILDER, INC. COMPANY FIRST ESTABLISHED

1969

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

40 TO 50

OTHER MAJOR COMPANIES

KYSER FINE FURNISHINGS AND OFFICE WORKS

“Back in the early days, we worked seven days a week,” Kyser said. “By the time I was 19 years old until I was 45 years old, it was all work and no play. I never played a round of golf. I never hit a tennis ball.

His downtown holdings include the Dreamland Bar-B-Que building at The Alley; the 10 loft apartments above it; the upstairs banquet facility at 129 Coosa St. and the Central restaurant below it.

“I think that most young people today get liabilities instead of assets because they have to have the latest iPhone; they have to have the nicest car they can afford; the most expensive house or apartment they can get; the biggest and latest TV; and that doesn’t leave a whole lot of money for investing.

Kyser said the River Room, which is located off the main dining room of Central, can seat about 50 people or handle 150 people standing. The restaurant also has a cellar room downstairs that seats about 18 people.

“You have to sacrifice somewhere down the road – you can’t have it all.” Kyser developed Peppertree Plaza on Vaughn Road and with the income from the shopping center he and two other investors bought land where Chantilly Parkway is now located. The trio of investors sold the land where Walmart is located. They sold the land where Lowe’s is located. They sold the land where Home Depot is located. They also owned the land where a $35 million, 150,000-square-foot Veterans Administration medical facility will be built and they owned the land where Carmike Cinemas is building a new 13-screen facility that will hold up to 2,800 people and will feature an 81-foot-wide, floor-to-ceiling screen. Kyser is so unassuming he will casually talk about some of his projects, but it takes some prodding. He owns the Hank Williams Museum building. He owns the 104-unit Capital Towers apartment complex. He owns the downtown building behind the Hampton Inn & Suites Montgomery-Downtown. He would like to have a country/western bar there and his company has completed work on the outside of the building.

He developed the cut-through at The Alley. A sushi restaurant – Wasabi Japanese Cuisine – opened in the summer and Kyser said he is looking for a couple of retailers to fill the opposite side. “Most of these decisions on the tenants in these spaces are longterm investments so you want to try to get something that has some longevity; has some security; and also is a good fit for the area like the sushi restaurant,” Kyser said. “We have barbecue; we have Italian; we have Mexican; and we have Central. A sushi restaurant is a good fit.” He is also looking for a tenant for the Dreamland basement. He talked about a blues bar or martini bar. “It’s unique down there,” Kyser said. “We’re trying to be selective of what we put in there – an upscale investment. We’re looking for the right type of entertainment venue or bar and it’s important to us due to the other investments we have in that building.” Kyser is also an investor in Dreamland Bar-B-Que. He has a history of what he calls “fairly conservative projects” and avoided being overextended. He said the company did develop a lot of condos in the 1980s in Gulf Shores, which was his highest-risk project. They left the area after six years and did not lose any money. “We’ve been fortunate over the last 40 years,” Kyser said. •

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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Pictured left to right at the DENSO announcement are Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce President Randall L. George; Montgomery County Commissioner Dimitri Polizos; Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean Sr.; DENSO Director of Warehousing Operations Mike Bowman; DENSO Vice President of General Administration Karen Cooper-Boyer; Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange; Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board Horace Horn Jr.; and General Manager of Industrial Partners, LLC Nim Frazer.

Global Auto Parts Supplier Helps Spark Local Economy DENSO Corp. creates 45 jobs and invests $2.2 million by David Zaslawsky photography by Robert Fouts

When Auburn University at Montgomery economics professor Keivan Deravi compiled an economic impact report for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, including its suppliers, the numbers were staggering: a $1.7 billion impact in Montgomery County and $3.8 billion impact in the State of Alabama. Those numbers were based on 2010 figures and those figures have risen dramatically. There are 27 HMMA suppliers in Montgomery County with a combined 3,308 workers, which is more than twice the number of employees when Deravi collected his numbers.

The county will soon have another automotive supplier – DENSO Corp. – but it was not announced if the Japan-based company will supply HMMA’s plant in Montgomery. DENSO, which is the world’s No. 2 auto supplier behind Bosch, supplies parts/ systems for most makes and models. Two of those models are the Kia Sorento and the Hyundai Santa Fe that are produced at the Kia manufacturing facility in nearby West Point, Ga. “Whatever you’re driving, wherever you are in the world, you probably have DENSO parts in your vehicle,” said Mike Bowman, director of production control and logistics for Southfield, Mich.-based DENSO International America Inc. That is the company’s North American Regional headquarters. CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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Bowman will be the director of warehousing operations, for the company’s new facility in Montgomery. DENSO is investing $2.2 million in a 103,000-square-foot facility at Antioch Plains Industrial Park off U.S. Highway 80 and near Interstate 85. The company will create about 45 jobs. The Montgomery facility will be mainly shipping, receiving, warehousing and some light assembly, Bowman said at a news conference at the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Industrial Partners General Manager Nim Frazer, who is leasing the facility to DENSO, said that there is a lot of room for expansion. He said the building was formerly the home of Hussmann Corp., which sold refrigeration equipment and supplies. There has been one short-term tenant there in the past three years. DENSO, which operates in 35 countries and has about 130,00 employees, supplies a wide range of parts including heaters, air conditioners, instrument clusters, navigation systems, brake control systems, windshield wipers and washers, air bags, cruise controls, door lock controls – just to name a few.

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The company employs 10,000-plus in the United States and Alabama will be the 10th state where the company operates. The company’s North American properties generated $6.8 billion of its total sales of $38.1 billion. “First we’d like to thank our North American customers because when they grow and expand, it allows DENSO to grow and expand,� Hikaru “Howard� Sugi, president and CEO of DENSO International America, said in a statement. “It’s always been DENSO’s core operating philosophy to be close to our customers in the regions in which we operate. We’re proud to extend our network and welcome Montgomery into the DENSO family.� The company does have facilities in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and Arkansas as well as North Carolina and South Carolina. “It’s a great spot for us (because of) our proximity to our suppliers and customers in this area,� Bowman said. “We are thrilled to be part of Montgomery and Alabama in general.�

The Montgomery facility will open in April and is part of the company’s thermal division, Bowman said. It will operate with three shifts. “Once again, a global organization has chosen to invest in our community because our city, county, state and Chamber leadership have partnered to make the River Region valued as an excellent place to do business,â€? Horace H. Horn Jr., chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, said in a statement. The Montgomery expansion was part of a $1 billion investment strategy for North America with $750 million earmarked for the U.S. during the next three years. DENSO anticipates hiring about 2,000 during that span. â€œâ€Ś We are going to do everything in our power to help you be successful,â€? said Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean Sr. “You can call on the county at any time.â€? Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said the job announcement “is really a good startâ€? and pointed out how significant it was to have the world’s No. 2 automotive supplier come to Montgomery. •

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STREETSCAPES

Reporter’s Notebook by David Zaslawsky

The Dexter Avenue Streetscape is expected to be completed by January 2015 while the Fairview Avenue Streetscape “is in process,” according to Mayor Todd Strange.

REVIVING COMMUNITY CENTERS Montgomery County Commission Vice Chairman Dan Harris said there is a correlation of closing community centers and an uptick in youth violence. He said those closures are “leaving our young people with nothing to do and nowhere to go … so they end up doing things they shouldn’t be doing.” The county is working with the city as well as with YMCAs, churches and social organizations to formulate a game plan.

POSSIBLE NEW TENANT Just when city officials thought a national chain was ready to build a store at the old Sears site on West Fairview, the plans fell through, according to Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange. The retailer was looking at building a smaller store concept at the site, but decided against it. Now the local developer needs to buy some additional property for a full-sized store, placing the project on hold.

PLANNING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS ANNIVERSARIES The city, in conjunction with the county, Alabama Department of Transportation, Montgomery Improvement Association, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Troy University, Alabama State University and local ministers, has begun the planning process to celebrate two Civil Rights Movement milestones. Although the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March and the 60th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the arrest of Rosa Parks are not until 2015 – Anita Archie, executive assistant to Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, said websites, marketing strategies, scheduling, capital improvements and fundraising

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SPORTING EVENT The city has attracted a major sporting event for 2014 and 2015 that will bring close to 250 teams to The Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. An announcement is expected soon. are being discussed. Those capital improvements could include removing dilapidated houses, adding sidewalks and planting trees. “We want to make sure that when the eyes are on Montgomery that we are actually making sure that the area tells a story and gives you a feel of what that march was about on that trail,” Archie said, referring to the 54-mile Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. “We want to make sure that everybody is sitting at the table,” Archie said. Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) said, “We should be a showplace for how the Civil Rights Movement worked and have some examples to show.”

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

TOP 5 RANKING Alabama was ranked the fourth best state for doing business, according to Area Development magazine. It marked the third straight year that Alabama was ranked among the top five states. The rankings were based on 17 categories and Alabama was ranked in the top 5 in 15 of those categories, including the No. 1 ranking for competitive labor costs and No. 2 rankings for right-to-work environment and speed of permitting. Alabama was ranked third in the following categories: overall labor climate; cost of doing business; competitive utility rates; most favorable regulatory environment; and incentive programs.

HOT REAL ESTATE MARKET Montgomery area residential sales soared 30.5 percent in August vs. the same period last year. Overall sales are up 17.3 percent through August compared to the same period in 2012. Those numbers easily topped Huntsville/Madison County, where the monthly residential sales rose 8.2 percent and year-to-date sales have increased 10.5 percent. Baldwin County’s residential real estate sales for August increased 27.4 percent and year-to-sales gained 14 percent. The August residential sales of 364 units were 57 units more than the forecast from the Alabama Center for Real Estate. The Montgomery area was ranked No. 1 in the state last year with residential sales up 12.1 percent. Meanwhile, the housing supply fell from 8.8 months to 8.2 months. In another positive note, the median selling price in August increased 16 percent from last year, moving from $125,000 to $145,400.

FAVORABLE ECONOMIC CLIMATE Although Alabama was not ranked among the Top 10 for states for economic development by Business Facilities magazine, the state was highly ranked in six categories. Alabama received Top 10 rankings in the following categories: automotive manufacturing strength; automotive supplier networks; work force training; biofuels commercial production; most improved business climate; and economic growth potential. NEW CONTRACTS

50,000-square-foot headquarters building at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.

Caddell Construction Co. has recently been awarded four contracts, three of which are worth about $80 million. The Montgomery-based company is in a joint venture with two other firms that will renovate the Headquarters Pacific Air Forces building at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, location. The three-story building is 550,000 square feet. The company was also awarded a contract for the design and construction of a

Caddell, which has completed projects totaling more than $650 million at Fort Bragg, N.C., has a new contract to design and build two headquarters and company operations facilities. Each of the buildings will be nearly 58,000 square feet. The fourth project is building a new, sevenstory office annex at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

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November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

27

ELANTRA SALES STAY HOT

RECORD-SETTING PACE

FILLING THE COFFERS

Hyundai’s top-seller in the United States is the Elantra, which nearly hit the 200,000 mark for the year after 19,691 units were sold in September.

The Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama plant has surpassed 300,000 vehicles produced for a fourth straight year and through September had already eclipsed the 2010 total. The company produced 32,217 units in September – the eighth time in nine months in which it exceeded 30,000 vehicles. A record 361,348 vehicles were produced in 2012, which is just 51,406 units more than the first nine months of 2013. HMMA has produced about 15 percent more vehicles year-to-year through September. If HMMA matches the last three production months of last year, it will top the 400,000 mark in 2013.

The city’s share of the lodging tax in Montgomery is being increased 1.5 percent and with the county passing a $2.25 per night fee both entities will see a nice raise in revenue. The city is expecting to net $1 million while the county is forecast to generate an additional $600,000.

SHOW US THE MONEY

He said that the county does not have enough resources to handle mental health patients, including a lack of psychiatrists, staffers and not having a pediatric mental health facility. Reed is advocating additional funding before the region experiences a tragedy similar to the deadly shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., where 13 people were killed including the gunman who suffered from mental health issues.

With 194,593 units sold in the first nine months of the year, the Elantra is less than 8,000 units shy of its alltime record of 202,034 vehicles sold last year and has already topped the 2011 total of 186,361 units with three months left in the year. The Elantra and the Sonata are produced at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama’s facility in Montgomery. Hyundai’s overall sales remain on record pace although the September sales of 55,102 units was 8 percent less than the same period last year. The Korean automaker has sold 548,218 units in the United States through September compared with 539,814 units for the first nine months last year.

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The City of Montgomery and Montgomery County have passed their respective budgets. The city’s budget was about $229 million and the county’s budget was $96 million. Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean Sr. said the county budget includes some merit raises for county employees.

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

CRIES FOR HELP Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed said, “Every week – every week – since I’ve been on the bench – I’ve heard someone say they are hearing voices. They think people are watching them.”

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Investor Member Profile Profile BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 63)

Knox Kershaw is president and CEO of Knox Kershaw Inc., which manufactures railway maintenance machinery.

Industry Leader and Innovator Knox Kershaw paves the way in railway maintenance innovation by Jennifer Kornegay

photography by Robert Fouts

Knox Kershaw, president and CEO of Montgomery-based Knox Kershaw Inc., has been working on the railroad, all the live long day (or most of it) for five-plus decades.

railway track maintenance for our customers, and they know it.” He also credited his employees. “I have great people working here,” he said. “That’s a part of our success, too.” Knox Kershaw Inc.’s future includes the introduction of some new machines and a possible major plant addition in the next few years. But Kershaw has no plans to venture beyond the manufacture of railway maintenance machinery. “There is plenty of growth left in what we do and it is where our expertise is,” he said. Although it has had different names and provided different products and services through the years, his company Knox Kershaw Inc. has been in existence in some form or another since 1924 when his father, Royce Kershaw Sr., started the Royce Kershaw Co. After years of buyouts and switching between doing contract railway maintenance for railroad companies and building the machines and equipment needed by railroad companies that handle maintenance themselves, today, Knox Kershaw Inc. is exclusively a manufacturer and remanufacturer of railway track-work equipment and has become known in the industry as a leader and an innovator. The company creates different variations of several basic pieces of equipment such as ballast regulators, snow removal equipment, brush cutters, tie cranes, tie insertion and extraction machines, yard cleaners and kribber adzers (machines used to replace rail). While walking through the facility, Kershaw proudly pointed to one of his company’s innovations. “We came up with the tilt cab for our brush clearer, which allows you to work on the machine’s engine without getting underneath it,” he said. The cab’s also pretty comfy for the operator, with a cushy seat and even air conditioning. The same machine can be converted into a snow mover by changing its arm attachments. “We are constantly re-designing our current machines to improve their operation and make them more efficient to build,” Kershaw said. The company routinely manufactures and delivers between 60 and 70 of its machines a year, with many being put to work beyond our borders. “Last year 55 percent of our sales were outside of the United States, with the majority of those in Canada,” Kershaw said. “We also do business with railroad companies in Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico, South America, Africa and Saudi Arabia.” When asked about the company’s business in Europe, Kershaw explained why it’s virtually non-existent. “Central Europe maintains its track in different ways and uses different standards than everyone else,” he said. “We really don’t do any business in that area.”

At a time in his life when many of his counterparts are about to retire or already have, Kershaw doesn’t see retirement anywhere in his future. “I always knew I would enter this business and I’ve been happy in my career,” he said. As the head sales person for the company that bears his name, Kershaw has a lot of interaction with the people who buy what he makes. “I enjoy seeing my customers; it’s what I really like about what I do.” Plus, he has a son and daughter working for him. “My daughter works in marketing the company, and my son is in the purchasing and materials management department,” he said. While he admitted to slowing down a bit, he plans on working as long as he is able, mainly because he does enjoy his job, but also because he’s learned what his total absence might mean. “I know that I need to be here and stay actively involved to keep things running right.” And even when he’s not physically at work, his mind is: “I’m never not thinking about the business,” he said. •

KNOX KERSHAW INC. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

115 PRIMARY PRODUCT/SERVICE

MANUFACTURING RAILWAY TRACK-WORK EQUIPMENT AWARDS/HONORS

NAMED MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR IN 2008 BY THE BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA

Since focusing solely on manufacturing beginning in 2002, Knox Kershaw Inc. has been growing at a rate of about 10 percent a year. Even the recession didn’t really affect the company, and right now, railroads are doing well; so is Knox Kershaw Inc. “When they do well, our demand is up,” Kershaw said. He attributed growth to the expansion of the company’s product line and how well those products do their job. “We have improved

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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Keivan Deravi is an economics professor at Auburn University at Montgomery and is special assistant to the chancellor.

THE

NEW NORMAL Auburn University at Montgomery economics professor Keivan Deravi likes to talk about the “new normal” when it comes to forecasting. The new normal is a modest, slimmeddown version of the old days when the economy would grow at 6 percent or 7 percent or even 8 percent, especially after a recession. Those good old days are history, according to Deravi and the new normal means sluggish growth. The new normal is the impact of globalization, which has changed the dynamics, Deravi said. A slow economic recovery from the Great Recession has just compounded the effect of globalization. “The recovery has been extremely slow by any standards,” Deravi said, a special assistant to the Chancellor at AUM. “Instead of creating close to 15 million jobs – since 2009 we have created about 6 million jobs. What about that 9 million jobs that we should have created? Where are they?” He said so many people have dropped out of the labor market, which has resulted in a declining unemployment rate. It’s not being driven by job growth. “Yet at the same time the price of everything has gone up,” he said, “so there will be a further deterioration of income.” That will only be exasperated if federal government cuts spending, Deravi said.

AUM’S KEIVAN DERAVI FORECASTS SLUGGISH ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR MONTGOMERY IN 2014 by David Zaslawsky

photography by Robert Fouts

“The way the rules are rewritten is going to work against the middle-income class,” he said. The middle-income class has faced rising expenses and flat income growth. “Retail is not very strong because the income generation is not that strong,” Deravi said. “Retail is very flat, but you’ve got to remember that retail and services are the lion’s share of jobs.” The two largest local employers are the federal government (12,280 employees) and state government (11,827 employees). That’s not surprising with Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex located here and considering that Montgomery is a capital city, but because the region is so highly dependent on those entities, that is a major concern for Deravi. He pointed out that the government – both federal and state – CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

"The question that we have to ask as individuals is, how much less of state and federal government can we afford to have before things begin to dismantle like infrastructure and everything that we have?"

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

has been cutting jobs, much to the detriment of the local economy, which needs strong and vibrant federal and state government. The federal government and state government are two of the three legs of the local economy, Deravi said. “This Montgomery economy is highly dependent on state and federal government – highly dependent – and if that sector is still contracting it’s going to create a challenge for our long-term economic growth,� he warned. “There seems to be resentment toward big government. There is a dislike of government and that will work against our economy. There is a dislike of taxes. “Federal (government) is in disarray. State (government) is trying to find out how much less can we do without raising taxes. This is all a vicious circle because if you don’t create enough jobs – we don’t have enough taxes. And if you don’t have enough taxes, there is not enough revenue for the state to do whatever it needs to do. “The question that we have to ask as individuals is, how much less of state and federal government can we afford to

have before things begin to dismantle like infrastructure and everything that we have?� You can easily understand why Deravi’s economic forecast for Montgomery in 2014 is very sluggish growth. “In this town, we’re not going to get that bump unless state and federal start chipping in,� he said. You can also plainly and painfully see that “Dr. Doom and Gloom,� as he is called by Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, is not the bearer of good news. Deravi said he studied a 40-year period from about 1970 to 2010 and discovered that the middle class saw its income grow about 3 percent a year, but if you add the spending from federal and state programs, that income growth swells to 18 percent a year. “If you remove or shave the role that the federal government has in helping the middle-income class stay in their status – that will have a profound impact on the diversity of income in this nation or the distribution of income in this nation,� Deravi said. He said that from 2009 to 2012, there was no income growth for the middle class and that has significant implications. “If we continue

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

at this rate, there will be a grand pressure on the middle-income class and that will have ramifications for all of us because 70 percent of all the spending in this nation is done by the middle-income class. If the middle-income class income stays constant it will have ramifications on consumption (spending); on business formations; on small business formations.” In addition to globalization, corporations are containing payroll costs, Deravi said, and are selling their products and services at higher prices. The manufacturing leg of that threelegged stool has been driving the local economy, according to Deravi. “Right now, manufacturing is in a healthy rebound,” Deravi said. “Auto production is at an all-time high.” At Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama’s plant in Montgomery, the company had produced 309,942 units through September. That nine-month total is about 15 percent more vehicles than last year through the same period and if the plant matches its last three months of 2012, then it will reach the 400,000 mark this year.

“HMMA is producing full speed with all three shifts and they still are not producing enough,” Deravi said, referring to production of the automaker’s top-two selling vehicles – Elantra and Sonata, which are manufactured in Montgomery. Yet, Deravi said “we have hit the sweet spot” in automotive sales. He believes that there will be single-digit gains in 2014 as opposed to the surge of double-digit increases the past three years. He is forecasting sales rising 4 percent to 5 percent in 2014. He is not alone. James Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota in North America, also expects new car sales to slow late next year as the used car market for vehicles 1 to 5 years old strengthens. There is no consensus as TrueCar.com senior analyst Jesse Toprak said that demand for new vehicles will not slow next year. He expects robust sales for three to four years. Meanwhile, Deravi expects housing to stabilize in 2014 or at least to begin to stabilize and that means a lot to the local economy. “If housing begins to stabilize, the middle-income class will begin to feel more secure financially so they can spend more.”

At the same time, he said “there will probably be a revival of construction” in residential housing. He earlier was forecasting that the local economy would grow 3 percent in 2014 and then 3.5 percent in 2015. But then he saw some numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis that caused him to re-crunch his numbers. “The new normal would be, the private sector will drive the economy forward and will go through highs and lows and would be subject to all the shocks from technology and globalization,” Deravi said. “There will be less job security; less income growth; more pressure on the containment of salaries and benefits. “The new normal will force us to do things differently. We will probably hold on to our houses longer. There will be less benefits from the state and federal government because benefits will have to be redefined. “What I’m trying to share with you is a very simple proposition: This is a new normal in the sense that we have the leading sectors of the economy, which are not creating as much income even though they are producing more.” •

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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GOVERNMENT’S TURMOIL IMPACTS MONTGOMERY by David Zaslawsky

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The impact of the partial government shutdown depends on how long it lasted, according to Auburn University at Montgomery economics professor Keivan Deravi. If the shutdown went on for close to a month, the impact will be severe – $5.6 billion on the State of Alabama, which has a $156 billion economy. “The federal government is a large part of the U.S. economy and it’s a large part of the Montgomery economy and a large part of the Alabama economy,” he said. Deravi thought the shutdown would last no more than one week, but he was wrong. “It’s hard for me to imagine that it will go on for more than a week because logic should prevail,” Deravi said. The shutdown entered its third week in mid-October.

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

The Department of Defense lifted an emergency furlough, enabling 2,000 civilian workers to return to Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex in Montgomery after missing about one week of work. That will take some of the sting out of the shutdown’s impact. About 350,000 civilian workers nationwide were told to return to work. “If the shutdown goes on – without question – I can state categorically that we will go into recession,” he said. The much larger threat to the economy was the Oct. 17 deadline to raise the debt ceiling. Deravi said that a continued shutdown “would be destructive,” but he said it “would be a disaster”

to default on the U.S. debt. “The debt ceiling is about global world order,” Deravi said. “It’s about the credit worthiness of the United States. It’s about the value of the dollar. That would be unprecedented,” he said about Congress not agreeing to raise the debt ceiling. “Logically, no one predicts that we are reckless enough to take the economy in that direction.” Deravi said the most likely outcome with the government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate was to combine the two and have a six-month continuing resolution. “We will have a bump in the debt ceiling, pending a grand negotiation of some sort that leads into maybe lowering taxes; closing tax loopholes so the total tax collection would be neutral and at the same time streamlining the entitlement programs.” He said there could be some changes to the food stamp program and unemployment compensation. “The consequences of all of this will be determined at some point when we know what the configuration of the grand plan is,” Deravi said. He warns about such a grand bargain and its unintended consequences for the middleincome class. Those unintended consequences could further squeeze the middle-income class by eroding wages while expenses rise. •

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HOME Mims Management Group moves to larger corporate headquarters by David Zaslawsky photography by Robert Fouts

Business has been so spectacular the past few years that Mims Management Group has been growing about 70 percent a year, according to the firm’s founder and company president, Daniel Mims.

He said annual revenue is $72 million and he expects the company to generate about $100 million in revenue in 2014. Mims Management Group, a pharmacy service company, was formed in 2008 and is the parent company of Institutional Pharmacy Solutions (IPS), Northeast Pharmaceuticals Inc., Healthcare Strategic Resources, a property management business and two other subsidiaries.

He said that the company showed “slow, steady growth” in the beginning before taking off the past few years. Mims founded IPS in 2003 and then purchased Northeast Pharmaceuticals in 2005. “After seven or eight years, we began to build credibility and really get our name out there,” Mims said before a ribbon-cutting for the company’s new corporate headquarters at Executive Park. “We made some investments in marketing our brand and that’s all paid off for us.” Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange pointed out the importance of corporate headquarters to a community. “When you have corporate headquarters, that leads to more hotel rooms and it leads to more air travel and other things that have people spend their money right here in Montgomery, Ala.” Mims spent money – $1.7 million – to buy and renovate the former site of the local corporate headquarters of BBVA Compass. He moved his company from a 10,000-square-foot office that he was leasing at Interstate Office Park to a 31,000-squarefoot building. The move enabled the firm to house the executive staffs of IPS and Northeast Pharmaceuticals under the same roof. The Mims Management Group provides the accounting, legal services, and human resource services for all the other subsidiaries, Mims said.

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

He did consider moving the corporate headquarters to Dallas because of its central location and the firm’s presence there, but decided to stay here. “Montgomery is home,” said Mims, who attended the local Sidney Lanier High School and Huntingdon College. He graduated from Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy. His wife, Krystal Mims, senior vice president and CEO of IPS, also attended local schools: Jefferson Davis High School and Auburn University at Montgomery. “It’s our home and we believe in Montgomery,” Mims said. “Today is not only a celebration of a new corporate office, but it’s a statement that we’re making and a commitment to this area. Today is a declaration that Montgomery, Ala., is a wonderful place to live, work, worship and raise a family. “We are going to continue to make Montgomery the center of our business. We will continue to grow and expand and move forward and continue to do those things that are going to make us a viable company …”

The firm, which has 225 employees nationwide and about 40 in Montgomery, already added four positions to the corporate headquarters staff and he expects to add 50 more. “We anticipate over the next few years to be able to fill this building up,” Mims said. He said that the employees at corporate headquarters are skilled professionals and highly compensated. He said the average annual salary is $55,000. “They do business all over the United States,” Strange said. “They have a huge presence in California. They could be anywhere, but they chose to be here, where they were born, raised and went to school.” Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean Sr. said, “We are very appreciative of what you are doing. We appreciate our business partners. Mr. Mims, I don’t think you could have made a better choice … than invest in your community.” IPS has 45 hospital facilities from coast to coast and performs some specialized pharmacy compounding – strictly topical-type

compounds. Northeast Pharmaceuticals has a niche in supplying mental health/behavioral facilities and assisted-living facilities. “We are here today celebrating another win for our community,” Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board of Directors Horace Horn Jr. said in a statement. “Such an innovative leader in the health care field as Mims Management Group choosing to call Montgomery home speaks volumes about our growing reputation as a vibrant business community. We are proud to welcome another distinguished company to Montgomery and as partners will do everything we can to ensure its success.” Dean said that when the County Commission, City Council and Chamber recruit businesses, “we tell them all the great things we are going to do for them in the beginning, but a lot of people in other places leave them alone and let them go on their own. We don’t do that here in Montgomery, Ala. We continue to be a team player; a partner; and a part of your family. We are your extended corporate salespeople. We are going to help sell whatever your product is.” •

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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Key Contacts Chamber’s Ambassadors play critical role After Hours by David Zaslawsky photography by Robert Fouts

If you’re a member of the Montgomery Area Chamber Commerce and attend one of the monthly 60-Minute Coffees or Business After-Hours, you have seen some members wearing silver name badges. Those people are Chamber Ambassadors and play a vital role for the organization. “They are key to our success,” said Patsy Guy, vice president, Member & Investor Relations for the Chamber. “As far as being a membership-driven organization, we don’t have enough staff to go out and engage all of our approximately 1,900 members.” She said Ambassadors attend networking events as well as ribbon cuttings/groundbreakings and assist at such major Chamber functions as the Diversity Summit and Annual Meeting by greeting people and working at the registration tables. There are requirements that Ambassadors attend all the coffees and after-hours events and three ribbon cuttings/groundbreakings

a quarter. There is also a 90-minute quarterly meeting, where participants receive professional development information and tips. Chamber members can submit an application to become an Ambassador and those applications go through a review process. Some of the Ambassadors have served as long as 15 years and they are a diverse group that includes a wide variety of companies and those connections can help with their careers. “I’ve had many Ambassadors tell me that you only get out of it what you put into it, like most meaningful things,” Guy said. The Ambassadors’ role at networking events is to help those who may feel uncomfortable in that type of setting by introducing them to other Chamber members. “Their job is to look for that person who is not engaged,” Guy said. The Chamber’s Ambassador program is an opportunity for members to become more engaged and, in particular, a great vehicle for newcomers to learn more about the Chamber and community, according to Guy. “We have a lot of bankers who are Ambassadors,” Guy said. “It’s an opportunity for them to meet people that are just going into business and looking for their services. I want the Ambassadors to be able to make connections and get business out of this because they are only helping their peer members by offering their service or product. I want the Ambassadors to be self-serving.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

141st

MONTGOMERY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

ANNUAL MEETING AND RECEPTION

Chairman of the Board of Directors Horace H. Horn, Jr. cordially invites you to

PRESENTING SPONSOR

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MONTGOMERY PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE 201 Tallapoosa Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104 A Reception will follow in the Alabama Ball Room of the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center $75 - Individual Ticket (Member) $95 - Individual Ticket (Non-Member) REGISTER BY DECEMBER 3 www.montgomerychamber.com/annualmeeting

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 40

The program has swelled from 60 or so to 90 Ambassadors this year because more and more people are interested in participating, Guy said. “They see the benefit of having the access to the information along with an opportunity to get the word out about their own businesses.” The Ambassador of the quarter receives high-profile recognition at a Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting and the Ambassador of the year is announced at an annual appreciation party. •

EX-AMBASSADOR ROSE TO BECOME CHAMBER CHAIRMAN David Zaslawsky

Todd Strange came to Montgomery in 1977 as an executive with South Central Bell. He also became an Ambassador for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. As an Ambassador, Strange, who has been mayor of Montgomery since 2009, called on businesses to sell them Chamber

If you would like to become a Chamber Ambassador, contact Lynn Norton, senior manager, Member & Investor Relations for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce at (334) 240-9431 or email her at: lnorton@montgomerychamber.com.

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

memberships and told executives about “the advantages of Chamber membership,” he said. “We were salespeople.” Strange said that during his time as an Ambassador, he learned about the city, but there was another benefit. “You rub shoulders with some of the leadership that was then and certainly are today. The most important thing was that you were put in the presence of the shakers and movers of this community.” He said that being an Ambassador “did meet an expectation of Bell to be involved in the community. I believe that every corporation has a civic obligation to give back to their community.” He eventually was picked to serve on the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and became chairman of the board in 1996.

The Montgomery chapter of Service Corps of Resource Executives received a platinum rating with Earl Heath (left) as chair and Jim Moody as treasurer.

When the chair of the local chapter of Service Corps of Resource Executives (SCORE) was invited to a national leaders’ conference, he proudly wore a button that displayed the chapter’s platinum rating. Earl Heath, the chair of Montgomery’s SCORE chapter, noticed some buttons with gold and bronze ratings, but “there were very few” buttons for platinum ratings, which is the highest rating available. The local chapter, which was the only one in the state with the platinum rating, received 21 points out of a possible 25. It takes a score of 20 or more to receive the platinum rating. The two areas that Montgomery lost points were not having at least 15 mentors (they have 14) and not raising money “and that is one of the things we don’t do,” Heath said. The Montgomery chapter does everything else extremely well and that includes mentoring clients; staying in contact with clients; and conducting workshops. Heath said that SCORE officials conduct a thorough evaluation of the local chapters, comparing data from a year-over-year period. What those officials found with the Montgomery chapter was 34 new clients comparing 2012 and 2013; 12 more followups with clients; seven more workshops with 143 more participants; 189 more sessions

SCORE EARNS PLATINUM RATING Montgomery chapter receives highest award by David Zaslawsky

Now the mentors are working with clients throughout the business process and if they don’t hear from their client, they call them. It’s a much more hands-on approach with an emphasis on follow-up meetings, which may be face-to-face, but could also be emails and phone calls – and now the local chapter is hoping to use Skype to contact clients farther away. Montgomery is the lone chapter between Birmingham and Baldwin County. There are no chapters in the AuburnOpelika area or Dothan.

THOSE WANTING TO BE A MENTOR SHOULD CONTACT SCORE.ORG AND CLICK THE VOLUNTEER CATEGORY. with clients; and 79 more volunteer hours. All the mentors are volunteers and there is no charge to the clients. SCORE has changed its model from counseling sessions to mentoring. That difference, according to Heath, is stark. He said that counseling sessions would help an entrepreneur get started and if they had questions, the clients would contact a counselor, “but a lot of times you lose track of them,” Heath said. “SCORE does not want that one-step counseling.”

photography by Robert Fouts

Jim Moody, treasurer of the local SCORE chapter, is mentoring a client who wants to start a medical billing company. “Earl and I met with her as our first step to get an understanding of what she’s looking for,” Moody said. She was given a homework assignment to write a business plan. Moody, along with a mentor who is a certified public accountant, met with the client and talked about financials. She will meet with other mentors – possibly someone with expertise in marketing, said Moody, whose background is in sales and marketing.

All the mentoring is confidential. “What we have found is that the mentors are much more enthusiastic than they were with counseling because you start following-up with people,” Heath said. The Montgomery chapter has conducted workshops for building a business plan – Heath called it a very introductory session. There have been workshops on branding; social media marketing and one on productivity and profit. Another workshop featured Small Business Administration representatives talking about loan programs. The chapter has come a long way from the last couple of years when it lost leaders and mentors. “If he (Heath) had not stepped up to the plate because we were losing leadership and losing people, I don’t know if we would have had a chapter here,” Moody said. “I really believe that.” Now the chapter hopes to add mentors with backgrounds in retail sales and social media marketing. Heath and Moody said they would also like to see more diversity with Hispanic and Asian mentors. •

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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Member News

BUSINESS BUZZ PIPER AIRCRAFT SELECTS HARTZELL ENGINE TECHNOLOGIES MONTGOMERY – Piper Aircraft Inc. has selected Hartzell Engine Technologies LLC to provide its latest I-Series cabin heater and ES-Series 24V/100A alternators as standard on new Piper Seminole multi-engine advanced training aircraft. “The I-Series cabin heater and the ES-Series lightweight alternators represent the most advanced technologies for their respective categories,” said Hartzell Engine Technologies President Mike Disbrow. “We are very proud that Piper Aircraft has recognized their advancements and selected them as standard aboard the G1000-equipped Piper Seminole. “To support electrical needs of the latest Piper Seminole’s advanced avionics and systems, Piper Aircraft chose to upgrade it to 24-volt capability. With a list of improvements and features our new heater and alternator have proven to be ideal for Piper’s requirements.” One feature of the new alternators that Disbrow feels will be very beneficial to flight schools that operate the all-glass Seminoles is the alternator’s built-in noisefiltering technology. “With all the electronics in the Piper Seminole, that seemingly small feature will make a huge impact on the comfort level for the students and instructors,” he said. “By helping to keep static

44

out of their headsets, the filtering will be especially appreciated on long cross-county flights.” BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH ALFA INSURANCE MONTGOMERY – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is partnering with Alfa Insurance to provide Alabamians expanded convenience in purchasing health and dental coverage. With the health care industry rapidly changing, the expanded partnership with Alfa is part of Blue Cross’ continued commitment to providing dependable, local service and access to quality health care to Alabamians. This offers another convenient channel for individuals to purchase Blue Cross’ health and dental products on and off the federally facilitated exchange. Open enrollment began Oct. 1 and will be effective Jan. 1. Consumers will be able to purchase individual health and dental policies from their local Alfa agent, online at AlabamaBlue.com, or directly from a Blue Cross sales agent in person or by phone. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama wants to provide both our current and potential customers convenient ways to learn more about the product options available under the health care reform law as they choose the plan that best fits their needs,” said Terry Kellogg, president and CEO of Blue Cross

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

and Blue Shield. “Blue Cross and Alfa are two of the most trusted brands in Alabama and have earned that trust over 30 years of working together. Expanding this partnership during a time of change in our industry is a natural evolution that benefits our customers.” Alfa Insurance President Jimmy Parnell said the partnership with Blue Cross would allow Alfa to continue serving customers. “By working with Blue Cross, Alfa agents can help policyholders navigate the new health care law while continuing to meet all their insurance needs,” Parnell said.

“We work diligently to make sure that all of our guests are treated with respect and spare no effort to create a warm, welcoming and relaxing environment for our guests,” said Jim Yeaman, owner/innkeeper. The Lattice Inn, which opened in 1993, is located at 1414 South Hull St. For reservations or information, contact Lattice Inn at (334) 263-1414; info@thelatticeinn.com or www.thelatticeinn.com.

Trey Starke

STARKE AGENCY PARTICIPATES IN PRESTIGIOUS STUDY GROUP Jim Yeaman

THE LATTICE INN AWARDED CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE MONTGOMERY – TripAdvisor. com has awarded the Lattice Inn a Certificate of Excellence for 2013. The award honors hospitality excellence and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious recognition. The Lattice Inn has received this recognition every year since the award was established by TripAdvisor and was also ranked on Tripadvisor.com as the No. 1 bed & breakfast out of four establishments in Montgomery.

MONTGOMERY – The Starke Agency was chosen to participate in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's "Best Practices" Study Group. The selection was based on a rigorous qualification process for determining operational excellence to help define best practices for the insurance industry. "We have been very proud to be selected to participate in the best practices study for several years in a row now," said Trey Starke, president and CEO of The Starke Agency. "We take a best practices approach to every client's needs. It's part of our philosophy on loyalty and service to the River Region community." More than 1,100 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated to take part in the annual study, but only 216 agencies qualified.

the profession are performing,” said Kelly Platt, principal of the Platt Group and managing editor of Inside Public Accounting, a national publication serving the accounting profession.

Rhonda Sibley

ALDRIDGE, BORDEN & CO. NAMED 2013 ALL-STAR FIRM MONTGOMERY – Aldridge, Borden & Co. has been named a 2013 All-Star Firm, according to Inside Public Accounting (IPA). These firms, selected solely on their performance in specific areas, are compared with more than 500 participating firms in the IPA Annual Survey and Analysis of Firms. “We explore profitability from several perspectives to provide a view of how firms at the top of

In another development, the firm’s Rhonda Sibley has been appointed to Auburn University at Montgomery’s School of Business Accounting Advisory Board for the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 academic years. Sibley graduated from AUM with a degree in business administration. After graduation she joined Aldridge, Borden & Co., where she is currently a partner working in all aspects of taxation, including personal and small business taxation and tax planning along with estate, gift and fiduciary taxation. She is a certified public accountant and an accredited estate planner.

Sherrie Myers

RAYS WILL PLAY BISCUITS AT RIVERWALK STADIUM MONTGOMERY – The Montgomery Biscuits will face their parent club – the Tampa Bay Rays next year here at Riverwalk Stadium. The exhibition game is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Saturday, March 29 and will mark the first time a Major League team has come to the Capital City to play its Double-A minor league affiliate. Only three cities out of 160 every year have the opportunity to see

their minor league team play the parent affiliate. Gates will open at noon with a premium Joe Maddon Glasses giveaway for the first 2,500 fans in attendance. Fifteen minutes after gates open, the Major League club will take batting practice on the field and during that time Rays’ players will be available for autographs around the seating bowl area. Some season ticket holders will also be invited to an exclusive question-and-answer session with Rays’ manager Joe Maddon. The VIP gates will open at 11 a.m. The Rays skipper will answer questions on top of the third-base dugout in an interviewtalk format. The two teams renewed their partnership for four years, through the 2018 season. “We are so pleased to continue our partnership with the Rays (CONTINUED ON PAGE 46)

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45) and feel appreciative for their cooperation in this special event,” said Biscuits owner Sherrie Myers. “The Rays are one of the top organizations in baseball, which makes it truly special to continue as their Double-A affiliate for four more years.” For details on Rays at Riverwalk or purchasing tickets to the event, visit www.raysatriverwalk.com.

The program emphasizes budgeting, personnel matters, planning and road and bridge responsibilities. This educational program began in 1994 as a mandatory program for firsttime county commissioners by act of the Alabama Legislature. It is a joint effort between the Association of County Commissions of Alabama and Auburn University.

said Vanessa Brandau, newly appointed regional director for United Cerebral Palsy. “I am confident that River Region businesses will step up and support UCP of Central Alabama.” she said. For information, contact Brandau at (334) 271-2280 or email at vbrandau@ ucpcentralalabama.org.

In addition, Terri Henderson, revenue manager in the Montgomery County Tax and Audit Department, has been reelected president of the County Revenue Officers Association of Alabama.

Terri Henderson

Henderson has more than 30 years of accounting experience, the last 11 years with Montgomery County. She holds the professional designation of certified revenue examiner.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMISSIONER, STAFF MEMBER RECOGNIZED MONTGOMERY – Two from Montgomery County have recently distinguished themselves among their peers in county government around the state. Montgomery County Commission Vice Chairman Daniel Harris Jr. has recently joined an elite group of county officials by completing 50 hours of education from the Alabama Local Government Training Institute on the basic responsibilities of the county commission. He was first elected in 2012 and has graduated from ALGTI in less than a year, which was the earliest opportunity.

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Vanessa Brandau

UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY WILL PICK UP USED CARTRIDGES MONTGOMERY – United Cerebral Palsy will collect empty print cartridges from companies for recycling. The agency has recycled 12,000-plus laser and inkjet print cartridges a year for the past 12 years and uses the funds from recycling to benefit children and adults with disabilities. United Cerebral Palsy accepts used cartridges of all types (laser, copier, inkjet, fax, etc.). Those donations are tax-deductible. “This program has been extremely successful with our parent agency in Mobile,”

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Ronald Blue & Co. offers a variety of financial services, including estate planning, investment management, tax services and philanthropic counsel. Founded in 1979, the Atlanta-based firm is one of the largest independent fee-only wealth management firms in the United States.

Heather Penney

FAMILIES COMMUNITIES RENAMES FACILITY MONTGOMERY CHILDREN’S SPECIALTY CENTER MONTGOMERY – After years of serving the community as Father Walter’s Children Center, the Tutera Families Communities purchased the center and renamed it Montgomery Children’s Specialty Center.

Dan Harris

management and serves more than 6,000 clients in almost all states. The list was ranked by total assets management among firms with at least 250 financial planning clients.

Heather Penney is the administrator of the licensed, 54-bed pediatric skilled nursing facility. She has 15 years of administrative experience and 15 years experience as a nurse, serving mostly in Texas. The facility is located at 2853 Forbes Drive. RONALD BLUE & CO. RECEIVES TOP RANKING Ronald Blue & Co. was recently ranked No. 1 for 2013 among the nation’s “Top Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisors in Financial Planning” by Investment News, a weekly industry publication. The firm, which has an office in Montgomery, has more than $7 billion in assets under

Kenneth Glass (left), UPS Area Human Resource Manager presents a check to Paul Hankins, president of the Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES DISTRIBUTES $33,600 IN UPS SCHOLARSHIPS The Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAICU) distributed $33,600 in UPS Scholarships to 14 low-income students at private colleges and universities in the state. The scholarships were made possible by a grant from the UPS Educational Endowment Fund administered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) in Washington, DC. CIC and the UPS Foundation teamed up to provide nearly $1.5 million in student scholarships this year, which will be distributed through state-based private college associations around the country. Colleges in Alabama that received UPS Scholarships this year

from AAICU include Amridge University, Birmingham-Southern College, Concordia College Alabama, Faulkner University, Huntingdon College, Judson College, Miles College, Samford University, Spring Hill College, Stillman College, Talladega College, Tuskegee University, University of Mobile and the United States Sports Academy. The UPS Scholarships were funded by the UPS Educational Endowment, which is held and administered by CIC. The endowment was established in the 1970s by the UPS Foundation to support programs to benefit underserved populations. Since its inception, the endowment has generated more than $50 million in scholarship support for more than 17,000 students at independent colleges and universities.

scholarship or an achievement scholarship. This scholarship program will begin in the fall of 2014.

Buddy Starling

TROY UNIVERSITY OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS TROY – Two new Troy University scholarships aim to pave the way for community college transfer students to receive a four-year degree at any of the Troy University campus locations. The university has a campus in Montgomery. Students transferring from an Alabama Community College, or other select community colleges in the Troy service area, will be able to apply for either a merit

“The scholarships were created to ensure community college students access to all Troy programs and to minimize the financial stress many transfer students encounter,� said Buddy Starling, dean of enrollment management. “We are optimistic that these scholarships will continue Troy University’s tradition of attracting high-quality transfer students, and further strengthen the already strong relationship Troy has with schools in the Alabama Community College System as well as our partners throughout our service areas,� he said. A Transfer Merit Scholarship is awarded for students with a 3.5 grade-point average (GPA) or higher and would

provide a $3,000 scholarship while a Transfer Achievement Scholarship for $2,000 is available to students with a 3.25 GPA. This scholarship will only be available to those students who have completed transferrable academic credit (non-technical) coursework. A-KEEP HELPING TO PRESENT HISTORICAL PHOTO EXHIBIT MONTGOMERY – The AlabamaKorea Education and Exchange Partnership (A-KEEP Inc.) in conjunction with the Alabama State Department of Education and Gyeong-gi Tourism Organization will present a photo exhibit of the 60th anniversary of the De-Militarized Zone. It will be held April 3-30 at Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum. In addition to the exhibit, there will be receptions, events, a (CONTINUED ON PAGE 48)

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November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47) lecture series, educational resources, culinary experiences and more. The photographic study of Korea and Germany will showcase 100plus historical photos of transboundary regions of the DMZ and the European Green Belt (EGB). They will be displayed as part of a historical timeline with themes and comparisons for both Korea and Germany after World War II to the present day. The photographs were taken by world-renowned photographers working for and published in Life Magazine, National Geographic, and Chien-Chi Chang (Magnum) publications. A-KEEP’s primary mission is to provide a conduit for academic, business and cultural exchange between Alabama and Korea.

ALABAMA HOSPITALS TOPS IN PREVENTING INFECTIONS MONTGOMERY – Alabama’s hospitals again outperformed the nation in the prevention of health care-associated infections. “Our hospitals performed better than the nation in all four categories being reported,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. “In last year’s report, they were better in three of the four categories, which include catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections and two types of surgical site infections. “Not only do I want to congratulate hospitals, but I’d like to thank the members of the Alabama Healthcare Data Advisory Council and the ADPH (Alabama Department of Public Health) staff who have worked very hard to ensure accurate

10th Annual January 16th-18th

reporting and to make the information as easy as possible to understand.” The hospital-specific information allows consumers to review the data by region and by the volume of patients and may be found at www.adph.org. Additional information on infection prevention can be accessed at www.jointhehealthjourney.com. “Alabama’s hospitals are reducing infections,” Williamson said. “This report reflects the significant work of infection practitioners, nurses, physicians, and other hospital staff, and provides a great way for hospitals to identify and learn from top performers.” Alabama Hospital Association President Mike Horsley echoed Williamson’s praise for hospitals and reinforced the goal of reducing infections. “All hospitals are striving to eliminate infections and have

achieved much success. In a recent national project to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections, Alabama’s hospitals had the second highest participation rate in the country and achieved a 53 percent reduction in two years. In addition, Alabama was the pilot for an automated infection surveillance system that has significantly reduced infections over the last 10 years and has become a model for other states.” SERVISFIRST ANNOUNCES SPECIAL DIVIDEND BIRMINGHAM – The board of directors of ServisFirst Bancshares Inc. has announced a special cash dividend of $0.50 per common share, payable Dec. 6, to shareholders of record on Dec. 10. In addition, the board intends to initiate the payment of a quarterly

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

BUSINESS BUZZ cash dividend beginning in 2014. The first quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share will be payable April 14 to shareholders of record as of April 7. Future declarations of quarterly dividends will be subject to the approval of the board and may be adjusted as business needs or market conditions change. Tom Broughton, president and CEO of ServisFirst Bancshares, said, “We are pleased to pay the special dividend and begin a quarterly cash dividend to our shareholders, who have played a large role in the success of the bank over the past eight years.” ServisFirst Bancshares is a Birmingham-based bank holding company and through its subsidiary ServisFirst Bank has branches in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Dothan, Pensacola, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn.

In partnership with UniGroup, a global logistics leader, Admiral Movers also recently implemented a cutting-edge tracking system called FastTrack to simplify the inventory process. The automated inventory management system makes it easy for businesses to view and obtain the status of inventory in every stage of the process with Internet access and email updates.

Scott McNelley

ADMIRAL COMPANIES EXPAND FACILITY MONTGOMERY – The Admiral Companies announced the expansion of their warehouse facility and the implementation of a state-of-the-art tracking system to enhance storage capabilities and logistics. The addition of 18,000 square feet to Admiral Movers' storage, warehouse, distribution, and logistics facility increases the Montgomery office mover's space to 50,000 square feet.

CLEANERS

"We're excited to increase the size of our warehouse space and continue to provide our customers with the best Montgomery office moving and storage services," said Scott McNelley, president of Admiral Movers and Admiral Records Management. "Now, with FastTrack, customers always know where every piece of inventory is located, and they can quickly access details, descriptions and images online.

Tracking is completely automated and kept up-to-date, which helps us speed up the process and ensure our customers have a great experience every time they work with Admiral Movers.” For information, visit www.akeep.org STERNE AGEE EXPANDS INTERNATIONALLY WITH PURCHASE OF LONDON FIRM LONDON and BIRMINGHAM – Sterne Agee, one of the oldest and largest privately held financial services firms in the country, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase London-based brokerage firm Yorvik Partners, LLP. The acquisition will establish Sterne Agee’s first overseas office, where the firm plans to expand its services internationally. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 50)

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BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49) James S. Holbrook Jr., chairman and CEO of Sterne Agee, said, “The purchase of Yorvik Partners is an important step in our ongoing strategy to expand Sterne Agee’s markets and creates a platform from which Sterne Agee can expand internationally.” Sterne Agee, which was founded in 1901, is a Birmingham-based firm that offers financial services to a diverse client base, including corporations, municipalities and high-net worth individuals. Through its family of whollyowned subsidiaries, Sterne Agee manages $21 billion-plus in client assets and has more than 1,600 employees in 59 offices across 22 states. The firm has an office in Montgomery.

landowners throughout the state. Agriculture, forestry and related industries contributed $70.4 billion to Alabama's economy. It’s important we work to keep the forestry industry strong and growing in Alabama.” The Alabama Farmers Federation represents 17 Alabama-grown commodities, including timber, which is produced in every county. Alabama Farmers Federation Forestry Division Director Rick Oates will serve as a director of the ATFA, which will be a separate association under the Federation structure. The Alabama Treasure Forest Association was formed in 1991 and has about 3,600 members. The Alabama Farmers Federation is the state’s largest farm organization with more than 365,000 members. With similar mission statements, merging the groups seemed natural, said ATFA President Billy Blackwell, who also serves as Ozark’s mayor.

Jimmy Parnell

FOREST ORGANIZATION TEAMS UP WITH ALABAMA FARMERS FEDERATION OZARK – A statewide group focused on improving Alabama forestlands voted to affiliate with the Alabama Farmers Federation, the state’s largest farm organization. Alabama Treasure Forest Association (ATFA) members approved the merger at the organization’s annual conference. The affiliation is effective immediately. Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell said the federation welcomes ATFA members. “Many Treasure Forest Association members also are Farmers Federation members,” Parnell said. “This affiliation will strengthen efforts to serve forest 50

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

“By being a member of the ATFA and the Farmers Federation, forest landowners will have a more prominent voice,” Blackwell said. “This affiliation will help our members and our ability to market forestry as a viable, renewable industry on a state, national and international level.” OLD HOUSE SPECIALISTS PRESENTS AT INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP MONTGOMERY – Hilda Dent and Margen Gadd of Old House Specialists, LLC, were presenters at the 17th International Preservation Trades Workshop. They demonstrated window restoration tools and techniques for the attendees. The event was hosted by the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Training Center in Frederick, Md. •

Member News

to provide public education and awareness. In addition, Godsoe will aid in fundraising efforts in support of the organization’s hospice home project.

Amy Godsoe

Amy Hardigree

Candace Fales

Sharon Connell

HOSPICE OF MONTGOMERY HIRES DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR MONTGOMERY – Hospice of Montgomery announced that Amy Godsoe is the new director of development. The hospice also announced the addition of Amy Hardigree, Sharon Connell and Candace Fales to its staff. Godsoe will be responsible for development through the cultivation of individual and corporate gifts, grant research and writing, as well as organizational branding in public relations and marketing efforts

MEMBERS ON THE MOVE

Hospice of Montgomery provides care to patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families throughout the River Region. “Hospice is a special kind of care and I look forward to making a difference in the lives of patients and families during this crucial transition time,” Godsoe said. A native of Noblesville, Ind., Godsoe moved to Montgomery in 2004 and previously worked at the Alabama Kidney Foundation as the Montgomery regional director. She is a graduate of Indiana State University, where she majored in communications and public relations. Hardigree has more than seven years of hospice experience and was hired as the director of business development. She will be working closely with area physicians, facilities and other referral sources to develop and maintain relationships as well as promote awareness of Hospice of Montgomery’s services. Hardigree is responsible for developing and adjusting a sales and marketing plan, which includes a marketing and competitive analysis. Connell brings her leadership background to the organization with 37 years of nursing experience, including 13 years in hospice care. Connell will serve as the organization’s clinical director. She is a certified hospice and palliative care nurse. With 10-plus years of experience as a medical social worker for hospice, Fales joins the staff as bereavement coordinator and medical social worker. Fales is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a master’s degree in social work.

our perspective as bankers,” said Aliant Bank CEO Harlan C. Parrish. “We are very excited about Caryn taking the lead for us as we continue our growth in Montgomery, a market that is very important to us.”

Caryn Hughes

ALIANT BANK NAMES REGIONAL PRESIDENT MONTGOMERY – Aliant Bank has named veteran Alabama banking executive Caryn Hughes as Montgomery regional president. Hughes has been a leader in the Montgomery office of Aliant Bank, a division of USAmeriBank, for the past four years, and has 28 years of Alabama banking experience. Prior to joining Aliant, she worked for Colonial Bank. “With the economy continuing to improve, we are seeing more demand for business loans,” Hughes said. “In particular, we are working with more borrowers on Small Business Administration loans and doing more financing tied to commercial real estate. All in all, I am bullish about where Montgomery is going.” In her new role in charge of operations in Montgomery, Wetumpka, Millbrook and Auburn, Hughes becomes one of a small but growing number of top-level female executives in the Montgomery business community. “Diversity is certainly a priority for us, because it helps us broaden

Hughes, who will continue to serve as senior vice president of credit administration for the bank, graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor's degree in finance and the University of Alabama at Birmingham with an accounting equivalency degree. She is a certified public accountant. Aliant Bank, which has corporate offices in Birmingham and Alexander City, has branches in Montgomery.

Will Dismukes

ALABAMA FARMERS FEDERATION ADDS TO GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS STAFF MONTGOMERY – Autauga County native and Faulkner University graduate Will Dismukes has been hired by the Alabama Farmers Federation. The 23-year-old will work in the governmental affairs department. Dismukes, who graduated in May (CONTINUED ON PAGE 52)

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51)

with a degree in political science and social science, will assist the federation's political consultant and state public policy team with research, member engagement and outreach. "Will is a talented young man with a bright future," said Governmental Affairs Director Brian Hardin. "We are fortunate to have him on our team and look forward to working with Will as he gains experience and knowledge of the political process and our organization." Dismukes previously served as an intern for Alabama House of Representatives Majority Leader Micky Hammon (R-Decatur). Dismukes said, "I am very excited to be part of the Alabama Farmers Federation. It's an honor to work alongside Brian Hardin and Beth Chapman. I look forward to working hard to help make a positive difference for our members."

52

Porcia Bradford Love

Thomas R. Whisenhunt Jr.

JACKSON HOSPITAL ANNOUNCES NEW HIRES MONTGOMERY – Dr. Porcia Bradford Love has returned to her hometown to work at Jackson Hospital and neurosurgeon Dr. Thomas R. Whisenhunt Jr. has also joined the hospital’s staff.

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Love, who will be practicing general, surgical and cosmetic dermatology, is a graduate of the Montgomery Public Schools District’s Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Alabama and her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. She completed two years of general surgery residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a post-doctorate fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, and her dermatology residency at Duke University Medical Center, where she served as chief resident. To schedule an appointment, call (334) 834-3094. Whisenhunt will be seeing patients at Montgomery Neurosurgical Associates along with Dr. Patrick Ryan and Dr. Thomas Rigsby. Whisenhunt’s areas of expertise focus on

minimally invasive spine techniques, intracranial surgery including aneurysms and tumors, peripheral nerve surgery, and complex spinal surgery as well as all aspects of neurosurgery. He is a graduate of San Diego State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology. He then completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), receiving a doctorate degree in cell biology as well as his medical degree in 2007. Whisenhunt completed his residency in neurosurgery at UAB and was the neurosurgery chief resident from July 2012 to June 2013. For an appointment, call Montgomery Neurological Associates at (334) 834-6422.

The bank also recently hired Michael Waldrop as the vice president and city executive in the Lee County branch.

Toni Jones

PALOMAR INSURANCE CORP. HIRES VICE PRESIDENT MONTGOMERY – Palomar Insurance Corp. has hired Toni D. Jones as vice president of transportation marketing. She will be based in the Troy office. Jones is a 2006 graduate of Troy University and received a master’s degree in business administration from the same institution in 2007. She began her insurance career in 2006. Montgomery-based Palomar Insurance Corp. is an insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm specializing in commercial and personal insurance.

Golson, who has been with AmeriFirst since 2006, has served in various positions with the bank. He is a graduate of Troy University and the Graduate School of Banking of the South at LSU.

WE CALL IT THE BATH-WILL-SHINELIKE-NEW-ROOM

Waldrop brings 17 years of experience to AmeriFirst Bank. He graduated from Auburn University and Alabama Banking School. He is working at the AmeriFirst loan production office in Lee County.

Bonita Heartsill

EXTRA HELP INC. ANNOUNCES REGIONAL DIRECTOR MONTGOMERY – Extra Help Inc. has named Bonita Heartsill the regional director of Alabama operations.

Michael Waldrop

Jack P. Golson

AMERIFIRST BANK NAMES EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AmeriFirst Bank promoted Jack P. Golson to executive vice president, chief information officer and bank security officer.

Heartsill will leverage her extensive experience in the region, maintaining her existing client relationships and accounts, longtime staff and standing commitments to several business organizations in the Montgomery area. She was president of Heartsill Payroll Professionals and has 27 years of experience in the human resources field.

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She will direct a four-person staff for Extra Help, an Illinois-based employment, payroll, and work force services company. “I am thrilled to step into this role – I see it as a unique and exciting opportunity to bolster my abilities to serve the needs of my

Referred for a reason.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 54) November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 53)

clients,� Heartsill said. “Under the banner of Extra Help, I can truly answer the call for expanded workplace management offerings while maintaining the same level of personal service and attention that my team and I have been committed to offering my customers.� Extra Help CEO Teresa Katubig said, “Bonita has built a successful payroll services company based on the same commitment to client service that we uphold. I’m very much looking forward to what she can accomplish as part of our team, leveraging her success, network and respectability in the Alabama region through this new venture and position with Extra Help.� Extra Help’s Montgomery office is located at 4131 Carmichael Road, Suite 9. The phone number is (334) 277-0380.

Jeff Rabren

REGIONS FINANCIAL NAMES MANAGER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES BIRMINGHAM – Regions Financial has named Jeff Rabren to manage economic development initiatives for the company. Rabren's initial focus will be on programs that encourage capital investment and job creation in Alabama. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Birmingham. Rabren joined Regions in 2010 to manage state government

affairs. In his expanded role as senior vice president, state government affairs and economic development, he will coordinate the company's economic development initiatives as the liaison to public, private and non-profit economic development agencies. "Jeff's experience working with state and local governments and the non-profit sector make him ideally suited to forge stronger connections between our bankers and the economic development community," said John Turner, South Region president for Regions Bank. Earlier this year, Regions established a $1 billion loan pool to provide economic development capital and spur business growth in Alabama. "As the state's largest privatesector employer headquartered in Alabama, and the only

Fortune 500 company here, we have a unique opportunity to serve our state and our communities," Rabren said. "We look forward to deepening our partnerships with the state Department of Commerce, economic developers, chambers of commerce and others to attract new business and industry to Alabama while also helping existing industries grow and thrive." Prior to joining Regions, Rabren served as director of legislative affairs for former Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and legislative counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of former U.S. Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.). Rabren received his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Alabama and his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. •

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

NEW MEMBERS Books-Christian

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Entertainment & Recreation

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THE DANDY LION BOUTIQUE Ashlee Kozel 1012 East Fairview Avenue Montgomery, AL 36106 334-239-9342

BILL PERRY MUSIC Bill Perry 2601 Notasulga Road Tuskegee, AL 36083 334-421-2334

Cattle

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Financial Planner/Advisor

MCLANE-GARRETT CATTLE COMPANY, INC. Martha Jean Garrett P.O. Box 250411 Montgomery, AL 36125 334-288-8247

CSPC Richelle Stewart 795 Lamar Road Hope Hull, AL 36043 334-498-1790

CSS ADVISORS, INC. Larry F. Chapman 8312 Crossland Loop Montgomery, AL 36117 334-229-9042

Chiropractors

Dentists

HEALTH STAR CHIROPRACTIC Hammond Cobb 3283 Malcolm Drive Montgomery, AL 36116 334-356-1111

STEINEKER & DILLON, PC Darren Dillon 4730 Woodmere Boulevard Montgomery, AL 36106 334-277-5665

SIGNATURE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS, LLC W. Lee Lawrence 8128 Old Federal Road Montgomery, AL 36117 334-819-7001

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'ĞŶĞƌĂƚŝŶŐ ƋƵĂůŝĨŝĞĚ ůĞĂĚƐ ĨŽƌ LJŽƵƌ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ͍ ŽŶǀĞƌƚŝŶŐ ůĞĂĚƐ ŝŶƚŽ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌƐ͍ dƵƌŶŝŶŐ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌƐ ŝŶƚŽ ĐůŝĞŶƚƐ͍ /ŶĐƌĞĂƐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐůŝĞŶƚ ƌĞůĂƚŝŽŶƐŚŝƉ͍

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>Ğƚ͛Ɛ dĂůŬ ^ƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐ Θ ^ŽůƵƚŝŽŶƐ͗ ϭ͘ϯϯϰ͘Ϯϲϯ͘ϯϰϭϵ ŝŶĨŽΛŐƌĂƉŚŝĐƐĂŶĚŵĂŝůŝŶŐ͘ĐŽŵ

'ƌĂƉŚŝĐƐ Θ DĂŝůŝŶŐ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞ͕ /ŶĐ͘ ;'D^͕ /ŶĐ͘Ϳ ŽĨĨĞƌƐ ƐŽƵŶĚ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽǀĞŶ ƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐ Θ ƐŽůƵƚŝŽŶƐ ĨŽƌ Ăůů LJŽƵƌ ĚŝƌĞĐƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚŝŶŐ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ͘ tĞ ĐĂŶ ŚĞůƉ LJŽƵ ĨŝŶĚ ŶĞǁ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌƐ͕ ǁŝŶ ŵŽƌĞ ƐĂůĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŵŽƚŝǀĂƚĞ ƌĞƉĞĂƚ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞĨĞƌƌĂůƐ͘ dŚĞ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŝƐ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌ ƚƌĂŶƐĂĐƚŝŽŶĂů ǀĂůƵĞ ĂŶĚ ƌĞůĂƚŝŽŶƐŚŝƉ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ͘ 'D^͕ /ŶĐ͘ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞƐ ƚƌĂĚŝƚŝŽŶĂů ƉƌŝŶƚ ĂŶĚ ĚŝƌĞĐƚ ŵĂŝů ƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐ ĂůŽŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ĞdžĐŝƚŝŶŐ ĚŝŐŝƚĂů ƐŽůƵƚŝŽŶƐ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂůŝnjĞĚ ƉƌŝŶƚ ĂŶĚ ĞŵĂŝů ĐĂŵƉĂŝŐŶƐ͘

dĞůů ƵƐ ĂďŽƵƚ LJŽƵƌ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ ƚŽĚĂLJ͊

'ƌĂƉŚŝĐƐ Θ DĂŝůŝŶŐ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞ͕ /ŶĐ͘ ϮϬϮϲ >ŽĐƵƐƚ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ DŽŶƚŐŽŵĞƌLJ͕ > ϯϲϭϬϳ

ŝƌĞĐƚ DĂƌŬĞƚŝŶŐ ^ƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐ Θ ^ŽůƵƚŝŽŶƐ ϭ͘ϴϬϬ͘ϴϬϭ͘ϯϮϰϳ ǁǁǁ͘ŐƌĂƉŚŝĐƐĂŶĚŵĂŝůŝŶŐ͘ĐŽŵ

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

55

NEW MEMBERS

Legal Services - Attorneys

Pharmacies

MURRAY LAW GROUP, LLC Connie Murray 101 Market Place Montgomery, AL 36117 334-593-9183

ADAMS DRUGS Mike Vinson 1633 Perry Hill Road Montgomery, AL 36106 334-386-8813

Insurance Companies/Services

STEINER, CRUM & BYARS Walter R. Byars P.O. Box 668 Montgomery, AL 36101-0668 334-832-8800 Ext 223

ADAMS DRUGS Mike Vinson 7200 Copperfield Drive Montgomery, AL 36117 334-386-9370

DAVENPORT AGENCY Gary W. Davenport 441 North Eastern Boulevard Montgomery, AL 36117 334-271-1610

THE VANCE LAW FIRM, PC Stewart Vance 7505 Halcyon Pointe Drive Montgomery, AL 36117 334-270-8033

ADAMS DRUGS Mike Vinson 8189 Vaughn Road Montgomery, AL 36116 334-277-4800

Janitorial Service/Supplies

Medical Managed Care

J.T. COMMERCIAL SERVICES Milton Thomas P. O. Box 230217 Montgomery, AL 36123 334-270-5909

NURSPA HEALTHCARE SERVICES, LLC Roshanta Tubbs 600 South Court Street Montgomery, AL 36104 318-564-5356

ADAMS DRUGS Mike Vinson 35 Mitchell Drive Montgomery, AL 36109 334-272-0802

Heating/Air Conditioning/Plumbing UNITED HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING, INC. William D. Henderson 3045 Mobile Highway Montgomery, AL 36108-4055 334-262-0247

ADAMS DRUGS Mike Vinson 3016 McGehee Road Montgomery, AL 36111 334-281-1671

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Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Physicians-Obstetrics/Gynecology

Restaurants-Fast Food

Sport Shooting

WHITTINGTON & KOURI, PC Kim Whittington 1758 Park Place, Suite 201 Montgomery, AL 36106 334-263-3630

DEL TACO Bill Davis 6941 EastChase Loop Montgomery, AL 36117 334-279-5495

LOWER WETUMPKA SHOTGUN SPORTS CLUB Matthew Senn 4758 Lower Wetumpka Road Montgomery, AL 36110 334-420-3371

Property Management

Restaurants-Italian

Tire Dealers & Distributors

PMI RIVER REGION Jessica Wilson 1322 Old Oak Place Montgomery, AL 36117 334-819-5414

MR. GUS’ RISTORANTE Dimitri Polizos 6268 Atlanta Highway Montgomery, AL 36117 334-356-4662

ALABAMA TIRE SERVICE Trey Myers 3440 Birmingham Highway Montgomery, AL 36108 334-277-8473

Publications

Security Services

GUMPTOWN MAGAZINE Jamal Thomas P.O. Box 201412 Montgomery, AL 36120 334-245-4127

ICOTECH, INC. Scott Pritchett 5414 Lamco Street, Unit 5 Montgomery, AL 36117 334-386-9996

Trophies, Plaques, Engraving and Awards

Real Estate-Developers

Security Systems

GUILFORD PARTNERS, INC. Howard Upchurch P.O. Box 11148 Montgomery, AL 36111-1148 334-428-1682 Ext 200

SENTRY SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES, LLC Dana Temple 309 West Mendel Parkway Montgomery, AL 36117 334-409-9444

CHARLIE’S TROPHIES Beverly Gulino 3325 Pelzer Avenue Montgomery, AL 36109-2717 334-260-9200

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———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

57

Ribbon Cuttings & Ground Breakings

HERE WE GROW AGAIN OB GYN ASSOCIATES OF MONTGOMERY 7045 Sydney Curve Montgomery, AL 36117 334-279-9333 www.obgynmontgomery.com Dr. Gregory Waller-President/Physician Physicians-Obstetrics/Gynecology

MIMS MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC 3480 Eastern Boulevard Montgomery, AL 36116 334-819-4500 Krystal Mims-CEO; Daniel Mims-President Consulting Services

THE DANDY LION BOUTIQUE 1012 East Fairview Avenue Montgomery, AL 36106 813-420-3776 www.shopdandylionboutique.com Ashlee Kozel-Owner Clothing & Accessories-Retail

ADAMS DRUGS 1633 Perry Hill Road Montgomery, AL 36106 334-386-8813 www.adamsdrugs.net Jim Smith-Director of Marketing Pharmacies

D E

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DOUBLETREE BY HILTON 120 Madison Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 334-245-2320 www.doubletree.com Dave McGregor-General Manager Hotels/Motels

D I N G

We are not only committed to developing graduates who possess exceptional academic skills and knowledge, but high moral character and a strong sense of responsible citizenship. To learn more about the truly distinctive character of The Montgomery Academy, contact Susannah Cleveland, Director of Admissions, --.

Th e M o n t g o m e r y A c a d e m y T h e

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The Montgomery Academy admits students of any race, religion, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students of the school.

58

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

PD 0LGGOH RSHQBKRXVH LQGG

$0

ECONOMIC INTEL Building Starts Building Permits

Building Valuations

SEPTEMBER 2013

AUGUST 2013

SEPTEMBER 2012

SEPTEMBER 2013

New Construction

31

29

28

$22,030,000

$4,040,400

$3,381,000

Additions and AlterationsÂ

70

70

48

$4,429,400

$4,300,400

$2,524,600

Others

26

43

32

$58,500

$415,600

$1,047,800

127

142

108

$26,517,900

$8,756,400

$6,953,400

Total

AUGUST 2013

SEPTEMBER 2012

Source: City of Montgomery Building Department

Montgomery Metro Market Home Sales SEPTEMBER 2013

AUGUST 2013

MONTH/MONTH % CHANGE

SEPTEMBER 2012

YEAR/YEAR % CHANGE

STATEWIDE SEPTEMBER 2013

Median Price

$130,000

$145,000

-10.34%

$131,750

-1.33%

$123,924

Average Price

$155,438

$160,103

-2.91%

$149,068

4.27%

$155,681

Units Listed

2,983

2,978

0.17%

2,844

4.89%

33,833

Months of Supply

11.3

8.2

37.80%

10.8

4.63%

9.5

Total # Sales

265

364

-27.20%

264

0.38%

3,561

Days on Market

112

108

3.70%

101

10.89%

161

Source: Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE), The University of Alabama

From the Alabama Department of Labor website in regards to the employment numbers: Due to the federal government shutdown, August Revised 2013, September Revised 2013, and October Preliminary 2013 will be released on November 22.

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

59

Sales Tax Collections SEPTEMBER 2013

SEPTEMBER 2012

YEAR OVER YEAR % CHANGE

YTD 2013

YTD 2012

YEAR OVER YEAR % CHANGE

Montgomery County

$3,295,057

$3,207,050

2.74%

$29,975,844

$29,712,958

0.88%

City of Montgomery

$8,040,735

$7,636,168

5.30%

$71,237,385

$70,083,336

1.65%

Pike Road

$154,397

$171,778

-10.12%

$1,454,313

$1,452,470

0.13%

Autauga County

$617,023

$605,224

1.95%

$5,810,052

$5,542,571

4.83%

$1,633,799

$1,537,609

6.26%

$15,088,291

$14,639,605

3.06%

$462,295

$457,481

1.05%

$4,514,827

$4,269,148

5.75%

Prattville Wetumpka

Sources: Montgomery County Commission, City of Montgomery, City of Pike Road, Autauga County Commission, City of Prattville, Elmore County Commission, City of Wetumpka, City of Millbrook. Note: YTD numbers are January 2013 thru current month. * Did not receive this months numbers.

Montgomery Regional Airport SEPTEMBER 2013 Air Carrier Operations

SEPTEMBER 2012

YEAR OVER YEAR % CHANGE

YTD 2013

YTD 2012

YEAR OVER YEAR % CHANGE

910

992

-8.3%

8,078

8,893

-9.2%

5,905

5,651

4.5%

45,444

49,783

-8.7%

Enplanements

12,477

14,962

-16.6%

121,732

137,627

-11.5%

Deplanements

11,997

14,813

-19.0%

121,997

138,668

-12.0%

Total Passengers

24,474

29,775

-17.8%

243,729

276,295

-11.8%

Total Operations

Source: Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) Dannelly Field

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60

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Airline Fares Roundtrip airfare comparisons from Montgomery, Birmingham and Atlanta airports to key destinations. DESTINATION

MONTGOMERY

BIRMINGHAM

ATLANTA

DESTINATION

MONTGOMERY

BIRMINGHAM

ATLANTA

Baltimore (BWI)

$349

$307

$239

Miami (MIA)

$350

$345

$130

Boston (BOS)

$386

$368

$216

Nashville (BNA)

$352

$220

$321

Charlotte, NC (CLT)

$240

$237

$286

New Orleans (MSY)

$394

$329

$328

Chicago (ORD)

$347

$226

$274

New York (JFK)

$361

$266

$268

Cincinnati (CVG)

$365

$445

$282

Orlando (MCO)

$341

$239

$239

Dallas/Ft Worth (QDF)

$348

$330

$198

Philadelphia (PHL)

$381

$220

$329

Denver (DEN)

$340

$425

$218

Pittsburgh (PIT)

$351

$384

$239

Detroit (DTW)

$334

$237

$290

St Louis (STL)

$341

$238

$312

Houston (HOU)

$352

$366

$304

Seattle (SEA)

$465

$487

$364

Indianapolis (IND)

$411

$432

$218

Seoul (SEL)

$1,428

$1,255

$1,308

Las Vegas (LAS)

$494

$414

$252

Tampa (TPA)

$344

$239

$239

Los Angeles (LAX)

$508

$513

$347

Washington DC (DCA)

$351

$222

$240

Memphis (MEM)

$349

$349

$245

Date of travel: Nov. 19-24, 2013. Date of pricing: Oct. 13, 2013. Source: travelocity.com

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

61

Quarterly Reports NAME

NET INCOME

EARNINGS PER SHARE

EARNINGS ESTIMATE

YEAR-AGO REVENUES

YEAR-AGO NET INCOME

NOTABLE

Bed Bath & Beyond

$2.8B

$249.3M

$1.16

$1.15

$2.6B

$224.3M

Quarterly profit rose 11%

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

$674.1M

$34.3M

$1.43

$1.35

$700M

$34.7M

7 straight quarters on increased traffic

Pier 1 Imports

$395.6M

$17.8M

$0.17

$0.21

N/A

$26.2M

Profit declined 32%

Rite Aid

$6.3B

$32.8M

$0.03

(-$0.04)

$6.2B

(-$38.8M)

Remodeled 1,000th store

(Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse)

$2.2B

$70.2M

$0.53

$0.70

$2B

$110.8M

Will open 13 restaurants in Malaysia

AutoZone

$3.1B

$371.2M

$10.42

$10.34

$2.8B

$323.7M

Revenue increased 12%

Ulta Beauty

$601M

$44.9M

$0.70

$0.67

$481.7M

$35M

Comparable store sales surged 8.4%

Coldwater Creek

$149.7M

(-$16.4M)

(-$0.54)

(-$0.63)

$163.7M

(-$17.6M)

Same-store sales fell 7.3%

Costco Wholesale

$32.5B

$617M

$1.40

$1.46

$32.2B

$609M

Membership revenue rose 3.2% to $716M

Yum! Brands (Taco

$3.5B

$152M

$0.33

$0.93

$3.6B

$471M

Profit fell 68%

Walgreen

$17.9B

$657M

$0.69

$0.72

$17.1B

$353M

Profit surged 86%

Family Dollar

$2.5B

$102.2M

$0.88

$0.83

$2.4B

$80.9M

Sales increased 5.8%

Wells Fargo

$20.5B

$5.6B

$0.99

$0.98

$21.2B

$4.9B

Record net income

Darden Restaurants

Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut)

62

QUARTERLY REVENUES

Montgomery Business Journal November/December 2013

Hyundai Sales VEHICLE

SEP 2013

SEP 2012

YTD 2013

YTD 2012

Accent

4,999

4,313

45,112

51,438

Sonata

13,872

17,332

152,702

175,346

Elantra

19,691

18,305

194,593

152,575

Santa Fe

6,639

7,378

62,744

50,961

Azera

1,487

891

9,105

5,993

Tucson

2,849

4,573

32,891

37,844

Veloster

2,268

3,020

23,273

28,338

0

1,224

175

7,340

2,926

2,669

25,117

27,016

371

320

2,506

2,963

55,102

60,025

548,218

539,814

Veracruz Genesis Equus Total

Source: Hyundai Motor America

November/December 2013 Montgomery Business Journal

63

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From Forbes.com, December 18, 2012 ©2012 Forbes.com. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.

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