Montgomery Business Journal – January 2010 by Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce

JANUARY 2010 28

14 8 16

Contents

Letter from the Publisher

Executive Editor’s Column

Calendar

Q&A with Rep. John D. Knight

Investor Proﬁle: SABIC Innovative Plastics

Entertainment Express

Member Proﬁle: McDonald’s franchise owner J. Nicole Daniel

Hyundai Marketer of the Year

Oasis Hotel Opens

Cover Story: Chairman Nim Frazer shares vision

2010 Economic Outlook

Business Buzz

Members on the Move

Ribbon Cuttings and Ground Breakings

New Members

Economic Intel

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

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

Randall L. George EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Tina McManama MANAGING EDITOR

David Zaslawsky COPY EDITOR

Michelle Jones DESIGN

Copperwing Design PHOTOGRAPHY

Jamie Martin ON THE COVER:

Nimrod T. Frazer III, Chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, and his father, Nimrod T. Frazer II.

Montgomery Business Journal c/o Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Post OfďŹ ce 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 is published monthly except for the combined issue of 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. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is Pending at Montgomery, Alabama. 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.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Letter from the Publisher

LOOKING AHEAD I just can’t believe how fast time is passing. Just as I became comfortable penning the numbers “2009,” now I must retrain myself to write “2010,” while literally emblazoning upon my mind the realization that we have crossed the threshold into a new decade. For me, these changes help emphasize that time is an ever-fleeting commodity – one that must be used to its fullest if we are to take advantage of opportunities and God-given talents with which we are all blessed. Your Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce has embraced this sense of urgency throughout its 2010 business plan. We recognize that now is the time to capitalize on our opportunities and embrace change, recognizing that being an agent of change is an essential part of surviving these challenging times. There is a saying in the business world: Change or die. Adapting to a shifting market is a critical survival tactic or market share will be lost – ultimately leading to an unhappy ending. In today’s economic environment, we recognize that timing is everything, and change is inevitable. Significant opportunities for Montgomery and the River Region may be lost if we do not act quickly on the many programmatic fronts defined by our strategic plan, Imagine a Greater Montgomery. The time is now to secure these opportunities. Through the Chamber’s efforts, led by the Imagine plan, our business and local elected leaders are aligned in an economic development strategy that embraces both job creation and quality of life objectives. The Chamber’s professional staff is “bought-in” and excited about their commitment to the achievement of the objectives and outcomes of the 2010 business plan.

I personally have never been more proud of the efforts of our staff and volunteer leaders than I am today, and I’ve no doubt that the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, with your help and that of our governmental and business partners, is fully prepared to lead Montgomery and the River Region into a new decade of growth, improving the economic well-being and the quality-of-life of all of our citizens. In this issue, we celebrate our new volunteer leadership, who give so much of their personal time to the leadership needs of this Chamber and our region. With their engagement and with the support of our 2,000 members representing more than 75,000 employees, I believe the achievements to be made in 2010 will be well remembered. As we begin the exciting journey through this new year, I sincerely wish each of you, your families, and your business associates a very prosperous and rewarding experience.

Randall L. George, PUBLISHER PRESIDENT, MONTGOMERY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

EXECUTIVE EDITOR’S COLUMN A Chamber member, and small business owner, suggested I write a column on small business and answer some universal concerns: How to market for new business; how to find funding to hire; how to grow and prosper again. Obviously, if I had those answers, I, and not Bernanke, would be on the cover of Time Magazine. But that suggestion sparked another idea: Did you know the Chamber offers many free business tools for members at www.montgomerychamber.com? > Place a job listing on the Job Board for an opening you have available: www.montgomerychamber.com/jobboard > Get the basics on starting a small business with the Entrepreneurial Tool Kit: www.montgomerychamber.com/toolkit > Find business leads or a vendor with the Member Directory Online: www.montgomerychamber.com/directory > Get the latest corporate development news in the Trendline Newsletter: www.montgomerychamber.com/trendline > Find resources for minority small businesses: www.montgomerychamber.com/mbdresources > Offer discounts or find deals for members only: www.montgomerychamber.com/member2member > Post your events and special sales: www.montgomerychamber.com/membercalendar > Information and statistics on the workforce trends: www.montgomerychamber.com/workforce > Find key economic indicators: www.montgomerychamber.com/mbjei > The Chamber’s many events – including free networking opportunities – are on one calendar: www.montgomerychamber.com/events > Send in your business press releases for the Montgomery Business Journal: editor@montgomerychamber.com > Check out the available downtown and riverfront incentives: www.montgomerychamber.com/downtown There is not enough room in this magazine to detail all the services and resources available to small business at the Chamber’s Small Business Resource Center. But it is all on our web site, along with links to other organizations with resources: www.montgomerychamber.com/sbrc. Remember, your Chamber membership includes many free and low-cost benefits. Make sure you leverage them to grow your business.

Tina McManama, EXECUTIVE EDITOR VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MONTGOMERY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Calendar Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Events

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

13 21 28

137TH ANNUAL MEETING Sponsored by Alabama State University 5:30 PM @ Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center 201 Tallapoosa Street, Montgomery Ticket information: www.montgomerychamber.com/annual meeting 60 MINUTE COFFEE Sponsored by Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts 8 AM @ Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts One Museum Drive, Montgomery Free, exclusively for Chamber members STATE OF THE CITY AND COUNTY Sponsored by AT&T Alabama 7:30 AM @ RSA Activity Center 201 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery Details and registration: www.montgomerychamber.com/citycounty2010 BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Sponsored by Holy Cross Episcopal School 5 PM @ Holy Cross Episcopal School 4100 Bell Road, Montgomery Free, exclusively for Chamber members

10 25

EGGS & ISSUES WITH SEN. RICHARD SHELBY 7:30 AM @ RSA Activity Center 201 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery Registration: www.montgomerychamber.com/eggsandissues 60 MINUTE COFFEE Sponsored by Henig Furs 8 AM @ Henig Furs 4135 Carmichael Road, Montgomery Free, exclusively for Chamber members BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Sponsored by Marquirette’s Exquisite Jewelry 5:00 PM @ Marquirette’s Exquisite Jewelry 7818 Vaughn Road, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members

Convention Calendar compiled by the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitor Bureau

JANUARY 12 13 19-21

Manufacture Alabama Meeting

27 28-31

Alabama Football Coaches Association Meeting

Alabama Baptist State Convention Alabama Association of Realtors Leadership Conference

Dance Masters of America Workshop

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

FISCAL CHALLENGES Q&A WITH REP. JOHN KNIGHT Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) was recently interviewed by Montgomery Business Journal Managing Editor David Zaslawsky Montgomery Business Journal: What are your priorities and goals as the chair of the Government Appropriations Committee?

Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) is chair of the Government Appropriations Committee

Knight: We have right now built our budgets based on stimulus revenue from the federal government. We have to address the issue of the amount of stimulus money that we have in the budget – how we propose to replace that money if something does not happen on the national level. MBJ: How much money are you expecting? Knight: We have a total of $3 billion. We’ve received most of that at the present time. We split it over a two-year period. By having that amount of money built into the budget, we have to establish our priorities in terms of what (are the needs) of state government. If we cannot ﬁnd the revenue to replace the federal dollars that’s been infused into the budget, that’s a major challenge. What we have to look at as we build the new budget is try to make sure we can fund the state portion of Medicaid. It’s such an important program for the citizens of the state. We have led the nation in terms of funding our children’s health insurance program. MBJ: Wasn’t the program expanded? Knight: We increased it to 300 percent of the poverty level, and doing that not only takes

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

care of the people at the very low end of the scale, but it takes care of working families. MBJ: What is considered the poverty level? Knight: About $20,000, so it’s up to $60,000 for a family of four. That is always a priority to maintain that because you have to have healthy children in our society. It also dovetails into the educational (arena). In order to have good students – they have to have clear minds and healthy bodies when they start school. It’s important that they get the type of medical treatment and care that’s needed. We have one of the best programs. That’s one thing Alabama can brag about, and I think the Legislature has been in the forefront of making sure that we maintain funding for our children’s health insurance program. MBJ: How much is the Medicaid budget going to be increased to maintain the current level of services? Knight: I can’t tell you right now. Medicaid is a large portion of the budget. MBJ: What are some other priorities and goals you have for the upcoming Legislative session? Knight: Of course, being chair of the budget – the budget has to be the priority that I focus on. That’s what I spend most of my time on – focused on the budget, interviewing department heads and trying to establish what their priorities are; trying to make sure that we can maintain the same level of funding that we’ve had in the past. But if we do not get additional revenue, then, of course, there

MBJ: Do you have to work on a budget that cuts 10-20 percent from the various program/services? What are you looking at?

are going to be some cuts. The other thing we try to do is maintain jobs; try to make sure that we didn’t have mass layoffs in state government. It is so hard now to predict what’s in the future or whether our economy is going to rebound. All of this is so ﬂuid. MBJ: Last year the General Fund budget was $2.5 billion. Are you expecting to write a similar budget this year? Knight: We don’t have the revenue coming into the state of Alabama to fund the same level. MBJ: What is the potential range of the General Fund budget? Knight: I’m not prepared to answer that right now. Right now, I couldn’t fund what we did last year because we had the federal dollars that were placed in the budget – the stimulus money. Our ﬁscal year starts in October. We’re working on the 2012 budget. MBJ: And there is no stimulus money for that budget. Knight: No, there is no stimulus money. There may be $300,000 or $400,000 left. MBJ: How can you fund the various departments you are responsible for, including state troopers, Medicaid, corrections, courts and public health at levels anywhere near what you did the past two years? Knight: That’s the challenge. The only way that that (level funding) could possibly happen would be that there is a complete rebound in the economy because we depend a lot on interest income, income tax revenue. Our budgets are based on sales tax and income tax – so goes the economy, so goes Alabama, in terms of funding. MBJ: There hasn’t been much of a recovery. How do you come up with that $1 billion you had been receiving from stimulus money? Knight: That’s a $1 billion question.

Knight: What we’re doing right now is asking agencies to hold back 7-10 percent in their budgets. We’re preparing for what could possibly happen and at the same time we have our ﬁngers crossed that something will happen on a national level or the economy (picks up). Having said that, we have some problems with our budget, but I do think we’re probably in better shape than many states with our budget and budget process. MBJ: Are you preparing a budget that could range from $2 billion to $2.5 billion? Knight: We are looking at something very close to what we had (last) year, but I think we’re going to have to have some reductions. MBJ: You are hoping to end up with a $2.5 billion budget. Knight: I would hope so, yes. MBJ: But you are also looking at the possibility the budget could be closer to $2 billion. Knight: That’s correct. Right now, if I had to project – and I don’t like to do that because every time you project, something will come up – in a strict projection, I’m looking at $500 million. MBJ: That’s $500 million you don’t know if you have. Knight: Right. MBJ: That $500 million makes it difﬁcult to plan a budget. Knight: It does, and that’s why I have advocated tax reform in this state. It’s important in education and it’s important that as you try to run state government, for you to have some idea of how much revenue you have for the upcoming year. Otherwise, your planning goes out the window. It makes it impossible for long-range strategic planning if you don’t have a solid source of income that you can depend on. MBJ: You want a stable source of revenue instead of sources that move with the economy.

Knight: It ﬂuctuates so much. MBJ: There are certain departments that you can’t cut, such as corrections, and Medicaid has to be funded at certain levels, according to federal regulations. Where do you ﬁnd $500 million in your worst-case scenario? Knight: There is a minimum you have to fund in terms of federal regulations and we are at the minimum. We don’t have very many programs in Medicaid that are optional. We have, and I don’t like to brag on this – sometimes the governor and the Medicaid commission brag that we have the most conservative Medicaid program in the nation. Well, that’s nothing that I’m proud of. MBJ: There are not any areas to cut in the corrections budget. Knight: Corrections is underfunded as we speak. MBJ: So where do you cut? What other agencies are you looking at? Knight: I’m not going to say. That’s a constitutional question. MBJ: Aren’t your options very limited? Knight: They are very limited. Contrary to what a lot of people think, we are not funding anything that people do not expect us to fund in state government. MBJ: Are the state Legislature and the business community partners or rivals or sometimes both? Knight: I like to think and I have tried to exemplify that in all my actions that the business community sees me as a friend because I have been on the forefront of economic development during the Siegelman administration and the Riley administration working very closely with governors in terms of the business community, economic development. When the franchise tax was declared unconstitutional, I was the one that handled the legislation to correct that – working with the business community and Continued on page 10

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

…certainly at some point,

we should be able to remove the (state) sales tax on groceries. Continued from page 9

working with the governor’s ofﬁce. That was a few years ago. I handled the Hyundai legislation for the incentive packages and so forth. I look at it as a working relationship. I won’t say that all the time we are on the same page. There are some things that probably I want that the business community would probably be opposed to and vice versa. MBJ: Would you please be more speciﬁc about areas where you and the business community would agree or disagree? Knight: I think there has been a disconnect, and I won’t say they’ve not always been on

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

board on wanting this; it has been, how do you approach it and correct it? I think the (state) sales tax on groceries, which has been a big issue of mine, I think, certainly at some point, we should be able to remove the (state) sales tax on groceries. I have advocated that for a number of years and what happens is it causes a little rift with portions of the business community – also the federal income tax deduction. We are still one of only two states that allow 100 percent deduction on your federal income tax on your Alabama taxes. I have been trying to remove the sales tax on groceries and replace the revenue by eliminating the federal income tax deduction. MBJ: You’re talking about $400 million. Knight: Yes. MBJ: What are some things that the business community might be pushing that you are opposed to? Knight: I have to wait until they start pushing. MBJ: Within the business community there are so many varied interests and often those business interests may collide. As a lawmaker, how do you deal with all those conﬂicting interests?

Knight: Like the Hyundai (incentive) legislation. A lot of your small home-grown businesses said that you’re doing this for Hyundai, why don’t you do some things for us? You run into that all the time. But overall, when you look at it conceptually, if it’s something that is good for economic development – something good for the potential growth of this state – then I see that as a positive. Often, there may be differences in terms of how do you accomplish it; how do you pay for it; do you have the revenue and/or the incentives to do it. We’ve passed legislation that will be good for small business entities across this state. MBJ: What was the legislation that helped small businesses? Are you talking about the health care legislation?

Knight: I think it’s across the board. The gaming issues that come up each and every session and will continue to come up, to me it doesn’t make sense that you have gaming in this state, but (people) are saying we are not going to have gaming. I guess their head is still in the sand. Gaming is here, it’s all over the state. If it’s here, you ought to get your tax revenues from it. It doesn’t make sense to me to have an industry making that kind of money and we have to supply the roads for people to get to the various places. We have to have the infrastructure. We have to have Continued om page 12

Knight: The health care legislation, where there were incentives for small business entities across the state. There has been a lot done over the past several years to help not only large companies, but small business entities as well. Maybe the incentives are still not enough – that very well may be the case. MBJ: Do those varied interests in the business community create some of the stalemates we have seen in the Legislature the last few years? Or is it partisan bickering?

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Continued from page 11

the police and fire protection – everything that any other business would require, but at the same time the state can’t collect any taxes. I do think that we should put forth a great effort to make sure that we are able to generate tax revenue from the gaming industry. MBJ: What would you like to see from the business community? Knight: In the Legislature, we have extended a hand to the business community to be receptive to what I perceive and what they tell us are their needs. I would like to see the business community be a little more receptive to what I consider the total needs of the state. There’s no question in my mind that to have a state that will take the leadership role, you have to have a solid, viable business community. In order to obtain that, you have to give tax incentives, you have to give tax breaks – use the taxpayers’ money that average, working people – revenue and taxes to be able to help grow and create jobs. I would like to see a broader interest and diversification of everything that takes place in this state. MBJ: What exactly do you mean? Knight: There are certain areas of the state that are neglected. MBJ: You’re talking about geographic regions? Knight: Geographic regions. We have invested heavily in Mobile; we have invested heavily in the Huntsville area; Birmingham; and we have invested some in Central Alabama. We have to have a long-range, strategic plan on the infrastructure of the entire state. That’s where the planning process is short. As we attract Hyundai, Mercedes; as we attract ThyssenKrupp; as we attract the research park up in Huntsville; the medical complex up in Birmingham – somebody has to pay for the infrastructure – somebody has to pay for the roads and bridges – somebody has to pay for the everyday workings of state government. It has to be a comprehensive plan to be able to do that. MBJ: Are you saying that you would like to see the business community participate in more of those types of projects? Knight: More sensitive to the infrastructure needs and the needs of the state. MBJ: What are other needs of the state? Knight: If you want to continue to grow, and I think Alabama has a greater opportunity than probably any other state in this nation – I think we have everything there is to offer – but it’s going to take strong leadership on the political end; strong leadership on the business end to make that a reality. What I mean by that is you have to look at not only business interests but you have to look at quality of life. What are you doing for the least of you? What are you doing for your educational system? What are you doing for the quality of life for the average-working family? Those are the things that I think make a good state. When you look at those indicators or you look at analysis, then you have to decide where are we weak and how can we strengthen it and how can we continue to build. Everywhere I’ve gone on economic development trips, the first thing that people want to know is about your educational system. Where do my kids go to school? How will they be trained? People want to know about quality of life. Where do we live? What type of housing will I have? These are the types of things we have to have – a more comprehensive relationship. •

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Investor ProďŹ le

Tom Tsekouras, general manager of SABIC Innovative Plastics

GOOD CHEMISTRY SABIC Innovative Plastics donates $1.1 million-plus annually by David Zaslawsky

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

BURKVILLE – Customers at discount stores and drugstores can usually find school supply lists in July. But the Lowndes County School district handles it differently. The district’s three elementary schools hand school supply lists to SABIC Innovative Plastics. The company buys backpacks – around 300 of them – and the employees fill the backpacks with pencils, paper, pens, glue, scissors, crayons, rulers, binders and erasers, said Tom Tsekouras, general manager of SABIC Innovative Plastics. The company expanded the program to include some middle school and high school students. Some of those students will find those pricey scientific calculators in their backpacks. “I think what’s important to know about the backpack contribution is that the classes came and sent back thank-you notes,” said Les Butler, the company’s human resources manager. “It felt like we helped them individually as well as the school.” When it comes to helping the schools – all the schools in the district – SABIC gives generously. The company has annually donated $300,000 to the school district since the early 1990s, Tsekouras said. Tsekouras said the company also has provided grants to the school system and did all the landscaping in the front of Fort Deposit Elementary School. “We also do a magic-in-chemistry display – it’s an interactive display/exhibition where we show grade-school students the things that chemistry can do in your life,” Tsekouras said. “We are trying to get people interested in going into the sciences or engineering because it’s such a vital part of what we do.” What SABIC (pronounced SAH-BIC) does is produce Lexan resin, which is a powder that can be made into plastic pellets. The powder

and plastic pellets are sold to the automotive, construction and electronics industries, which mold the plastic into materials used in numerous products. Lexan resin is shatter-resistant, can be transparent or opaque and the company can color it, Tsekouras said. It is so versatile that Lexan resin can be used in eye glasses, fighter jet canopies, car headlights and taillights, brake lights, turn signals, traffic lights, CDs, DVDs, cell phones, greenhouses, appliances, side and rear view mirrors in vehicles and computer parts – and that’s just for starters. “Lexan made it to the moon,” Tsekouras said. “In 1969, the very first people to set foot on the moon – their visors were made of Lexan. Neil Armstrong was protected by a Lexan visor.” But as Tsekouras noted, none of the products listed above are manufactured at the company’s facility in Burkeville. “We ship the base resin around the world,” he said. “Two-thirds of the resin we make we put into sea containers and ship to our compounding plants in Asia and South America. We serve the North American market and some custom material and send it over to Asia as well.” One of the company’s major growth areas is the automotive industry, where its resin will reduce the overall weight of the vehicles, translating to better fuel economy. “We take our core Lexan and we put a glass coating on the outside of it so it is scratch-resistant,” Tsekouras said, “but at the same time, it takes 30 to 40 pounds out of a vehicle, which is huge whenever you talk about fuel economy.” SABIC is critical to the Lowndes County economy. The company helps fund the county’s ambulance service and helped some residents on fixed incomes pay for garbage collection. Company employees not only help the school system, but some are volunteer firefighters.

NAME

SABIC INNOVATIVE PLASTICS, A BUSINESS UNIT OF SAUDI BASIC INDUSTRIES CORP. PRODUCTS

LEXAN RESIN, PLASTIC PELLETS NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

ABOUT 290

NUMBER OF COUNTIES REPRESENTED BY EMPLOYEES

FACILITY

6,300 ACRES (300 ACRES DEVELOPED FOR THE PLANT SITE) – ONE OF THE LARGEST POLYCARBONATE SITES IN THE WORLD As signiﬁcant as the company’s contribution to the school district, it is dwarfed by SABIC’s annual donation to the Lowndes County Commission: $750,000. That amounts to a total annual donation of $1.1 million-plus. The company has donated a total of $14 million to the community since its founding in 1987. SABIC helped residents of a Dallas County nursing home set up a courtyard, and it cleaned up after a tornado struck Prattville in February 2008. “We had a large contingent of our employees that came together and worked with local agencies to help,” Tsekouras said. The company also hosts Boy Scout Camporees, and at one event, more than 400 scouts from throughout Alabama attended. Some SABIC employees are active in scouting and work closely with the Tuckabachee Area Scouting Council. “We understand that being a good citizen is directly tied with the success of our business and our employees understand this as well,” Tsekouras said. “We have great people we enjoy giving back to the community through volunteer work and through ﬁnancial assistance.”

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Old Cloverdale

AFTER DARK Old Cloverdale restaurant and bar owners hope to attract nighttime trolley riders By David Zaslawsky

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

One night while having some early drinks with four other couples at El Rey Burrito Lounge, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange noticed a large group of airmen from Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base. He asked the airmen, a group of 12 to 14, how they got to El Rey Burrito in Old Cloverdale, and they told him they had caravanned in three or four vehicles with three or four designated drivers. “They were out on the town, starting there (El Rey) and were going to Jubilee,” Strange recalled. Then, the mayor heard from some of his daughter’s 30-something friends about getting to downtown and not having to worry about parking and driving. “I put those two ideas together and I knew about this lunchtime trolley route we had,” Strange said. “The lunchtime route a couple of years ago was appropriate because we didn’t have parking spaces around, and there was no charge. That cost us $75,000 a year without any revenue opportunities. “I inquired about how many people were riding the trolley and it’s somewhere between two and four. I said, what if we took those assets and redeployed them.” That is how the Entertainment Express was born. It is a nighttime trolley that picks up airmen at Maxwell and transports them downtown and to Old Cloverdale. The fare is $1 for a one-way ride. “If nobody rides the Entertainment Express, it costs us $75,000,” Strange said. “Each $1 that someone pays to ride the Entertainment Express lessens that burden of $75,000. I would like to see us break even on that route.” That means Strange hopes to have 37,500 people annually ride that trolley, which is in service three nights a week – Thursday-Saturday – from 6:30 to 11:30. The goal is 240 riders a night. “If it works, ﬁne – if it doesn’t work, then we haven’t lost a thing,” Strange said. “The

Nancy Paterson , owner, Nancy Paterson’s Bistro and Burns Paterson

important thing is that today it’s costing us $75,000, and with every rider, we are going to reduce that burden by $2. We have a critical mass downtown; we have a critical mass in Cloverdale. We’ll run this for three months and then we’ll evaluate it.” It couldn’t come at a better time for restaurant and bar owners in Old Cloverdale. While downtown has been experiencing a rebirth with new restaurants and bars – Dreamland Bar-B-Que, Alley Bar and SaZa’s Serious Italian Food in The Alley and Wintzell’s Oyster House at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center – Old Cloverdale has not had the same kind of fanfare. The Entertainment Express, however, could impact dramatically Old Cloverdale’s nightlife by transporting scores of airmen from Maxwell to Old Cloverdale via downtown. The trolley service also could provide business travelers and conventioneers staying downtown with other dining options. “If 20 people got off that trolley and came in here just one night a week that would be great,” said Bill Flippo, owner and general manager of Sinclair’s. One of the two trolley stops in Old Cloverdale is at Capri Theatre, which is next door to Sinclair’s in the Five Points Area and near Tomatino’s Pizza and Bakeshop, Café Louisa and 1048 Jazz and Blues Club and El Rey Burrito Lounge.

“We’re here to entertain them; for them to have a good time; have a great meal; great service in a great atmosphere; and it has to be fun.” -Burns Patterson The other stop is at Cloverdale Village near The Chop House Vintage Year, The Pines Bar, Derk’s Filet & Vine and Nancy Paterson’s Bistro. “If we get 20 people once a night, that is 20 more than we’re getting right now,” said Nancy Paterson’s Bistro owner Nancy Paterson. “At this point, I’m not picky as long as they are paying customers.” Nancy Paterson’s husband Burns Paterson said, “If I get one customer, I’ll take it. If you get one customer and capture him, you are going to get some others. We’re in the entertainment business. We’re here to entertain them (guests); for them to have a good time; have a great meal; great service in a great atmosphere; and it has to be fun.” Bud Skinner, who owns both Bud’s Place, an Old Cloverdale lounge near Tomatino’s, and Jubilee Seafood, which is around the corner from Bud’s Place, said, “If I have 20 extra customers walk in my door three nights a week, I would call that a success. It would be really helpful. For a place this size (Jubilee Seafood seats 60), 20 people is huge.” Old Cloverdale Association Mayor Todd Kirk said that the potential for increasing restaurant/bar business is limitless. Continued on page 18

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

ENTERTAINMENT EXPRESS RIDERS NOV 5-7

NOV 12-14

NOV 19-21

NOV 26-28

DEC 3-5

DEC 10-12

DEC 17-19

DEC 24-26

YTD 2009

Thursday

N/A

Friday

168

102

N/A

380

Saturday

N/A

147

Weekly Total

270

128

N/A

597

Monthly Total Bud Skinner, owner of Bud’s Place and Jubilee Seafood.

“If I have 20 extra customers walk in my door three nights a week, I would call that a success.” -Bud Skinner

469

179

* Did not run because of holiday

Continued from page 17

“We are really excited about the opportunity for people outside our area to experience what we have,” Kirk said. “We have a lot to offer, and we’d be drawing business from another part of the city. We think it will open up the neighborhood to a lot of people who probably have not had a chance to experience the stuff that we can offer.” Numerous airmen stationed at Maxwell as well as business travelers and conventioneers staying downtown don’t have vehicles. If the Entertainment Express is successful, the Montgomery Biscuits, who play their home games at Riverwalk Stadium, could also beneﬁt from the nearby trolley stop at the Renaissance. “The government’s responsibility is to provide the infrastructure for the entrepreneur – for private business to be successful,” Strange said. “If we get increased taxation, then they (business owners) are successful as well. It’s about trying to help them be successful.” And getting potential diners to Old Cloverdale’s two entertainment districts is critical. For three Cloverdale-area restaurateurs, September and October were some of the worst months they’ve seen since they’ve been in business. Sales fell 30 to 40 percent in September at both Nancy Paterson’s Bistro

and at Skinner’s establishments. At Sinclair’s, September halted 17 years of steady growth for the restaurant. “September was the worst September we ever had,” Flippo said. Burns Paterson said he began feeling the effects of the economic downturn last summer, but the fall was dreadful. “September was brutal.” Regulars at the restaurants have tightened their belts, they’ve become more pricesensitive and they’ve reduced their number of visits per week, or they’ve cut back on add-ons like drinks or appetizers. Another big hit came from the reduced numbers of business travelers. The restaurant owners don’t view the Entertainment Express as a panacea, but do see it as an opportunity to help cushion declining revenue. “I can’t see a 10-percent increase in sales,” Flippo said, “but I would love to have it.” “We have no expectations,” Nancy Paterson said. “We’ll be happy if we get anything and if we don’t, we didn’t have it so we haven’t lost it.” Skinner: “The potential is there – there’s no doubt. It was a great idea by the mayor. I have no expectations. We’ll just see what happens.” •

“If 20 people got off that trolley and came in here just one night a week that would be great,” - Bill Flippo Bill Flippo, owner of Sinclair’s

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

A future of opportunities

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Member Proﬁle

McDonald’s franchisee J. Nicole Daniel in her Chantilly Parkway location.

A Growing Success – and Lovin’ It! Entrepreneur builds success under the golden arches by Tom Ensey

J. Nicole Daniel lives the American Dream 14 hours a day at her McDonald’s restaurant on Chantilly Parkway.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

BUSINESS

MCDONALD’S FRANCHISE OWNER J. NICOLE DANIEL LOCATIONS EAST MONTGOMERY AND UNION SPRINGS The burgers are ﬂying in the nine months since the store has opened. “I didn’t know we’d grow so quick, so fast,” she said.

And that’s when she’s not burning up the roads between Montgomery and Union Springs, where she recently acquired her second McDonald’s. But the ﬁrst-generation American is lovin’ it – every day. Daniel, the owner and manager of the two stores, doesn’t look much older than the kids who work behind the counter. That’s because she’s not. It wasn’t long ago she was ﬂipping burgers herself. Like a few million American teenagers, Daniel started her working life under the golden arches, serving up happy meals at the local Mickey D’s in her hometown of The Bronx, N.Y. She loved every minute of it, and knew from day one that this was what she wanted to do.

Daniels said she expects carryover from the holidays to continue to push sales into the new year. She believes people who did their Christmas shopping nearby will ﬁnd her store, which is one of the new-style McDonald’s. The newer McDonald’s have an upscale aesthetic that appeals to adults, with a huge, indoor play area for children. The demands of hard work and the value of education are no stranger to Daniels – her father was a doctor and her mother an accountant. The family followed her grandmother and immigrated to New York from Antigua in 1970, before Daniels was born. And while she loves the slower pace that Montgomery offers, she hasn’t slowed down a bit. “When you do something you really enjoy for a living, 14 or 15 hours go by pretty quickly,” said Daniel, who said she usually gets up about 6 every morning and hits the ground running.

To clarify, she wanted to own the place, not run the french fry machine.

“It’s very fulﬁlling,” she said. And there’s more to it for her than cranking out fast food.

After she graduated college, it didn’t take her long to move up the ladder: shift manager, then managing other restaurants in the Northeast, then applying to become an owner-operator. When the opportunity to own a store in Montgomery came about, she jumped at the chance.

She likes young people – enjoys training and helping those who work for her. It’s about leadership and setting an example, and it’s an important part of her job.

She fell in love with Montgomery right away. “The people are so nice, the city is beautiful,” she said. “I liked the laid-back atmosphere. I had never even visited the South. I liked the way everybody smiled and said ‘hi.’ ”

Her interest in young people is why she hopes to become involved with the school system – there’s a huge opportunity there, she said, to help her community. And she’s just getting warmed up. “There’s so much opportunity to grow,” she said. “As we progress in our business, we want to be more and more a part of the community.”

The pace is a little slower, too. “Up there, I was used to doing about $500 an hour,” she said. “That’s rare, here.” But things are picking up – fast. Her Montgomery store is located in one of the fastest growing areas of Montgomery – near The Shoppes at EastChase, not far from the hotels and retail centers springing up around Atlanta Highway and near the Mitylene exit off I-85.

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Striking the Right Chord Hyundai’s aggressive promotional campaign leads to Marketer of the Year award by David Zaslawsky

The announcer’s voice was calm and soothing. You might even say he sounded reassuring. The message was about Hyundai’s Assurance Program, which allowed new car buyers to return a vehicle if they lost a job or suffered a significant financial setback without impacting that individual’s credit score. That message during an economic downturn resonated with prospective Hyundai buyers. That message, coupled with an aggressive media campaign that featured advertisements during the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, helped spur Hyundai’s market share from 3 percent to 4.3 percent in the first 10 months of 2009. That message, coupled with the high-profile rollout of the upscale Genesis model, helped Hyundai capture the Marketer of the Year award from a readers’ poll in Advertising Age. Hyundai placed first with 40 percent of the vote; Walmart was second at 30 percent; followed by McDonald’s (14 percent); Lego (10 percent) and Amazon.com (7 percent). The Assurance Program made potential car shoppers feel “Hyundai cared about their situation,” Rebecca Lindland, research director for IHS Global Insight’s automotive group, told Advertising Age. “Being named Marketer of the Year demonstrates two things,” Robert Burns, spokesman for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, stated in an e-mail. “Hyundai’s

marketing team definitely understands how to communicate to consumers during these challenging economic times and the brand awareness has been elevated to a level that advertising pundits and our competitors can’t ignore this car company any longer.” The numbers speak for themselves: Through the first 10 months of 2009, Hyundai’s sales were up 4.1 percent over last year’s total. Compare those sales with the following: > Chrysler (-39 percent) > GM (-33.8 percent) > Toyota (-25.5 percent) > Honda (-22.6 percent) > Ford (-20.4 percent). “Hyundai’s recent success is a testament to Chairman’s (Mong Koo Chung) commitment to quality and providing today’s consumer with a vehicle that offers a combination of value and dependability,” Burns said. “The economic climate helped bring consumers to the Hyundai brand because they were looking for both quality and value in their next car purchase.” One marketing analyst said that 60 percent of Americans are willing to buy a Hyundai vehicle compared with 40 percent two years ago. That bodes well for Montgomery, where two of the Korean automaker’s top sellers – Sonata and Santa Fe – are manufactured. “The impact on Montgomery will be significant in the long run because as

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

consumer demand increases for Hyundai products, the Montgomery plant will be able to maximize the production capacity of Hyundai’s only North American plant,” Burns said. “The positive publicity is creating signiﬁcant momentum for the brand and a huge amount of pride among our team members and suppliers located in Montgomery and the surrounding area. Hyundai is becoming a brand that car shoppers want to check out and if they are looking for a mid-size sedan or crossover, then Montgomery wins.” Hyundai hopes to build on its momentum this year with a redesigned 2011 Sonata as well as updates to the Tucson and changes to other vehicles. Burns said those changes “will keep consumers interested in our company. It will also keep our competition guessing or looking over their shoulder.” Sounds a little bit like the theme of a Hyundai commercial, where executives of some foreign automakers are concerned about Genesis being named the North American Car of the Year. Scott Fink, chairman of Hyundai’s national dealer council, said his dealership in Florida is seeing more foreign car tradeins for the Genesis. He told Advertising Age: “(Hyundai) used to be a price player, but now we’re a mainstream player.”

Rolling the Dice on Out-of-State Visitors by David Zaslawsky

SHORTER – It may have sounded like bravado or at the least wishful thinking, but a little more than two years ago, the president and chief executive officer of VictoryLand had big plans. When the site work had barely begun on the nine-story, 300-room Oasis Hotel, Milton McGregor was talking about adding two 500room towers to the hotel. At the time he told the Central Alabama Business Journal, “We will have to grow into the 1,300 rooms.” That growth will depend on hotel guests from the 28-county metropolitan Atlanta area, which has an estimated 5.5 million people. McGregor earlier said that those visitors from Georgia encouraged him to build a hotel. He hopes the new hotel, plus an 80,000-plus square-foot convention center for business meetings and a 1,200-seat performing arts center being added later in the year, translate into a 20 percent revenue increase. The Oasis Hotel room rates range from weekdays (SundayWednesday) $109 to $145; weekends (Thursday-Saturday) $159-$179; suites ($395 a night); and there is a $2,500-a-night presidential suite. The suites are one-bedroom with a sitting room. The two-bedroom presidential suite is nearly 2,000 square feet with a sitting room and dining room and also features a Jacuzzi tub, chef’s kitchen and butler’s pantry. “The reaction from the public has been great,” Hotel General Manager Rusti Price said. McGregor has invested $100 million in his expansion, which also included a parking deck, massive renovation to the existing VictoryLand facility and new restaurants. The new Oasis Hotel, which opened Nov. 1, features Whitfield’s Steakhouse, an upscale restaurant; O-Brew Coffee Bar with Starbuck’s coffee; and O’s Lobby Bar. Other features include 32-inch high-definition televisions in each room, pool and exercise room. “The Oasis Hotel will be a state-of-the-art lodging and/or meetings option for corporate and leisure travelers and groups in the growing Montgomery area or anyone traveling on I-85,” Price said in a statement. “The hotel will be at an upscale service level with luxurious bedding, large-screen TVs and 24-honor guest room dining.” VictoryLand offers 6,000-plus video bingo games at Quincy’s Triple Seven Bingo as well as live greyhound and simulcast racing. Part of the grand-opening ceremonies featured free concerts with the Temptations and Randy Owen from the group Alabama. “I hoped and prayed we would grow to this point,” McGregor told The Tuskegee News.

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

This might be the worst recession this country has experienced since the Great Depression, but Nim Frazer doesn’t want to be known for leading the Chamber through poor economic times. No, the newly minted Chamber chairman is aiming for a broader legacy.

SON

FATHER by David Zaslawsky

Although Nim Frazer is just beginning his tenure as chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, he already knows how he wants his term to be remembered.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Frazer, who is general manager of Industrial Partners, began his tenure as Chamber Chairman on January 1. He wants to be remembered for his commitment to the military and for launching and building momentum in the Career Academies. “I really want to be known for my love and support of the military because I appreciate what the military has done for this community.” He should. Frazer is a thirdgeneration military man. His grandfather and father both served in the military, as did Frazer. He was an infantry ofﬁcer for three years right after college. “I’m trying to make sure that we take every effort to not only increase and improve our relationships with the current leaders we have at Maxwell and in the region, but past leaders who have

“There is no longer a place for the unskilled laborers that we have in our work force,” Frazer said.

been at Maxwell and may have gone on to other Air Force responsibilities,” Frazer said. He mentioned Gen. Stephen Lorenz, who had been a commander here not long ago, left Maxwell, received his fourth star, and is now commander of Air Education Training Command. “He is in charge of the Air Force’s training across the United States. What a tremendous resource that is,” Frazer said. One of Frazer’s top priorities as Chamber chairman is retaining and protecting the jobs at Maxwell/Gunter Air Force Base to preserve the military’s annual $1 billion economic impact. He called Maxwell the “intellectual and leadership center” of the Air Force. Keeping the Air Force Information Technology Conference and its estimated $30 million impact in Montgomery is another top priority. The 2009 conference, which was held at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center, attracts 5,500-plus participants. Frazer also plans to capitalize on Montgomery’s place in aviation history. This year marks the 100th anniversary of powered flight and the Wright brothers opening of a civilian flying school in 1910 on a site which is now part of Maxwell Field. “A hanger was constructed for the Wright Brothers and that’s where they ran their civilian flying school,” Frazer said. Frazer hopes to build the Wright Brothers Museum on a 10-acre site on Bell Street next to the Montgomery Housing Authority, which is being relocated. He said the first goal is raising the seed money – $350,000 to hire an architect and full-time fundraiser. He estimated the overall cost for the Wright Brothers Museum between $12 million and $14 million and said he believes it is a five-year project. The museum’s centerpiece would be an exact replica of the Wright Flyer. But Frazer said that his top priority is education.

Five of the seven Career Academies have been launched this year. They are: business/ ﬁnance, teaching, health science/medical, information technology and law and public safety. The two academies scheduled to begin next year are hospitality and tourism/ culinary arts and advanced manufacturing. Frazer said an eighth academy about design/construction is being discussed. “We have 32,400 students in the Montgomery Public Schools system and only half of those may go to college and move up to the next level,” Frazer said. “As Mayor Todd Strange says, ‘So goes education, so goes our city.’ We’ve got to be able to (help) these kids who are not going to the next level and I think the things we’re doing right now will be a huge help.” The Career Academies, which are schools within schools, are designed around a career theme. “The Career Academies are a terriﬁc and very important high school reform program that we have with Montgomery Public Schools,” Frazer said. “We’ve had tremendous support from the military, from the business community and with the schools, principals and superintendent.” Frazer said it’s important to aggressively promote the Career Academies to eighth-graders, who would be eligible to attend them in ninth-grade. “What you have to be careful of is not having the Montgomery Public Schools system just sit back and have the Chamber’s people get engaged and run the academies,” Frazer said. “The Chamber should just serve in an advisory role. It has to be run by the school system and then supported by the Chamber and the business community.” Another priority for Frazer is economic development. He said there is a large inventory of buildings and many of those are 30,000 square feet or more.

“Unfortunately right now, we probably have a 20-percent vacancy rate for available buildings in Montgomery,” he said. “But what that does is provide an opportunity to bring in other industry and businesses that aren’t interested in constructing a new building, but are interested in getting into an existing building at a lot more attractive price point. The Chamber does a great job of marketing those buildings and I just want to make sure that we continue that.” •

TWO FRAZERS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE When Rod Frazer was chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce 10 years ago, he never dreamed that one of his children would follow in his footsteps. But in January, Nim Frazer did exactly that by becoming Chamber chairman, and in the process he made history. The Frazers are the ﬁrst father-son duo to be Chamber chairmen. “This is a unique opportunity for the Chamber to get two Frazers for the price of one – even though he won’t be sitting next to me in the board room,” Nim Frazer said. “I will certainly call on my dad for his experience and for his wisdom as I go through the trials and tribulations of the year.” Although his dad won’t be in the board room, Rod Frazer will be the chair on the past chairmen’s committee, which is an advisory panel. “My dad has always been my hero,” Nim Frazer said. “I’ve always looked up to him and admired him for his accomplishments. I saw the success he had because I had a chance that year to sit around the table when he was the chairman. He’s a very brilliant man. “I never envisioned (being) the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. It just happened that way. I realize I wouldn’t have had this chance to be chairman had it not been for this legacy.” Continued on page 27

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

PAST CHAIRMEN

OF THE MONTGOMERY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

1890-96

H. B. Houghton

1927-28

W. A. Bellingrath

1961

Edgar W. Stuart

1986

James G. Martin, Sr.

1897-98

Jacob Greil

1929

Robert Emmet Seibels

1962

Bryan B. Marsh

1986-87

Henry A. Leslie

1899-1900 Charles G. Abercrombie

1930-31

Fred J. Cramton

1963-64

W. Lyle Hinds

1988

George B. Clements

1901-04

Alex Rice

1932-33

Harry E. Snow

1965

A. Berney Jones

1989

Clyde H. Wood

1905-08

A. G. Forbes

1934

W. A. Bellingrath

1966

Charles P. Brightwell

1990

Perry Mendel

1909

Fred S. Ball

1935-36

Sylvain Baum

1967

W. Robbins Taylor, Sr.

1991-92

Will Hill Tankersley

1910

Sam J. Cassels

1937-38

J. M. Jenkins

1968

George E. von Gal, Jr.

1993

A. Bowen Ballard

1911

Edwin B. Joseph

1939-40

A. S. Coleman

1969

Frank A. Plummer

1994

J. Mike Jenkins

1911

Frank D. Kohn

1941

Richard F. Hudson

1970

Philip A. Sellers

1995

Margaret A. Carpenter

1912

Emil J. Meyer

1942-43

William C. Bowman

1971

Earle D. Kitchen

1996

Todd Strange

1913

Fitzgerald Salter

1944-45

L. D. Rouse

1972

Thomas M. Tyson, Sr.

1997

Tom Somerville

1914

Duncan May

1946

Stanhope E. Elmore

1973

Hugh P. Foreman

1998

James K. Lowder

1915

Terry T. Griel

1947

James D. Flowers

1974

James L. Rouse, Jr.

1999

W. Stephen Cawood

1916

Clayton Tullis

1948

James J. Durr

1975

Frank H. Hawthorne, Sr.

2000

Nimrod T. Frazer

1917

A. C. Davis

1949-50

Boyd H. Leyburn

1976

Robert P. Hudgens

2001

Jerry C. Kyser

1918

E. Meertief

1951

Robert F. Henry

1977

John H. Neill, Jr.

2002

Lawrence Cole, Jr.

1919

C. J. Beane

1952

Max S. Baum

1978

James T. Upchurch, Jr.

2003

Larry A. Groce

1920

I. H. Dewees

1953

Charles M. Smith, Jr.

1979

M. Taylor Dawson, Jr.

2004

Carl A. Barranco

1921

Robert Teague

1954

C.T. Fitzpatrick

1980

Dr. Thomas C. Nolan

2005

G. Carlton Barker

1922

I. H. Dewees

1955

James G. Pruett

1981

James S. Gaskell, Jr.

2006

Purser L. McLeod, Jr.

1923

L. C. Cardinal

1956

Mark A. Johnston

1982

John M. Trotman

2007

Edward F. Crowell

1924

I. Fred Solomon

1957

Clyde C. Pearson

1983

Samuel L. Schloss

2008

Gordon G. Martin

1925

Harry E. Snow

1958

J. Noble Crump

1984

Maury D. Smith

2008

Charles B. Paterson

1926

General Robert F. Ligon

1959-60

Carl W. Bear

1985

Parker A. Narrows

2009

W. Daniel Hughes, Jr.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Continued from page 25

His dad quickly interrupted and said that Nim Frazer was deserving of the honor and earned it on his own. “He (Nim Frazer) was put in that job because he was deemed to be the best person available for it,” Rod Frazer said. “He is exceedingly well trained for this job. He has gone through all the steps of manufacturing quality buildings, including the leasing of those facilities and handling very complicated big-time ﬁnancing. “He’s dealt with every highly professional industrial real estate broker in this town. He has dealt with many of the banks in this town. He’s dealt with many of the lawyers in this town. He’s got a ton of face-toface experience. And he doesn’t need me to do this job (Chamber chairman).”

Nimrod T. Frazer II will be chairman of the newly formed past chairman’s committee.

“I would be less than honest with you if I said I wasn’t challenged by the opportunity,” Nim Frazer said. “Obviously, there is pressure, but I don’t tend to put those pressures on myself. I will just do the best job I possibly can and hopefully we’ll be successful.

Nim Frazer becoming the Chamber chairman “is the highlight of my family’s business achievement,” Rod Frazer said. “The Chamber is about Montgomery business and we’ve been a business family here always. The very idea of my having become the chairman of the Chamber was a huge compliment to me and the family. And then for us to come along 10 years later with a repeat – it’s unprecedented.”

“I’m excited about it and I’m a little nervous about it because of the economy, but the upside opportunities are tremendous.”•

Although Rod and Nim Frazer share a last name, the two are vastly different. Nim Frazer said he is conservative in his decisions and decision-making process. He said his dad usually has an agenda, knows what he wants to do and accomplishes it.

Who better than past chairmen to offer pearls of wisdom and real-life experiences leading the 2,000-member organization? That was a no-brainer for Frazer – learn from the experiences of others.

Rod Frazer said that is son is calm and easygoing. “I’m less forgiving than he is. I am a customer of Nim’s. I have had an arm’slength business relationship with him for many years. I own property and he manages it. He does a better job of that than I did so I’m not about trying to control him. … I’ll try to help him stay between the ditches.” Those ditches, Rod Frazer said, are wrong decisions. “You’ll spend half of your tenure trying to get out of the ditch instead of going further down the road.” Time is important. The chairman’s tenure is just one year so Rod Frazer talked about traction – getting off to a fast start.

LEARN FROM OTHERS Nim Frazer is the new chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, but he turned to some old leaders for sage advice.

“One of the key things they said was the opportunity to select and appoint some board members and some to leadership positions for the Chamber,” Frazer said. “I’m looking at trying to bring some youth to the Chamber board. “When I ﬁrst got involved on the board, I’ve learned that most of the board members are probably over 50 years of age. If you bring them in early, they will have an opportunity to live and learn from the experience of being on the board.” Frazer said that there is a pool of prospects in the young professionals group Emerge Montgomery.

chairmen’s committee. “As the chairman, I’m going to rely on these past chairmen because all are very successful people in their fields and they’ve had a lot of experience going through this process.” That process is a five-year role – four years on the Chamber’s executive committee and one year as chairman. One former Chamber chairman said it was important to have a slogan – “something you can hang your hat on during the year,” Frazer said. His slogan is: “Improve the Product.” He explained: “I think by definition it shows respect for the hard work and the countless others who came before me in this position. It also leads to opportunities to review the community’s strengths and it shows determination in the face of the hard times we’re having right now. “I’m thinking – improving the product – meaning the product of the Chamber. The Chamber does so many great things. What a great opportunity it is to work with the Chamber staff. We’re having some (difficult) economic times and this maybe is something we can improve on.” Frazer is excited about the possibility of leading a contingent to visit another city and learn how that Chamber accomplished its goals. “We will see what’s worked for them and take their best practices and bring them back here,” Frazer said. Two cities being considered are Nashville, Tenn., and Austin, Texas. “They had similar goals and objectives (to those) we had,” Frazer said, “and they had experienced a lot of success with their business plan.” •

To harness those experiences of past chairmen, Frazer created a past

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Economy on the mend Experts forecast modest growth for 2010 by David Zaslawsky

With the dramatic downturn in the economy, waves of negative numbers for spending, earnings, investments and employment followed. They were the types of numbers not seen since the Great Depression. When those negative numbers have gained enough traction to become flat or nearly flat, well that’s a trend and “flat is the new up,” said Keivan Deravi, interim vice chancellor of academic affairs for Auburn University’s Montgomery campus. Considered a local expert on the economy and longtime economics professor, Deravi says economic growth in 2010 will be flat or slightly negative, and that picture will be a “persistent scenario.” He expects unemployment will return to what he calls “a reasonable level” in 2011 or 2012, down from the current 10 percent-plus. “It may be in 2012 when we see the fullblown recovery in place,” he told business leaders at the 27th annual Economic Summit at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center. He said the economy is not going to heal until jobs are created and the housing sector stabilizes. But the housing sector will be hit with a third wave of frantic foreclosure activity in 2010, according to Rick Sharga, senior vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac, the country’s prominent foreclosure data collection company. He warned that the second quarter will be hit hard as $60 billion to $100 billion in various types of adjustable-rate loans will recast this year. Sharga, who said that foreclosure activity will peak in 2010, is forecasting about 4 million foreclosures for the year. “We don’t think foreclosure activity will get much better in 2011,” Sharga said. “It will probably be marginally better, but not a whole lot better. We will not get down to normal levels of monthly foreclosure activity until sometime in 2012 – probably late 2012 – and we will still be burning through inventory of bankrupt properties well into 2013.

> The overall permit process is up 37 percent. > Electrical inspections are up 6 percent. > Housing values increased 4 percent in 2008. > Business license revenue is up 8 percent.

Rick Sharga, senior vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac, says the housing market will be hit with a third wave of foreclosures in 2010

“While we will continue dealing with a record number of foreclosures we may start to feel a lot better before 2013. It’s going to be a regional recovery – market-by market.” He said that foreclosures in Alabama have increased because of the rising unemployment. Sharga pointed out that Alabama, which ranked near the bottom in foreclosure activity in 2008, actually saw a 7 percent decline in foreclosures in the 2009 third quarter while the rest of the country saw a 5 percent increase. “But year-over-year basis, the state is up well over 100 percent while the U.S. is up 22 percent,” Sharga said. He said that some economists believe there is one foreclosure for every six to 10 jobs lost. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange told the audience at the economic forum “that the light you see at the end of the tunnel is not the train coming at us because you heard it ﬁrst here: The recession is over in Montgomery, Alabama.” Why he is so optimistic? Because of the following: > Leads for conventions are up 74 percent. > Opportunities for industrial projects in the River Region are up 275 percent. > About 20 companies, which represent a combined 11,000 jobs, are looking at the River Region. > Construction permits are up 63 percent year-over-year. > Additions and alterations permits are up 17 percent.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Strange said the hotel occupancy rate is down 2.3 percent, but that compares favorably with double-digit declines in Huntsville (10.6 percent), Birmingham (12.8 percent) and Mobile (16.8 percent). He said sales tax revenue was down 10 percent for the fiscal year that ended in September and that revenue had declined about 9.5 percent in the first month of the new fiscal year. Regions Financial Corp. Chief Economist Bob Allsbrook said, “This is not a consumer-led economic recovery and most recoveries are. The business sector is the key to this recovery.” He said that business inventories, which had been depleted during the recession because of sluggish demand, are being built back up. But he fears what happens after the inventories are built up and “we lose that as a stimulus for growth.” Sara Johnson, managing director of global macroeconomics for IHS Global Insight, said the national economy will grow 2.1 percent in 2010 and 2.9 percent in 2011. She said there will be a “solid rebound given the depths” the economy had fallen. Johnson said that consumers will spend, but will do so cautiously. The firm has three scenarios for economic growth in 2010: baseline, optimistic and pessimistic. The baseline forecast is for 2 percent growth; the optimistic model calls for 4 percent growth and the pessimistic outlook is -1 percent. Johnson said that was an unusually wide range of outcomes. “It’s a very uncertain world and that is leading to cautious behavior,” Johnson said. “Credit is still very tight and that will hold back the recovery. Compared to last year, it’s just a dramatic change. The financial crisis could have been worse. We’ve survived it and now we’ll move forward.” •

FORECASTING FIRM PREDICTS GOOD TIMES FOR AUTOMAKERS When you’re listening to four hours of economic forecasts and models from experts and business leaders, sometimes small details get lost in the mountains of information. But Sara Johnson, managing director of Global Macroeconomics for IHS Global Insight, one of the premier forecasting Sara Johnson firms in the country, casually said that vehicle sales will climb to 11.2 million in 2010. That’s a nice move considering that less 10 million units were expected to be sold in 2009, a 39-year low. Then she said the new vehicle sales forecast for 2011 is close to 14 million. That’s a powerful projection for a state that manufactures 700,000-plus vehicles a year and ranks fifth in the country in that category. Johnson wasn’t finished. She told the 27th annual Economic Forum that the country would return to purchasing 16 million units in 2013 – a number that auto analysts thought was a figure of the past. Not only will consumers buy 16 million new vehicles in 2013, but Johnson said the new car market will remain more than 16 million in 2014 – and 2015. And 2016. Alabama’s auto manufacturers – Hyundai (Montgomery), Honda (Lincoln), Mercedes-Benz (Vance) and Toyota (engine plant in Huntsville) have a bright future. And if the automakers have a bright future, that means the state does, too. The state’s automotive industry represents 17.5 percent of Alabama’s manufacturing gross domestic product. The state’s auto industry accounted for a combined 134,000-plus jobs in 2007 and a total payroll of $5.2 billion. Alabama’s auto industry is continuing to grow with a boost from a new Kia manufacturing plant just over the border in West Point, Ga. The Kia plant was responsible for 3,600 new jobs and $700 million-plus investments at Alabama auto suppliers, according to the Alabama Development Office (ADO). In addition, 20 to 25 percent of Kia’s workers will come from Alabama, ADO Director Neal Wade has said. Alabama workers are also expected to be hired for a Volkswagen manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. Here are some other highlights about the state’s automotive industry: > The sector has invested $7 billion-plus and created more than 35,000 jobs in the past 10 years. > At $5 billion, motor vehicles were Alabama’s No. 1 export in 2008 and accounted for almost one-third of the state’s total exports. > There are more than 100 suppliers in the state that serve Hyundai, Honda or Mercedes. > Engine capacity has increased to 1.2 million units a year.

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Member News

BUSINESSBUZZ NEW SONATA 4-CYLINDER ENGINE WILL GET ESTIMATED 35 MPG MONTGOMERY – The 2011 4-cylinder Sonata will get an estimated 35 mpg in highway driving with a new Theta II 2.4-liter gasoline-direct injection (GDL) engine. In addition to improved fuel efﬁciency the new engine also features reduced emissions and greater horsepower – 200. The engines are being built at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama facility in Montgomery, where the Sonata and Santa Fe are produced. “At Hyundai’s core is a promise to deliver unparalleled quality and value to our customers,” John Krafcik, president and chief executive ofﬁcer of Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement.

INTEGRATED COMPUTER SOLUTIONS RELOCATES HEADQUARTERS TO DOWNTOWN MONTGOMERY MONTGOMERY - Integrated Computer Solutions (ICS) has moved its corporate headquarters to downtown Montgomery.

while offering all of our team members a high quality of life at an advantageous cost of living. We are proud to support Montgomery’s downtown revitalization efforts, while continuing to make ICS an even better place to work for our team members.” ICS, which was founded in 1997, is an information security and technology consulting ﬁrm with operating locations throughout the United States. ICS provides a robust portfolio of technology and information security services to an increasing number of federal, state, and Fortune 1000 clients. The services that ICS offers include outsourcing, staff augmentation and support, network penetration testing, application vulnerability testing, disaster recovery and business continuity planning, risk assessments, WAN optimization, forensics and incident response services.

CUNNINGHAM GROUP WINS 12 TOP PUBLIC RELATIONS AWARDS

The new location at 60 Commerce St. will accommodate the company’s current staff while allowing for further expansion.

MONTGOMERY – Cunningham Group took home a coveted Lantern Award and 11 other honors at the recent annual conference of the Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) in Tunica, Miss.

“This move represents a positive step in the growth of our company,” said Chip Schuneman, chief operating ofﬁcer of ICS Inc. “Montgomery has consistently provided the ability to attract talented professionals to our team

The conference, celebrating its 35th year, annually recognizes outstanding achievement in public relations. Awards are based on a project’s strategy, creativity, production values and results. A panel of industry experts selects the winners.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Cunningham Group, a Montgomery-based advertising and public relations ﬁrm, won a Lantern Award for a project for the executive director of Voices, a non-proﬁt child advocacy group. The agency also won eight Awards of Excellence and three Merit Awards. The Excellence Awards were projects developed for Alabama Law Foundation, Auburn Montgomery, Dixie Electric Co., Higher Education Partnership, Lowder New Homes, Peacock Pavers and VictoryLand. Earning Merit Awards were projects for Lowder New Homes, The Frazer Lanier Co. and VictoryLand. The Southern Public Relations Federation is the leading association for public relations professionals in the Southeast and boasts more than 1,200 members from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Florida.

AUBURN MONTGOMERY PROFESSOR PLANS SECOND FITNESS VIDEO MONTGOMERY – Auburn Montgomery physical education and exercise science professorMichele Olson will soon begin production on her second ﬁtness video, “Fitness Prescription: Perfect Abs, Glutes and Leg.” Olson said she hoped for a December release. “The last video I did was for a production company, Stars Home Entertainment,” Olson said. “They hired me to develop and perform a workout. This time I’m producing the video

Auburn Montgomery physical education and exercise science professor Michele Olson’s new ﬁtness video is called “Fitness Prescription: Perfect Abs, Glutes and Legs.”

myself with my own production company, directors, crew, set designer and film company.” Olson’s first video, “10 Minute Solutions: Kettlebell Ultimate Fat Burner,” was released a year ago. The new video will be about 50 minutes long with two 25-minute workouts. The video will focus on just abs, legs and glutes. Olson said the most enlightening part of the process was meeting with her public relations team, which drew from students at the university. Auburn Montgomery student Victor Sanakaipapi, a graphic design major from Cameroon, Africa, played a significant role in developing Olson’s brand. Sanakaipapi designed Olson’s logo and Web site, which will be on the cover of her new video and any future videos in the Fitness Prescription series.

TROY UNIVERSITY OFFERS TAXATION MASTER’S PROGRAM TROY – The Alabama Commission on Higher Education has approved Troy University to begin offering a new professional

taxation master’s program in the spring semester. The program will prepare students for careers as tax professionals or for admission into a doctoral program in accounting with a tax emphasis. The degree program will consist of 30 semester hours and will provide advanced tax law knowledge, identification of tax issues, tax research and communications training. According to Kaye Sheridan, interim dean of the Sorrell College of Business and director of the university’s accounting program, the university will also offer a Certificate in Taxation to students wishing specialized knowledge in taxation but who do not desire the graduate degree, and who either hold a master’s degree or are a certified public accountant. The curriculum for the certificate program is 15 semester hours.

The program will begin accepting students for the spring 2010 semester. Initially, it will be offered on the Troy campus, with delivery via videoconferencing to the campuses in Montgomery, Dothan and Phenix City, and will be eventually available online through eCampus, according to Barron. For information on the Master of Taxation program, contact Larry Hudack at lhudack@troy.edu.

KNOLOGY ENHANCES SPORTS PAK WITH FOUR ADDITIONAL CHANNELS MONTGOMERY - Knology of Montgomery has added four sports channels to its current 11-channel Sports Pak lineup. The package now offers CBS College Sports Network, three channels of Fox College Sports, Fuel TV, Tennis Channel and Sportsman Channel,

soccer on GoITV, outdoor sports on the World Fishing Network and college action on the Big Ten Network. Knology residential cable customers can add the Sports Pak for $5.95 per month. As part of the Sports Pak change, ESPN Classic will be moving to the Sports Pak from channel 28 to channel 159. New channels added to the Sports Pak lineup include: ESPN Classic, channel 159; GolTV, channel 164; Big Ten Network, channel 189; and World Fishing Network, channel 198.

BAPTIST HEALTH CEO, PRATTVILLE MAYOR NAMED TO TROY’S MONTGOMERY CAMPUS ADVISORY COUNCIL MONTGOMERY - Members of the Troy University Montgomery Campus Advisory Council

Russell Tyner

Jim Byard, Jr.

elected the group’s first officers during a recent meeting. Russell Tyner, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health, will serve as the council’s chairman and CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31) Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Jr. will serve as the chairman-elect. Tyner joined Baptist Health as president and CEO in 2004. He has more than 25 years of health care leadership experience and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications/journalism from the University of Alabama.

REBAC, founded in 1988, is the world’s largest association of real estate professionals focusing speciﬁcally on representing the real state buyer. There are more than 43,000 active members of the organization worldwide.

Carol Andrews

Byard, who is currently serving his third term as mayor, previously served on the City Council. He is a graduate of Troy University’s Montgomery campus, where he majored in political science with a double minor in business and sociology. The Montgomery Campus Advisory Council is composed of local business and community leaders who provide advice, guidance, support and advocacy for the Montgomery campus.

SAMARITAN COUNSELING CENTER INC. WILL PRESENT ETHICS AWARDS IN NOVEMBER

Lynda Schmidt

LOCAL REALTORS RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION MONTGOMERY - Aronov Realty Brokerage Inc. recently announced that Carol Andrews recently completed the 15 models required for the GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) designation. In another development, Lynda Schmidt and Carolyn Slocum have been awarded the Accredited Buyer Representation (ABR) designation by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council Inc. (REBAC) of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). When a Realtor completes all 15 GRI modules, plus a course from the National Association of Realtors on the Code of Ethics, and the state required Post License course, they receive their GRI designation. GRI designees are an elite group of real estate professionals – fewer than 15 percent of all members of the Realtor organization are GRIs.

Carolyn Slocum

Realty Brokerage’s residential sales. She manages the company’s Montgomery and Prattville ofﬁces. The Alabama GRI program is offered throughout the state by the Alabama Association of Realtors, and is approved and certiﬁed by NAR, the nation’s largest trade association with a membership of 1 million-plus. Schmidt and Slocum, who both work in Prattville, joined more than 32,000 real estate professionals in North America who have earned the ABR designation. All were required to complete a comprehensive course in buyer representation and an elective course focusing on a buyer representation specialty, both in addition to submitting documentation verifying professional experience.

Andrews is qualifying broker and vice president of Aronov

NAR represents more than 1 million members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

MONTGOMERY - The Samaritan Counseling Center Inc. is launching a new community initiative in collaboration with Auburn Montgomery’s Schools of Business and Sciences. The newly established River Region Ethics in Business and Public Service Awards program will honor small, medium and large businesses, nonprofit organizations/public agencies and community leaders. The awards program’s nomination process will end Feb. 10. Nominations may be made online through the program’s Web site (www. riverregionethics.com) or by requesting nomination forms from The Samaritan Counseling Center at (334) 262-7787. Under the supervision of faculty, Auburn Montgomery business and public administration graduate students will conduct research probing the ethical policies and practices of six nominees in each category. An independent selection committee made up of community leaders will review the final academic reports and designate three finalists and an award winner in each category. An awards luncheon honoring finalists and award winners is slated for Nov. 4 at Wynlakes Golf and Country Club.

LWT WINS INTERACTIVE ACCOUNT FOR OUTLET CENTER, RESIDENTIAL PROJECT MONTGOMERY – LWT has won the interactive account for Silver Sands Factory Stores in Destin, Fla. The firm also has been awarded the marketing and interactive account for Worthing Place - Delray Beach, Fla. The new mid-rise, multi-family downtown development will contain 217 luxury residences with an opening planned for first quarter 2010. Greystar, a national, fully integrated multifamily services provider, is the management company for the project and retained LWT for the work from its Atlanta office. Silver Sands Factory Stores is the largest designer outlet center in the nation with 100-plus designer names. LWT, a marketing and interactive firm, will direct the entire online advertising initiative, including a comprehensive Web site, social media and search engine marketing. LWT recently placed sixth in the 2009 ranking of the Top 20 Alabama advertising agencies compiled by Business Alabama.

FORTY-SIX BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS ATTORNEYS NAMED TO ALABAMA SUPER LAWYERS 2009 BIRMINGHAM - Forty-six attorneys from Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP were recently chosen for inclusion in Alabama Super Lawyers 2009. Two of those attorneys, Philip H. Butler and Charles A. Stewart III, practice business litigation in the ﬁrm’s Montgomery ofﬁce. Super Lawyers is an annual list of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition

on a homeowner and ways to prevent the foreclosure process from continuing. The Web site also offers homeowners information on short sales, one way that can save a homeowner from foreclosure’s damaging effects in credit. Philip Bulter

Charles A. Stewart III

and professional achievement. The ﬁnal list amounts to 5 percent of the licensed active attorneys in a state. Super Lawyers creates its list of the best lawyers in each state/ region through a combination of polling and research.

Sandra Nickel

LOCAL REALTOR LAUNCHES WEB SITE TO HELP HOMEOWNERS MONTGOMERY – Montgomery Realtor Sandra Nickel has developed a marketing strategy and Web site that is focused on assisting distressed homeowners to ﬁnd information and investigate options to avoid foreclosure. Visitors to “AvoidForeclosu reMontgomeryAL.com” will ﬁnd information regarding the foreclosure process, what effects foreclosure has

Nickel’s new Web site provides visitors with a description of how the short sale process works, how it compares to a foreclosure and how a homeowner may be able to qualify for a short sale. For information about foreclosures and short sales in Montgomery, interested persons may visit the Web site at “AvoidF oreclosureMontgomeryAL.com,” contact the ﬁrm directly at (334) 834-1500 or e-mail: Info@Avoid ForeclosureMontgomeryAL.com.

COMPLEX KIDNEY SURGERIES PERFORMED WITH ROBOTIC SYSTEM MONTGOMERY – The city’s ﬁrst complex kidney surgeries using the da Vinci robotic surgical system were recently performed at Jackson Hospital. Dr. Margaret J. Vereb of Urology Professionals of Alabama Inc. performed the surgeries. The da Vinci surgery for kidney conditions uses the best techniques of open surgery and applies them to the robotic-assisted, minimally invasive approach. With the da Vinci robot, Vereb’s patients experience less pain, minimal blood loss, less risk of infection and a shorter recovery time.

STARKE LIFE AGENCY VP IS REGISTERRED ING REP MONTGOMERY – Starke Life Agency Vice President Brian Kasarjian has successfully completed license exams and is CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33) unhappy with the service of their company’s 401(k) or 403(b) plan provider or explore the possibility of reducing current fee structure. Starke Agency Inc. is an insurance brokerage and risk management company. Brian Kasarjian

now a registered representative of ING Financial Advisers, LLC. Kasarjian, who completed FINRA Series 6 and 63 licenses exams, is now able to sell variable annuities, variable life policies and mutual funds. He can discuss rollover options for individuals who have 401(k) funds in a retirement plan from a former employer. In addition, Kasarjian can assist employers

TWO ALABAMA WORLD TRAVEL AGENTS NAMED AMONG TOP IN WORLD NEW YORK, N.Y. - Liz Sutton and Marrilee Foukal McLean from Alabama World Travel were among the top travel agents in the world, according to Travel + Leisure magazine. For the eighth-annual “AList,” Sutton & McLean were among only 129 top travel agents selected by Travel +

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Liz Sutton

Marrilee Foukal McLean

Leisure editors, who evaluated hundreds of candidates. The prestigious list organizes the agents by area of specialization and includes their years of experience and consulting fees.

Alabama World Travel is a member of the leading travel network Virtuoso. The complete 2009 A-List is available on www.travelandleisure.com.

Sutton and McLean appear in the cruise and ski categories, respectfully, and received this recognition based on their expertise with this type of travel.

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

MEMBERS ON THE MOVE RIVER REGION UNITED WAY NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

COPPERWING ADDS INTERACTIVE DEPARTMENT HEAD

MONTGOMERY – The new executive director of the River Region United Russ Dunman Way is taking over at a difﬁcult economic time.

MONTGOMERY, AL – Copperwing has announced that Shawn Constance will Shawn Constance lead its interactive department as Digital Media Director.

Russ Dunman, who was director of stewardship for Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church and has been a United Way volunteer for 30-plus years, said, “Fundraising in the River Region has always been a pleasantly surprising challenge and the River Region always responds.”

Constance will be responsible for bringing new technology to the forefront, developing and managing interactive initiatives for clients, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and implementation of CMS software that he engineered speciﬁcally for Copperwing.

As the executive director, Dunman said his ﬁrst job is to listen – “to the giving public, to the agencies United Way supports, to the volunteer community and professional leaders in the River Region both past and present and to anyone with viable and potentially workable ways to improve the United Way campaign and the River Region United Way as a whole.”

Before joining Copperwing, Constance designed and engineered software solutions for Aﬂac, serving as technical lead for the new aﬂac.com. His portfolio of interactive work includes projects for the U.S. Army.

The campaign had raised $3.2 million of its $5.6 million goal. Dunman pointed out that “dollars are very important, but the impact of those dollars is so much more the story of our United Way.” Before being named executive director of the River Region United Way, Dunman spent 34 years in the banking industry with Regions Financial Corp. and two other banks that evolved into Regions. Dunman served in numerous capacities during his banking career including a runner and teller and retired in 2007 as an executive vice president. A Sidney Lanier High School graduate, Dunman received bachelor’s degrees in history and political science from Troy University. He also attended the LSU Graduate School of Banking and the University of South Alabama Graduate School of Banking. Dunman, who oversees a staff of 16, said his goals for United Way include growing the contributor base and helping the community better understand the agency’s role.

A programmer holding multiple certifications, Constance has extensive background integrating customer-driven, interactive multimedia applications that amplify the brand experience. Over the past decade, he has developed programs for a variety of digital media, using web and portal technology. A graduate of Mississippi College, Constance earned a Masters degree in Software Engineering from Auburn University. Copperwing Design is a design and brand management firm providing a full range of integrated marketing, brand strategy and consulting services with a specialty in multi-layered messaging to a multitarget audience. Based in Montgomery, Alabama and founded in 1999, the firm serves local, regional and national clients. IBERIABANK CORP. NAMES CHIEF RISK OFFICER, INTERNAL AUDIT MANAGER LAFAYETTE, La. – IBERIABANK Corp. recently announced appointments to their senior management team. James B. Gburek was named executive vice president and chief risk officer, and Lewis Rogers was named executive vice president and internal audit manager. Gburek will be responsible for managing internal and external risks associated with

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

James Gburek

the legal area, the dynamic regulatory environment and internal controls and credit. He will oversee audit, loan review, consumer compliance, legal and be the regulatory agency liaison for the organization.

Since 1990, Gburek served in a number of capacities at Wachovia Bank. Lewis Rogers More recently, he was managing director of Wachovia’s Latin America and Canadian corporate and investment banking business. He also served as group executive for Wachovia’s domestic large corporate business development activities for companies located in the Eastern United States. Other roles included manager of the Midwest District of U.S. corporate banking group, credit risk manager for three U.S. corporate districts and cash management consultant and sales manager. Gburek received a bachelor’s degree in music from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, a master’s degree of music from SUNY at Stony Brook, and a master’s degree from Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University. Rogers will be responsible for the internal auditing function of the organization. For the past nine years, he has served as head of credit administration at Whitney National Bank in New Orleans. Prior to his tenure at Whitney, he was part of the First Commerce Corp. team, where he served in a number of capacities, including commercial credit officer for First Commerce Corp., chief credit officer for the First Commerce subsidiary banks in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La., and commercial lending officer in the New Orleans commercial and energy segments. He began his banking career at First National Bank of Birmingham. Rogers graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in

mathematics and received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. IBERIABANK Corp., which is the holding company of the 122-year old IBERIABANK, is headquartered in Lafayette, La. The company has 162 ofﬁces, including locations in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, and Florida.

counsel and qualifying broker for the Orange Beach ofﬁce of Meyer Real Estate in Gulf Shores, where she also managed Meyer’s long-term rental department. Coe received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a law degree from Jones Law School. BEASLEY ALLEN ADDS ASSOCIATES, NAMES SHAREHOLDER

LWT ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF VISUAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Stephen Poff

MONTGOMERY – LWT recently hired Stephen Poff to serve as visual media director.

Poff has worked in various forms of creative media for nearly 20 years, including photography, audio and video production. He began his career as a musician and an audio engineer before exploring visual arts.

Archie Grubb

Chris Glover

In 2005 he released “Songs About Your Girlfriend,” a feature film he wrote and directed. In 2006 he conceived a year-long self portrait/photography lighting blog on Flickr called “The 365 Project.” To date, “The 365 Project” has 14,858 members and more than 1 million photos posted. His work has been featured in national magazines such as Esquire and Popular Photography. LWT, a Montgomery-based integrated marketing and interactive firm, was founded in 1959, making it one of Alabama’s first advertising and marketing firms. ARONOV REALTY BROKERAGE INC. HIRES GM FOR ARONOV HOME RENTALS MONTGOMERY – Aronov Realty Brokerage Inc. has Debbie Coe hired a general manager for Aronov Home Rentals. In her new position, Debbie Coe will be responsible for managing and expanding the home rental department whose current portfolio includes more than 480 homes. With more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, Coe has managed a variety of commercial and residential real estate projects throughout the Southeast. Most recently, she served as in-house

Timothy Fiedler

MONTGOMERY – Archie Grubb and Timothy R. Fiedler have joined the law firm of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. Meanwhile, Chris Glover is the firm’s newest shareholder. Glover, who practices in the firm’s personal injury section, graduated from Cumberland School of Law. He practiced in Birmingham for a number of years before joining Beasley Allen in 2008.

Grubb, who practices in the consumer fraud section, worked the last six years in Columbus, Ga., for the ﬁrm Carlock, Copeland & Stare, LLP. He practiced defense litigation and then practiced in the area of personal injury litigation at Gary O. Bruce, P.C. His practice also included insurance defense, criminal defense and consumer bankruptcy. He was lead or co-counsel in a number of civil and criminal trials. Grubb is a 2003 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, and was admitted to practice in Alabama in 2003 and Georgia in 2004. He is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama honors program, where he received his degree with a double-major in history and political science. Fiedler is also working in Beasley Allen’s consumer fraud section. He has more than nine years of legal experience, and previously worked for Beasley Allen in February 2009 in the environmental

law section. As part of the consumer fraud section, he will be working on various class actions, securities, complex litigation and the firm’s ongoing AWP/Medicaid fraud cases. He graduated from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in 2000 and began his law practice in Central Florida with a firm in DeLand, Fla. He focused his practice areas on personal injury, medical malpractice, complex product liability litigation as well as civil and business litigation. In 2002, he became owner and partner of a newly formed Central Florida firm and a founding shareholder in a title company. In 2004, Fiedler formed the law firm of Fogle & Fiedler, PLLC in DeLand. His practice concentrated on complex construction, real property and business litigation. He was managing partner of Fogle & Fiedler, PLLC, prior to moving to Montgomery, practicing both in state and federal court. Fiedler received a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from King College in Bristol, Tenn. METLIFE ADDS FINANCIAL SERVICES REP MONTGOMERY – Kara Tucker has joined Kara Tucker Greater Alabama Financial Group as a financial services representative. Tucker is a graduate of Jacksonville State University. She is a registered representative and licensed to offer life and health products in Alabama. Greater Alabama Financial Group, an office of MetLife, offers a broad array of financial products and services including life, disability income, long-term care insurance and annuities, mutual funds and investment products. THE MONTGOMERY ACADEMY ANNOUNCES NEW HEAD OF SCHOOL David Farace

MONTGOMERY – The Montgomery Academy Board of

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

Directors unanimously conﬁrmed David J. Farace as the new Head of School. Farace, who was hired after a nationwide search, will be the seventh Head of School at The Montgomery Academy. He will take over July 1. Farace has extensive academic and leadership experience in independent schools, having worked at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md., and St. Ignatius Loyola Academy in Baltimore. He is currently the Director of Institutional Advancement at Randolph School in Huntsville. A graduate of the distinguished McDonogh School where he began his career, Farace received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington and Lee University and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. “I have thrived in day and boarding school settings as a student, teacher, coach, adviser, dorm parent, and administrator,” Farace said. “I feel privileged to participate in such a collegial and vibrant school community and relish the opportunity to serve as Head of School.” The Montgomery Academy, which was founded in 1959, is a K-12 independent, non-proﬁt, college preparatory day school serving 820-plus students. STATE FARM AGENCY ADDS TWO STAFFERS

Jeff Quallio

Courtney Ryan

MONTGOMERY – Kevin Brock Agency recently announced the addition of two new members to his State Farm team. Jeff Quallio is a ﬁnancial services representative and Courtney Ryan has been hired as a property/casualty specialist.

Quallio, a 1999 graduate of Auburn University’s Montgomery campus, has 10 years experience as a compliance specialist in property management as well as ﬁnancial services. In his new position, Quallio will be responsible for the ﬁnancial services offered by State Farm, which includes life 38

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

insurance, health insurance, vehicle loans, mortgages and home equity products.

brokerage and compliance. She holds life and health insurance licenses.

Ryan is a 1988 graduate of Auburn University and also completed the Alabama School of Real Estate. She has 15-plus years experience in sales and management.

McDougald is a graduate of Stanhope Elmore High School and attended Auburn University’s Montgomery campus.

Ryan will be responsible for property and casualty insurance products, both personal and commercial, offered by State Farm which includes auto, homeowner’s, renter’s, liability umbrella and business ofﬁce insurance. SUTTON & ASSOCIATES HIRES TWO EMPLOYEES

Searcy Yoder

MONTGOMERY – Sutton & Associates announced that Searcy Yoder and Basia Border have joined the company.

Yoder, an Auburn graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications, comes to Sutton & Basia Border Associates from her most recent position as the coordinator for Southern Breeze Wine + Culinary Festivals held throughout the Southeast. Yoder manages incentive travel programs. Border, a graduate of St. Lawrence College in Canada, received a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science. Border has served as an executive assistant in both the engineering, and oil and gas industries. She will serve as the assistant to the president. Sutton & Associates, a division of Alabama World Travel, is a full-service incentive travel and meeting planning company offering creation and design, site selection, contract negotiations, management, production and on-site supervision. W.R. TAYLOR & CO. NAMES DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES MONTGOMERY – Millbrook native Jan McDougald has joined W.R. Taylor & Co. as director of client services for the firm’s wealth management division. McDougald’s duties will focus on overseeing day-to-day management of customer service and enhancing client relations. She has 11 years of experience in the financial sector, including stints in private banking, wealth management, financial consultancy,

W.R. Taylor & Co., LLC is a privately held investment banking and wealth management ﬁrm with headquarters in Montgomery.

RIBBON CUTTINGS & GROUND BREAKINGS

HERE WE GROW AGAIN

CANCER CARE CENTER OF MONTGOMERY AT JACKSON HOSPITAL 1758 Park Place, Suite 301, Montgomery 261-3148, Janet Etheridge, Site Manager Cancer Care

IBERIABANK MORTGAGE COMPANY 6719 Taylor Circle, Montgomery 207-4575, Bill Cox, Manager Mortgage/Finance

ITNOA ENGINEERS & GENERAL CONTRACTORS 529 S. Perry Street, Suite 12A, Montgomery 356-0824, Horatio Lee, Chief Manager Civil Engineers

METLIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES 2660 EastChase Lane, Ste 401, Montgomery 272-6740, Al Dees, Agency Manager Insurance Companies/Services

MID SOUTH HOME HEALTH – EAST 11123 Chantilly Parkway, Ste L, Pike Road 444-0023, Connie Jemison, Agency Director Home Health Services

REED INGRAM MOTOR COMPANY 2900 Eastern Bypass, Montgomery 399-6819, Reed Ingram, Owner Automobile Dealers & Services

TRENHOLM STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE 3920 Troy Highway, Building E, Montgomery 420-4200, Sam Munnerlyn, President Colleges & Universities

THE OASIS HOTEL AT VICTORYLAND PO Box 128, Shorter 720-1700, Rusti Price, General Manager Hotels

RODAN + FIELDS DERMATOLOGISTS 342 Trace Ridge Road, Hoover 205-383-7005, Darla Hall, Executive Consultant Cosmetics/skincare

VERIZON WIRELESS 2762 East Blvd., Montgomery 213-3030, Josephine Young, Store Manager Cellular/Wireless Phone Service

PRIMELENDING, A PLAINS CAPITAL COMPANY 2227 Taylor Road, Montgomery 279-5758, Kelley Hall, Branch Manager Mortgage/Finance

TERRY’S TRANSMISSION AND MORE 976 S. Perry St., Montgomery 239-7120, Ron Terry, Owner Automotive Repair

VIVA MEDICARE CAFÉ 2107B East Blvd., Montgomery 266-7087, Swede Scarborough Montgomery Market Manager Insurance Companies/Services

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

New Members AccountingCertiﬁed Public JENKINS & ASSOCIATES, CPA S 334-834-6086

Catering Services KING’S TABLE CATERING 334-270-0200

STEINHILBER & STRAWBRIDGE, INC. 334-834-5992

AES INDUSTRIES, INC. 334-283-6578

TURNER & EAVES INSURANCE AGENCY 334-270-1000

Advertising Specialties

Cellular/Wireless Phone Services

Financial Planner/Advisor

ZEBRA MARKETING 334-546-9496

SOUTHERNLINC WIRELESS 334-832-3920

Insurance-Life

MORGAN KEEGAN & COMPANY, INC. 334-262-0100 Ext 549

Agriculture/Forestry/ Fishery-Exposition

Clothing & Accessories-Retail

Financial Services

LIBERTY NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 256-234-2556

ANDERSON FARMS, L.L.C 334-220-0880

BOU COU 334-239-0655

BOUTWELL FARMS

Construction

334-649-7690

Aircraft Equipment, Parts & Supplies UNIVERSAL TURBINE PARTS 334-361-7853

MARSHALL AND ASSOCIATES 334-209-1691

Construction Services BURNETT CIVIL CONTRACTING, LLC 334-281-1554

MASSMUTUAL FINANCIAL GROUP 334-279-7898

Janitorial Service/Supplies

MCDONALD & BARRANCO WEALTH MANAGEMENT 334-387-0094

CENTAUR BUILDING SERVICES SOUTHEAST, INC. 334-260-0458

Food/Kindred Products-Mfr.

Jewelers/Jewelry

SYSCO CENTRAL ALABAMA, INC. 887-289-7972

Funeral Services

CRONIER’S FINE JEWELRY 334-272-4995 HEIDI’S FINE JEWELRY 334-239-7700

Ambulance Services

Consulting Services

HAYNES AMBULANCE OF ALABAMA, INC. 334-265-1209

FOREIGN-TRADE ZONE CORPORATION 251-471-6725

Apartments

E.G. CUMMINGS MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME 334-265-9221

APARTMENT FINDER MAGAZINE OF MONTGOMERY 205-988-5400

FULLER FUND RAISING COMPANY 334-264-2176

ROSS-CLAYTON FUNERAL HOME 334-262-3889

JML DEVELOPMENT 334-430-2827

Government Agency

GREENCO, INC. 334-651-2161

Associations/Non-Proﬁt

Contractors

ALABAMA POULTRY & EGG ASSOCIATION 334-265-2732

ALEXANDER SEALCOATING AND STRIPING, INC. 334-279-8064

CITY OF THOMASVILLE DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING 334-636-5827

Legal Services Attorneys

Home Health Services

CRUMPTON & SELLERS LAW GROUP, LLC 334-270-3176

CENTRAL ALABAMA CRIME STOPPERS 334-240-4505

Lawn & Garden Care AMERI-SCAPES ALABAMA INC 770-242-8180

NORMENT SECURITY GROUP, INC. 334-538-0360

MID SOUTH HOME HEALTH EAST 334-270-1151

RONNIE SMITH BUILDERS, INC. 334-285-5947

RESPITE CARE FOUNDATION 334-262-3002

Automobile Dealers-Used

Cosmetics/Skin Care

Hotels/Motels

RALPH SMITH MOTORS 334-263-1123

RODAN + FIELDS DERMATOLOGISTS 205-383-7005

HILTON PENSACOLA BEACH GULF FRONT 850-916-2999

Beverage Distributor/Bottler

Credit Cards/Services

MADISON HOTEL 601-261-1169

ALABAMA MERCHANTS SERVICES 334-380-4524

MICROTEL INN & SUITES 334-649-4465

Dance

Industrial Maintenance

MAYA’S BELLY DANCING STUDIO 334-356-6552

QUANTUM DIAGNOSTICS 248-396-1027

PRIMELENDING, A PLAINSCAPITAL COMPANY 334-279-5758

Department Stores

Information Technology Firms

Moving Transfer & Storage

BACHELER TECHNOLOGIES 334-669-4530

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK 334-277-1700

IBM 678-516-3229

Paper Distributors

PI KAPPA PHI-TROY UNIVERSITYGAMMA GAMMA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 334-240-1228

MONTGOMERY COCA COLA BOTTLING COMPANY 334-323-2181

Blinds-Retail & Cleaning CUSTOM SHUTTER COMPANY, LLC 334-279-9029

Books-Retail

WALMART SUPERCENTER #5348 334-223-7177

THE BOOK CELLAR 334-356-5879

WALMART SUPERCENTER #930 334-284-4181

Builders-Residential

Employment Agencies

LAWSON HOME BUILDERS, L.L.C. 334-264-5055

TELAMON CORPORATION 334-239-4520

Business Brokers

Entertainment & Recreation

ALBRITTON & ASSOCIATES, LLC 334-269-9040

Car Stereos

ALABAMA CASTING SERVICES, LLC. 334-318-955

CKR MOBILE ELECTRONICS 334-546-2571

Fabricated Metal Products

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

Insurance Companies/Services

HAMILTON, SEXTON & BERRY LAW FIRM 334-396-5719

Medical Billing/Consulting COMPLETE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT, LLC 334-240-3621

Medical Equipment/ Supplies MEDICAL NECESSITIES 334-265-5337

Mortgage/Finance

CENTRAL PAPER COMPANY-MONTGOMERY 334-244-0555

Pawn Shop

COTTON STATES INSURANCE 334-272-2378

MAGIC PAWN 334-361-1122

PLANNED BENEFIT SERVICES OF ALABAMA, INC. 334-395-8000

Photographers

STATE FARM INSURANCE, BRECK HONEA-AGENT 334-277-9147

PAUL ROBERTSON PHOTOGRAPHY, INC. 334-263-0413

Physicians

Therapeutic Foster/Child Placing

FAIN REALTY 334-819-7697

NANCY’S ITALIAN ICE 334-201-4627

JJ MOTTRAM 334-356-1771

PIZZA PERFECT 334-244-7721

J. MICHAEL KARST, M.D. 334-272-4302

PARTNERS REALTY 334-277-1077

SAN MARCOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT 334-279-6680

MONTGOMERY OTOLARYNGOLOGY 334-834-7221

REALTY CENTRAL 334-221-7727

SCOTT STREET DELI 334-264-9415

Printers/Copy Centers

RIVER RIDGE HARBOR, INC. Ann Reese

VARSITY BBQ 334-279-5444

C & D ENTERPRISES 334-395-5392

S. SAUNDERS REALTY 334-356-9700

Property Management

VINES REALTY 334-399-0777

WINTZELL’S OYSTER HOUSE Frank Hall 334-262-4257

FAMILY & INDUSTRIAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. 334-281-3665

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC. 334-558-7728

Public Relations DCI 212-725-0707

Publishing Companies PUBLICATIONS PRESS, INC. 334-244-0436

Rental Equipment AMERICAN RENTAL & TENT COMPANY/ CAMPBELL FORMALWEAR 334-277-6443

RestaurantsCLYDE’S BBQ 334-386-3836

Real Estate

JUBILEE SEAFOOD, INC. 334-262-6224

COLONIAL COMMERCIAL REALTY, INC. Jean-Marie Mapp

LAJOLLA RESTAURANT 334-356-2600

SERAAJ FAMILY HOMES 334-271-2402

Tire Dealers & Distributors TIRE & WHEEL PROFESSIONALS 334-244-0565

Tobacco Products-Retail HAVANA DREAMIN’ 334-262-3131

Service Stations

Tradeshow Exhibits

ENTEC STATIONS, INC. 334-396-1663 Ext 11

SKYLINE ALABAMA LLC 205-595-9094

Signs

Translators & Interpreters

AMERICAN GRAPHICS, INC. 334-288-8882

FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES, INC. 256-881-1120

SOUTHERN SIGNCRAFTERS, INC. 334-279-8817

Sod & Sodding Service HOSS RANCH SOD, LLC 334-286-7173

Travel & Tourism Research RANDALL TRAVEL MARKETING 704-799-6512

Get complete member information at www.montgomerychamber.com/directory

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

ECONOMIC INTEL Monthly Grocery Survey is a Mixed Bag MONTGOMERY - Lower prices for tomatoes and potatoes helped to offset higher costs for milk and butter as the average cost of 20 basic market basket items was statistically unchanged from a month ago. According to the Alabama Farmers Federation’s monthly food price survey, Alabama shoppers paid just 2 cents more this month for the surveyed items, which had a total average cost of $50.82. Seasonal savings on red and sweet potatoes were expected as the price of red spuds fell 8 cents to 78 cents a pound, and sweet potatoes dropped 9 cents to 87 cents a pound. In addition, tomatoes were down 8 cents to $1.47 a pound, but lettuce was up a nickel to $1.34 a head. In the dairy case, the news for shoppers wasn’t quite as good. Reduced production prompted by a freefall in wholesale milk prices earlier in the year is beginning to have an effect at the grocery store. During

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

the ﬁrst eight months of the year, shoppers saw milk prices steadily decline while dairy farmers reduced herd sizes in an effort to stay aﬂoat. Average prices for dairy products at Alabama supermarkets were up across the board. A half-gallon of milk was up 5 cents to $2.78; ice cream was up 9 cents to $3.78 a half-gallon; cottage cheese edged 2 cents higher to $2.50 a pound, and butter jumped 18 cents to $3.52 a pound. In the meat case, however, shoppers enjoyed more good news as the average price of bacon fell 22 cents to $3.77 a pound. Boston butts were up a penny to $1.59 a pound, and pork chops were unchanged at $3.33 a pound. Ground beef was also a good buy at $2.22 a pound, down a nickel, and chuck roasts were down 4 cents to $3.34 a pound. T-bone steaks showed the biggest gain at $8.26 a pound, up 12 cents. Poultry prices showed modest increase with whole fryers averaging $1.18 a pound, up a penny, while chicken breasts

were up 5 cents to $2.13 a pound. Eggs were also up a penny to $1.31 a dozen. Regional reports collected by volunteer shoppers throughout the state showed the market basket averaged $49.42 in Northeast Alabama, $49.52 in the northwest corner of the state, $51.40 in the central counties and $53.78 in South Alabama. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s quarterly market basket survey shows national prices are down from last quarter and signiﬁcantly lower than a year ago. The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare a meal was $46.03, down 26 cents from the second quarter of 2009 and $4.18 lower, or about 10 percent less, compared to one year ago. Alabama Farmers Federation, a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, conducts the informal monthly market basket survey.

Unemployment Data Metropolitan Area

Civilian Labor Force

Unemployment Rate

OCT p 2009

SEP r 2009

OCT r2008

OCT p 2008

SEP r 2009

OCT r 2008

165,367

164,817

172,048

10.00%

5.80%

Autauga

28,158

28,324

30,241

14.40%

14.90%

6.00%

Elmore

36,220

35,974

36,940

9.60%

9.20%

4.60%

Lowndes

8,130

8,091

8,716

20.10%

19.40%

10.50%

Montgomery

9,085

9,013

9,857

18.80%

17.60%

10.10%

Birmingham-Hoover MA

510,621

511,124

529,485

9.90%

10.10%

4.90%

Huntsville MA

197,614

196,962

204,281

7.90%

7.80%

4.00%

Mobile MA

182,929

182,455

186,268

11.00%

5.60%

2,090,364

2,085,223

2,163,954

10.70%

10.60%

5.60%

153,635,000

153,617,000

155,012,000

9.50%

6.10%

Montgomery MA

Alabama U.S.

p Preliminary r Revised The numbers are not seasonally adjusted. Estimates prepared by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations in Cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, based on 2008 benchmark Montgomery MA is Augtauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Montogmery counties. Birmingham - Hoover MA is Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby and Walker counties. Huntsville MA is Limestone and Madison counties. Mobile MA is Mobile County .

Median Household Income 2008 Estimate

2007 Estimate

2007 to 2008 % Change

2004 Estimate

2004 to 2008 % Change

United States

$52,029

$50,740

2.5%

$44,334

17.4%

Alabama

$42,586

$40,596

4.9%

$37,062

14.9%

Autauga County

$51,622

$50,375

2.5%

$45,379

13.8%

Elmore County

$53,296

$49,193

8.3%

$43,645

22.1%

Lowndes County

$30,225

$28,530

5.9%

$24,967

21.1%

Montgomery County

$43,297

$41,199

5.1%

$35,680

21.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Estimates Branch.

Montgomery Metro Market Home Sales Current Month OCT 09

Last Month SEP 09

Month/Month % Change

Last Year OCT 08

Year/Year % Change

Statewide OCT 09

352

277

27.08%

309

13.92%

3,589

Median Selling Price

$125,250

$123,450

1.46%

$136,500

-8.24%

$118,630

Average Selling Price

$139,232

$135,443

2.80%

$147,235

-5.44%

$144,089

100

-10.00%

-9.09%

148

3,085

3,106

-0.68%

3,300

-6.52%

40,363

Total Home Sales

Average Days on Market Total Homes Listed

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

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Montgomery Regional Airport Current Month

Last Year

Year over Year

YTD 2009

YTD 2008

Year over Year

Air Carrier Operations

1,042

882

18.1%

10,665

10,738

-0.7%

Total Operations

5,996

5,894

1.7%

63,233

68,358

-7.5%

Enplanements

14,383

12,296

17.0%

146,276

156,261

-6.4%

Deplanements

14,750

12,374

19.2%

147,749

156,559

-5.6%

Total Passengers

29,133

24,670

18.1%

294,025

312,820

-6.0%

Source: Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) Dannelly Field

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

Montgomery

Birmingham

Atlanta

Destination

Montgomery

Birmingham

Atlanta

Baltimore (BWI)

$309

$228

$213

Miami (MIA)

$187

$343

$203

Boston (BOS)

$291

$251

$218

Nashville (BNA)

$207

$167

$289

Charlotte, NC (CLT)

$159

$147

New Orleans (MSY)

$223

$183

$199

Chicago (ORD)

$355

$282

$219

New York (JFK)

$329

$283

$212

Cincinnati (CVG)

$179

$159

$217

Orlando (MCO)

$270

$223

$183

Dallas/Ft Worth (QDF)

$247

$209

$239

Philadelphia (PHL)

$340

$306

$219

Denver (DEN)

$330

$333

$289

Pittsburgh (PIT)

$299

$248

$197

Detroit (DTW)

$289

$295

$197

St Louis (STL)

$281

$235

$209

Houston (QHO)

$356

$273

$227

Seattle (SEA)

$339

$299

$228

Indianapolis (IND)

$269

$233

$207

Seoul, Korea (SEL)

$1,186

$1,069

$1,169

Las Vegas (LAS)

$318

$283

$303

Tampa (TPA)

$272

$223

$188

Los Angeles (LAX)

$327

$349

$237

Washington DC (DCA)

$327

$278

$201

Memphis (MEM)

$440

$342

$184

Date of travel: Jan. 18-24. Date of pricing: Dec. 7, 2009. Source: travelocity.com

Hyundai Sales CAR LINE

OCT 2009

OCT 2008

NOV 2009

NOV 2008

YTD 2009

YTD 2008

Accent

4,581

2,222

3,831

1,983

63,937

48,598

Sonata

7,790

7,943

8,178

5,379

109,543

110,764

Elantra

8,673

2,673

6,127

3,268

97,506

92,085

558

411

8,580

8,699

6,448

3,794

6,564

4,282

71,079

64,705

Azera

298

361

248

316

3,478

14,114

Tucson

848

988

888

918

14,508

18,153

461

-2

584

3,422

5,405

Veracruz

516

699

459

929

9,679

10,055

Genesys

1,850

1,121

1,751

1,151

19,535

5,127

31,005

20,820

28,045

19,221

401,267

377,705

Tiburon Santa Fe

Entourage

Total Source: Hyundai Motor America

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

National Retail Sales RETAIL STORE

YEAR

Wal-Mart

2009

Target Sears Sam’s Club Costco Family Dollar Dollar General Best Buy

(Monthly and Quarterly) SEP

OCT

2008

2.0%

2.2%

2009

-1.7%

-0.1%

-1.5%

2008

-3.0%

-4.8%

-10.4%

2009

-2.3%

2008

-9.0%

2009

0.1%

Lowe’s JCPenney

RETAIL STORE

YEAR

SEP

OCT

NOV

Kohl’s

2009

5.5%

1.4%

3.3%

2008

-5.5%

-9.0%

-17.5%

2009

-8.0%

-6.0%

-4.0%

2008

-3.0%

-14.0%

-11.0%

3.4% Gap CVS

4.6%

3.6%

3.5%

2009

3.0%

0.0%

2008

6.0%

2.0%

1.0%

2009

1.0%

2008

5.6%

Walgreens AutoZone

2009

1.0%

2008

10.6%

2009

Advance Auto Parts McDonald’s

-6.3%

2009

-6.9%

2008

-7.1%

2009

-7.5%

2008

-5.9%

2009

5.7%

2008 Rite Aid

2008

2008 Home Depot

NOV

-0.5%

Wendy’s

2009

-1.4%

-4.5%

-5.9%

2008

-12.4%

-13.0%

-11.9%

0.3%

-0.5%

-0.8%

2008

1.7%

2.9%

0.0%

2009

2.4%

4.9%

3.9%

2008

4.7%

2.0%

-0.9%

2009

5.4%

2008

-0.6%

2009

4.7%

2008

-0.1%

2009

-0.1%

2008 Burger King

Arby’s

3.7%

2009

4.7%

5.3%

4.5%

2009

-2.8%

2008

3.0%

2009

-0.1%

2008

-0.2%

2009

-9.0%

2008

-7.2%

U.S. same store sales compiled from 10-Q and 10-K forms (excluding fuel sales). Source: RetailerDaily.com

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

Quarterly Reports QUARTERLY REVENUES

NET INCOME

EARNINGS PER SHARE

EARNINGS ESTIMATE

YEAR-AGO REVENUES

YEAR-AGO NET INCOME

$1.1B

(-$24M)

(-$0.43)

N/A

$1.1B

(-$16M)

Loss rises due to acquistion costs

Kirkland’s

$92.4M

$5.6M

$0.27

$0.08

$85.9M

(-$1.5M)

Revenue increases 8%

Books-A-Million

$110.9M

(-$1.6M)

(-$0.10)

N/A

$111.5M

(-$2.2M)

Same-store sales declined 1.9%

AnnTaylor

$462.4M

$2.1M

$0.03

$0.07

$527.2M

(-$13.4M)

Comparable store sales fell 13.7%

Williams-Sonoma

$729.3M

$7.3M

$0.07

$0.05

$752.1M

(-$11M)

Gross margins rise almost 3%

Sears Holdings Corp. (K-Mart)

$10.2B

(-$127M)

(-$1.09)

$10.7B

(-$146M)

Cost-cutting, tight inventories

TJX (TJ Maxx)

$5.2B

$347.8M

$0.81

$0.80

$4.8B

$235.8M

Proﬁt jumped 32%

$1B

$30.3M

$0.37

$0.18

$1B

$12.2M

Proﬁt more than doubled

$268.3M

(-$10.9M)

(-$0.17)

N/A

$323.6M

(-$2.5M)

Same-store sales fell 18%

$14.8B

$436M

$0.58

$0.50

$15.1B

$369M

Chico’s FAS

$446.9M

$22.7M

$0.13

$0.07

$394.2M

$2M

Comparable stores sales up 13%

Home Depot

$16.4B

$689M

$0.41

$0.36

$17.8B

$756M

Comparable stores sales fall 6.9%

Lowe’s

$11.4B

$344M

$0.23

$40.24

$11.7B

$488M

Proﬁt declined 30%

$910.5M

(-$114.1M)

(-$0.60)

N/A

$1.1B

(-$123.3M)

Revenue dropped 21%

Kohl’s

$4.1B

$193M

$0.63

$0.61

N/A

$160M

Net earnings rose 21%

Walmart

$98.7B

$3.2B

$0.84

$0.81

$98.3B

$3.1B

Same-store sales off 0.4%

JC Penney

$4.2B

$27M

$0.11

$0.12

$4.3B

$124M

Proﬁt fell 78% due to pension plan

Abercrombie & Fitch

$765.4M

$38.8M

$0.44

$0.20

$896.3M

$63.9M

Proﬁt declined 39 percent

Hhgregg

$332.2M

$4.9M

$0.13

$0.07

$320.3M

$3.4M

Proﬁt jumped 46 percent

Starbucks

$2.4B

$150M

$0.24

$0.21

N/A

$5.4M

Lower operating costs

CVS Caremark

$24.6B

$1B

$0.71

$0.64

$20.9B

$732.5M

Proﬁt increased 39%

International Paper

$5.9B

$371M

$0.87

N/A

$5.8B

$136M

Repaid $1.3B of debt

Regions Corp.

N/A

(-$437M)

(-$0.32)

(-$0.26)

N/A

$79M

Will close 121 branches

BB&T

N/A

$157M

$0.23

$0.22

N/A

$362M

Non-interest income up 18.7%

$4.7B

$790M

$0.99

N/A

$5.4B

$780.4M

NAME Barnes & Noble

Big Lots Paciﬁc Sunwear Target

Blockbuster

Southern Co. (Alabama Power)

NOTABLE

Proﬁt increased 18%

Revenue fell 13.7%

Source: PR Newswire and Charles Schwab wire services

Sales Tax Collections Current Month OCT 09

Last Year OCT 08

Year over Year % Change

YTD 2009

YTD 2008

Year over Year % Change

Montgomery County

$2,939,534

$3,191,706

-7.90%

$31,689,814

$34,506,251

-8.16%

City of Montgomery

$6,579,402

$7,273,781

-9.55%

$70,117,836

$77,419,457

-9.43%

Pike Road

$174,385

$50,007

248.72%

$1,270,689

$538,045

136.17%

Autauga County

$544,191

$613,533

-11.30%

$5,893,318

$6,640,202

-11.25%

$1,023,763

$1,053,594

-2.83%

$11,217,487

$11,242,187

-0.22%

Elmore County

$638,623

$676,963

-5.66%

$6,968,060

$6,906,793

0.89%

Wetumpka

$424,720

$475,465

-10.67%

$4,562,388

$4,878,038

-6.47%

Millbrook

$424,452

$403,695

5.14%

$5,341,650

$5,322,975

0.35%

Prattville

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

Montgomery Business Journal January 2010

January 2010 Montgomery Business Journal

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