October 2010 6
Chairman’s Column
7
Calendar
8
Investor Profile: Wells Fargo
10
Q&A with Lynn Beshear
13
Recruiting Physicians
14
River Region Health Center
16
Auburn University at Montgomery Celebrates 40th Anniversary
20
Member Profile: Wilson Price
22
Women in Business Annual Gathering
26
Hyundai Continues Record Pace
30
Total Resource Campaign is a Win-Win-Win
34
Business Buzz
39
Members on the Move
40
New Members
41
Ribbon Cuttings
42
Economic Intel
10
20
22
16
Contents
41
October 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:
Robin Barca, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Baptist Health, is chair of the Women In Business Forum’s steering committee. Advertising:
Robert Edmonds 334-221-7948 mbjsales @montgomerychamber.com
Montgomery Business Journal c/o Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Post Office Box 79 41 Commerce Street Montgomery, Alabama 36101 Telephone: 334-834-5200 Fax: 334-265-4745 Email: mbj@montgomerychamber.com www.montgomerychamber.com/mbj he Montgomery Business Journal (USPS NO. 025553) 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. Periodicals Postage Paid at Montgomery Alabama, 36119+9998, USPS NO. 025553. Volume 2, Issue 10. 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 October 2010
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
Chairman’s Column The cover story this month is on the Women in Business Annual Gathering, to be held on November 4th. The Chamber’s Women in Business Forum steering committee, under the leadership of the committee’s Chairman Robin Barca, (the senior VP and COO of Baptist Health) have planned this “networking with purpose” event for professional women at all levels. Read the cover story, and then, make sure the women in your company take advantage of this unique event. When I first took the gavel as 2010 Chairman of the Board, one of my key goals was “strengthening the Chamber.” I wanted to increase membership and get more members to actively participate in Chamber events and programs. The Total Resource Campaign accomplishes both of these goals that are so critical to having an effective Chamber. From small businesses to large ones, from manufacturers to retailers, from accountants to attorneys, the TRC has a wide range of products and events that will fit your company’s strategic goals and initiatives. We are all businesspeople and as such will make decisions that help our companies. That’s why the TRC is so important to Chamber Members. We can market our products to a specific audience or target our message to those we want to hear it and simultaneously, we help our Chamber. Please remember, nobody is asking you to sponsor a Chamber product or event as a donation. We want you to do what makes sense for your business. But remember, the Chamber needs you. The Chamber needs to have its board actively engaged. The Chamber needs to have its Members actively engaged. If you haven’t participated in the past, now is the time to take a closer look at the TRC and the products available to promote your company. I feel the TRC is so important to having a successful Chamber that I volunteered to be the chair of this year’s campaign. You need to take advantage of this once a year opportunity by November 15, when the Campaign closes. Visit montgomerychamber.com for links to the TRC sponsorships and products, plus the Member teams and volunteers who can help you meet your business goals through an effective TRC product... or two... or three. See page 30 for more information on this year’s campaign.
Nimrod T. Frazer, Jr,
2010 Chairman of the board Montgomery area chamber of commerce
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Calendar Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Events
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
13
4
14 27 28
60 MINUTE COFFEE Sponsored by Guardian Credit Union (formerly Comala Credit Union) 8 AM @ Guardian Credit Union 418 Madison Avenue, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT NETWORKING MIXER Presenting Sponsor: Calhoun Enterprises 5 PM @ Union Station 300 Water Street, Montgomery Registration: www.montgomerychamber.com/mixer LUNCHWORKS Noon @ The Small Business Resource Center 600 South Court Street, Montgomery Registration: www.montgomerychamber.com/lw BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Sponsored by The Colonial Company 5 PM @ Hampstead 5251 Hampstead High Street, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber members.
Convention Calendar compiled by the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitor Bureau
OCTOBER 6-7
Alabama Community Leadership Network Conference
7-9
Alabama Preservation Conference
8-10
Alabama Council for the Blind State Meeting
11-13
Alabama Hospice Annual Conference
19-20
Alabama Association of Housing Authorities Workshop
WOMEN IN BUSINESS ANNUAL GATHERING Presenting Sponsor: Southeast Cherokee Construction, Inc. 5:30 PM @ Wynlakes Golf & Country Club 7900 Wynlakes Boulevard, Montgomery Registration: www.montgomerychamber.com/wib
8
MILITARY APPRECIATION COMMUNITY TRIBUTE Sponsored by Amridge University Week of Nov. 8 - 12
10 12 30
60 MINUTE COFFEE Sponsored by St. James School 8 AM @ St. James School 6010 Vaughn Road, Montgomery Free event, exclusively for Chamber Members CEO ROUND TABLE BREAKFAST 7:30 AM @ The Small Business Resource Center 600 South Court Street, Montgomery Registration: www.montgomerychamber.com/ceo CHAMBER 101 Sponsored by Heartsill Payroll Professionals 8 AM @ Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce 41 Commerce Street, Montgomery Registration: dpope@montgomerychamber.com or 240-9298
NOVEMBER 4-6
Alabama Art Education Association Fall Conference
7-10
Grand Lodge of F and AM of Alabama Conference
10-17 13-15 16-19
Bonnie Plant Sales Meeting
19-20
YMCA Youth Judicial Conference United Cerebral Palsy Early Intervention Conference Beasley Allen Law Firm Legal Strategies Conference
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
Investor Profile
Billy Livings is senior vice president of Wells Fargo and business banking area manager.
HERETOSTAY Wells Fargo makes an impressive footprint in the River Region by David Zaslawsky
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
The Wells Fargo stagecoach was scheduled to pull into Montgomery in October and offer rides to schoolchildren.
said. “Our team members were very diligent during the conversion. Our team has worked extremely hard.”
Number of ATMs
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo – the bank – proudly displayed new signage throughout its 10 stores in the River Region, completing the conversion from Wachovia Bank. That’s right, the country’s fourth-largest bank with more than $1.2 trillion in assets is now right at home here.
Livings said the conversion from Wachovia to Wells Fargo “was slow, methodical and deliberate.” He said that because the “customer is at the center of everything we do,” the conversion was managed to minimize impact on customers.
10 in Montgomery, 140 in Alabama
“We are one of only a dozen public companies in the country that still operate under their founding business and their founding name,” said Billy Livings, senior vice president of Wells Fargo and business banking area manager. “Wells Fargo is one of America’s greatest companies with a reputation of integrity, strength, stability and innovation.” The company has a rich history that dates back before the Civil War. “Our stagecoach symbolizes our strength and stability,” it says in a company pamphlet titled ‘The Vision & Values of Wells Fargo.” “It says to our customers: We’ve been here for almost 160 years and we’ll be here for you in the future, too.” Wells Fargo, with its 275,000-plus employees, is so large that one in three U.S. households has a Wells Fargo product. Wells Fargo Mortgage originated one in five home mortgage loans in the country. “We really view ourselves more than just a bank,” said Livings, who oversees the business banking side in the River Region, Troy, Ozark, Enterprise, Dothan, Selma, Auburn and Alex City. “We refer to ourselves as a financial services company. Bankers like myself and the team that we have across the area manage relationships and are responsible for representing all of the bank’s products – both traditional and non-traditional. We have 80 different business (lines) and 160 different products. We’ll take the time to understand your complete financial picture.” To learn about those 80 business lines and 160 products, employees trained 30 to 40 hours. “I am very proud of the effort and dedication my team has shown,” Livings
Now Wells Fargo customers have a lot more options, including payroll services, employee benefits and renter’s insurance to name just a few. There are also new options with technology. “Technology enables our customers to control when, where and how they want to be served,” Livings said. “We look at technology as a way to give our customers a choice.” Customers at Wells Fargo stores (branches) will see shorter lines and quicker service as the company added about two employees at each location in the River Region because “Wells Fargo staffs its stores with more team members than Wachovia historically has,” Livings said. Each of the region’s 10 stores has been refurnished and remodeled.
10 in Montgomery, 175 in Alabama Number of Branches Number of Team Members
140 in Montgomery, 3,000 in Alabama, across all business lines Deposits
$488.3 million in the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area, according to the FDIC, June 30, 2009 Home Mortgage Origination
Since 1992, Wells Fargo has been a leader among the nation’s retail mortgage lenders and, in 2009, the No. 1 total mortgage originator (Source Inside Mortgage Finance) funding 1 of every 5 mortgage loans in the U.S. Mortgage Servicing
Wells Fargo services $1.8 trillion in home loans or 1 of every 6 mortgage loans in the U.S. Home Equity
“We are excited about bringing one of America’s greatest companies to the River Region,” Livings said, “and the community can expect to see a strong commitment (from us). We feel a real responsibility to support the community from an economic standpoint, but also from a philanthropic standpoint as well.”
Wells Fargo Home Equity Group is the leading prime home equity originator and serves 2.3 million customer households (as of November 2009)
Last year, the company donated $3.7 million statewide to 330 charitable and nonprofit organizations. Company employees gave their time as well – a combined 12,125 volunteer hours statewide.
(combined with Wachovia per 2008 Community Reinvestment Act data)
Livings, who stressed that there is local decision-making in the firm’s charitable contributions, said the company supports 25 to 30 local organizations. He said the bank typically donates $100,000 to $200,000 annually to local organizations and employees volunteer their time to 20-plus organizations.
Small Business Lender
First in the U.S. in dollar volume and No. 1 national Small Business Administration 7a lender in dollar volume (combined with Wachovia for 2009 fiscal year) Lending
Wells Fargo made more than $800 million in loans in Alabama just in the first seven months of the year.
Wells Fargo is also supporting communities through its Days of Giving. Employees from Wells Fargo’s stores in the River Region will be giving $1,000 grants to selected organizations. “Our product is service; our value-added is financial advice; and our competitive advantage is our people,” Livings said. October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
TREATING THE REGION’S HEALTH CARE ILLS Q&A with Lynn Beshear
Lynn Beshear is executive director of Envision 2020. She was recently interviewed by Montgomery Business Journal Managing Editor David Zaslawsky. Montgomery Business Journal: What is Envision 2020? Beshear: It’s a regional process and I think process is the operative word here. We’re not an agency. Our job is to keep all the pieces moving along at the same time and in the same direction as much as possible. We provide a process of bringing people together to focus on the common goal. Lynn Beshear is executive director of Envision 2020.
MBJ: How did you come up with goals? Beshear: Those goals came out of public meetings in ’01. In the five-county River Region (Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Macon) almost 2,000 people shared close to 5,000 issues. We are the safe place to have the difficult conversations. What we try to create is a non-threatening environment where tough conversations can happen. We gather tremendous amounts of information that we try to disseminate. We are educators and probably the most highly visible education outcome for people to see is downtown Montgomery. MBJ: What was the organization’s involvement with downtown development?
Beshear: We did all the Smart growth education. We held the very first conference in February ’04. The key elected people and development people were there. When people who are major developers here such as Jimmy Lowder start investing millions of dollars in this work; and the City of Montgomery unanimously passed the smart code; the Planning Commission passed it; and the City Council passed it without discussion. MBJ: What you do is educating people about the smart code and other issues. Beshear: Exactly. The easy stuff has been done and they left the hard stuff for us. If you read the Envision goals, they are very lofty and the way they are written they are on-going. As I like to tell people who say we can’t do this – I say, ‘We have to because the people have said they want us to.’ It gives us – the Envision office and staff – permission to boldly step out and bring people together. The beauty of it is we no longer have to push the string up the hill. People are bringing the big stuff to us to solve. MBJ: What are your responsibilities as the organization’s executive director? Beshear: I’m all things to all people at all times with a big, old smile and a small budget. This job is a moving target – it’s different every day. MBJ: Do you have an example? Beshear: The City of Montgomery contacted me yesterday about being part of a major regional collaboration and come up with a regional plan for housing, water, infrastructure, economic development – those kinds of things. Apparently there is some grant money attached to doing this. … I’m responsible for getting (things) done. I write articles. I make speeches. I make decisions. I bring people together. I’m sort of the face on it.
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MBJ: How many employees does Envision 2020 have? Beshear: Two. MBJ: What is your annual operating budget? Beshear: For many years we ran this on $120,000. With inflation, etc. we were able to have $160,000. We are anticipating getting – if we can get the support from across the region – around $400,000-plus this year because we have some great big things we need to do. MBJ: What will you spend the additional money on?
of $30 million due to their provision of uncompensated care were not sustainable. Losses by the two hospitals in Elmore County raised the total to $32.5 million. That’s unsustainable and it’s important to note that Baptist Health is the largest nongovernmental employer in the region. Envision 2020 was the ideal organization to undertake this mission. A two-month examination of the issue during May and June 2007 by Envision staff led to the immediate recommendation that a professional health care consultant team be engaged to conduct an indepth study and to make comprehensive recommendations for reform in the region.
Beshear: We are designating $100,000 that will go towards our work with health care reform in a very specific way, implementing health information technology. We want to take another $100,000 and put it towards the creation of a fund for recruitment and retention of health care professionals. The money will probably be used for people going into primary care – the internists, family practice and pediatrician to help them offset their medical school expenses. That’s all part of this medical home concept is having primary care – adequate numbers of primary care docs. We are going to have an influx of 36,000 new Medicaid recipients in the River Region. The primary care docs we have now are not sufficient in numbers.
MBJ: What did you learn about the River Region’s health care system?
MBJ: How else are you planning to spend your increased budget?
Beshear: They took my advice. In September 2007, Health Management Associates (HMA) was engaged and began work; in April 2008 they presented the report and recommendations to the group that funded the study.
Beshear: I need to hire another person. I need somebody that might have writing skills that can help get the word out of what we’re doing. I definitely need somebody that can do some project development. There will also be a little bit of money – about $30,000 to hire some consultants – maybe for grant writing or other purposes yet to be identified. MBJ: How did Envision 2020 become involved in the future of health care in the River Region? Beshear: In April 2007 Envision 2020, as the only regional strategic planning process involving citizens with business and government leaders in the River Region counties of Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Macon counties, was requested by the City of Montgomery and Montgomery County to address the issue of financial losses by the three area Baptist Health hospitals and Jackson Hospital. The combined losses in 2006 by the Baptist and Jackson hospitals
Beshear: I learned that we had silos of care. We do not have a system of care. We have a lot of entities and a lot of individuals giving care, but we also have huge numbers of people falling through the cracks and they were showing up at the ERs (emergency rooms). ER one did not know what ER two did 24 hours ago so all these tests are repeated unnecessarily, driving up the costs. I told (local officials) you need to hire the best consultant you can find because there is no one here that can drill down on this issue and we have a real problem. MBJ: What happened after your presentation?
MBJ: What did you and local officials learn from the HMA study? Beshear: This revealed a whole lot of issues – some we knew and some we didn’t. MBJ: How would you characterize the region’s current health care system?
Beshear: Access to care; information technology; recruitment and retention of health care professionals; finance; and research, reporting and education. Access to care is a huge issue. We could not possibly raise $30 million a year and just continue to dump it into a hole. The better solution is to create a system where people have access to health care so they can be healthier and they can go to work or do whatever it is they do. The timing of this was great because that was when there was stimulus money specifically for expansion of federally qualified health clinics. MBJ: Isn’t Lister Hill a federally qualified health clinic? Beshear: Lister Hill is one that is managed by Health Services Inc. There are thousands of these around the country and 100-plus in Alabama. Bernell Mapp (CEO of Health Services Inc.) oversees 10 of these facilities in five or six counties. There are four in Montgomery: Ramer Health Clinic, Chisholm Family Health Center, Montgomery Primary Health Care Center and Lister Hill Health Center. We had a report and the charge from the city, county and Chamber to do what we could to address the health care issues. The study called for replacing Lister Hill and creating a new site in South Montgomery. We learned about this grant opportunity where you could get up to $12 million. MBJ: You went after the grant, correct? Beshear: We put together a team and hired someone to put together this grant proposal. We scored 95 out of 100 points. We were one of 85 communities nationwide – out of 816 applicants – to receive the grant. MBJ: Earlier you said there was a lack of primary care physicians, who are internists, family care and pediatricians. Continued on page 12
Beshear: We are in a tremendous period of transition and isn’t the whole country? The report covered a whole range of issues, which we have clustered into five big areas. MBJ: What are those five areas?
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Continued from page 11
Beshear: That’s universal in the country. We also learned from the report that came out in ’08 that the average physician age was 55. The average nurse age was 50. Right now (local hospital executives) feel comfortable with where they are with their nurse staffing. But the problem with nursing on a national level is we don’t have enough nurse instructors. The challenge for Montgomery is we don’t have a medical school and a lot of people will train and settle pretty much within the same general area. We do have two residency programs and one of them in particular takes a huge number of foreign medical graduates. MBJ: What’s the impact locally? Beshear: We may need to become accustomed to having our health care delivered by people who might not be what we are traditionally accustomed to. The city has historically given some money to the internal medicine residency program. A lot of these students come here, get their residency training and then go on to fellowship and a specialty. A few will stay in the area or a few will go somewhere else, but remain in family care. The city is going to structure the funding for this program (at UAB Health Center Montgomery) in a slightly different way – in more of an incentive. The mayor said if you train a doctor and he’s willing to stay here, we will support that with X number of dollars. MBJ: Is Envision 2020 going to also play in a role with this program? Beshear: What we’re going to do with our little money, if we can get it, is use it as a catalyst. Our money - $100,000 – would go to a physician reimbursement program, which the state matches. MBJ: I’ve heard that Judge Bill Gordon has played a critical role in this endeavor. Beshear: Drawing on his remarkable expertise and experience as a judge, mediator and arbitrator, he forged unity where there has profound division for a long time. This work would not have been able to move ahead as quickly or as successfully without his brilliant mind, his concern and his passion to see that everyone has access to health care. MBJ: One of the five major areas for health care was research, reporting and education. Would you please elaborate? Beshear: That’s the easy part – changing people’s behavior. That was another big 12
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
piece that came out of this work. We have to do a whole bunch of education. MBJ: Are you talking about being aware of nutrition, exercising and living a healthy lifestyle? Beshear: Yes. I just heard on the news this morning that 10 percent of all U.S. medical costs are from obesity and $150 billion is spent every year on diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Montgomery was ranked No. 1 for obesity. Part of the education will be reducing the demand – having people take better care of themselves and if they are getting access to primary care in a timely fashion they will be healthier. They won’t have to show up as often or be as sick. This is not brain surgery. You just follow this logically that if people are healthier they need less health care. MBJ: Is the River Region prepared to implement health care reform? Beshear: I wish I had a crystal ball. I believe Montgomery is going to have a leg up on some areas simply because we started earlier addressing it; we have a very collaborative team; and we’re moving proactively. Another impacting factor is an aging population. The boomers start turning 65 by next year. The rolls of Medicare are going to be flooded. Incentives were built into health care reform to hopefully change the behavior of providers and change the behavior of consumers because we are all consumers of health care. This is a very multi-pronged thing. Another thing we’re doing because we don’t know everything now and we don’t know what is going to come up next year or the next 10 years, we are in the process of creating the River Region Healthcare Council. MBJ: What is the River Region Healthcare Council? Beshear: One of the recommended strategies was to establish a consortium of health care providers, government agencies and citizens to assess met and unmeet health care needs of the five-county region, to identify available resources and to develop immediate and long-range plans. MBJ: What is the ultimate goal of the River Region Healthcare Council? Beshear: A medical home for every resident of the River Region.
MBJ: What is the mission? Beshear: To maintain the permanent relationship structure to ensure a financially sustainable, accessible, affordable and comprehensive health care system for every citizen in the River Region. The national problems with health care are also regional problems, but we are coming together as a region to collaboratively solve them. Another important thing to note is that not only are we (dealing) with a decreasing number of physicians generally and primary care specifically – everybody coming out of training now has about 100 job choices. Why would you come to the River Region? MBJ: How do you compete for those physicians? Beshear: We need to do a bang-up job of marketing and we are pulling together a big initiative around that. There are two answers to this issue: You grow your own work force. We want to create a system for staying in touch (with local high school students), supporting them, mentoring them – whatever it takes to get them to get back if they leave the area. That’s the long-term solution. The short-term solution is we need to put together the very same type of collaborative teamwork when we recruit a Hyundai and we need to sell the River Region. Our hospital administrators tell us if we can just get them (physicians) to come here they are overwhelmed by what’s here. The issue is getting them here in the first place. MBJ: What is going on with information technology in health care? Beshear: We’re creating what is called an HIO (Health Information Organization) and it will collaborate by sharing information through electronic medical records. There are a lot moving places on all of this that have to be moving at the same time and that’s what we try to do. Our issues reflect what is going on at the national level. But the River Region is being recognized by Medicaid (and others) as being a model for moving proactively and collaboratively with a unique set of players. •
Filling A Void Jackson Hospital, Baptist Health recruit physicians to eliminate acute shortage by David Zaslawsky
During the five-year span that Jackson Hospital President and CEO Don Henderson has been recruiting physicians to the hospital, the medical staff as grown from 140 physicians to 190. Half of that increase was related to a shift in demographics among physicians, namely, age. According to an assessment by Thomson Reuters, the River Region had an estimated shortage of 59 physicians last year, which includes 19 general and family practice physicians and 10 internal medicine physicians. That shortage is expected to reach 85 by 2014, compounded by the fact that 138 of the River Region’s physicians are 55 or older. Due to just the retirement or reduced schedules of older physicians, the River Region is looking at a shortage of 223 physicians by the year 2014. Henderson and Baptist Health Vice President Julia Ventress are working hard to reduce those numbers.
Julia Ventress
“We, as hospital providers, in order to continue providing services for our community, we need to set plans to backfill the retiring work force and recruit additional doctors for additional demand,” Ventress said.
Recruiting physicians not only fills a desperate need, but it is also economic development. “Each doctor is big business for the medical community,” said Ventress, who has recruited 88 physicians to the area during her six years at Baptist Health. “When a doctor opens an office – that’s their headquarters.” A one-physician office has a conservative economic impact of $1 million annually to the community.
“Those doctors are buying houses, paying taxes and purchasing goods and services,” Ventress said. “They are bringing revenue to our community because they have chosen to open their business here.” Physicians also mean big bucks to hospitals. A physician can bring upwards of $860,000 to $3 million a year in net revenue to a hospital, according to an analysis by Merritt, Hawkins Associates, a national recruitment firm for physicians. That analysis, conducted in 2004, said the River Region needed 177 physicians – a combined potential net revenue of $325 million. But getting a physician to come to the River Region when they have numerous opportunities is a formidable task. “If I can just get them here, we usually can entice them to want to come and practice here,” said Ventress, who successfully recruits about one out of seven candidates from the initial phone interview. But convincing a candidate to come visit Montgomery is sometimes difficult. Ventress said many physicians are immediately turned off when they hear “Alabama,” and others just don’t know where Montgomery is. “What we love to do is say come down for a weekend and bring your family,” Ventress said. “Let us have the opportunity to show you around. A lot of recruiting is having that good rapport and developing that relationship on the phone initially and them having enough interest to actually get on a plane and come here. “When they get here – the comments I routinely hear is – ‘I had no idea what a great place this is.’ When they get here, they see that it’s a big, small town. You have everything you need in our city.” Both Jackson Hospital and Baptist Health take the candidates on tours of the area, including neighborhoods,
Don Henderson
schools, shopping centers and downtown, which has proven to be a big hit. “If you look at physician recruiting before the convention center and after the convention center – the convention center has been a game-changer,” Henderson said, referring to the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center. Ventress said that about one-third of the candidates will return for a second visit, which is when they talk about money. Baptist Health offers incentives, which include a guaranteed income while the physician is ramping up their own office as well as financial assistance with overhead expenses. A physician can also be employed by the hospital, in which case Baptist will assume the responsibility of opening the physician’s practice, building the practice, equipping the practice, staffing it and paying the doctor a salary plus a production bonus. The recruitment of physicians to Montgomery has benefited from the economic downturn, according to Henderson. He said that medium-sized cities such as Montgomery “look a lot more palatable because of supply and demand. Many of the physicians in the larger cities are starving. “Economic conditions play a very important role in the scope of physicians willing to move. Physicians will move to areas that are perceived to have better economic conditions. I would say at the present time, Montgomery is on the way up and our economic picture is looking better and that is not unnoticed in the general medical community.” •
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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River Region Health Center will move primary care patients out of emergency rooms By David Zaslawsky
When the long-awaited River Region Health Center opens in about a year, the medical staff will have the capacity to treat nearly 26,000 patients a year and handle 80,000 medical and dental visits annually. Those huge numbers will eliminate some of the emergency room visits for primary care that prove costly for both Jackson Hospital and Baptist Health. Jackson Hospital President and CEO Don Henderson said that the River Region Health Center is “primarily geared to the underinsured population, who will also be what I call future federal patients.” Those underinsured patients are ones who are on Medicaid and others who have no insurance, Henderson said. He expects a surge of Medicaid patients as national
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
health care reform takes place over the next few years and worries that perhaps as much as one-fourth of the state’s population may be on what he calls Medicaid-plus. But the state-of-the-art River Region Health Center, which replaces the aging Lister Hill Center, will increase and improve access to health in the area. The new two-story, 50,000-square-foot facility will offer primary care – family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology – as well as podiatry, psychiatry and dentistry. Other features include X-ray lab, pharmacy, social services, case management, eligibility assistance, patient education and interpreters. The $15 million project, which was partially funded with an $11 million-plus grant
from the federal stimulus bill, will create a combined 131 construction and clinical jobs. There will be 104 full- and part-time construction jobs, according to Bernell Mapp, CEO of Health Services Inc. (HIS). The River Region Health Center will have a staff of 27 including five physicians and three dentists. “We know that at the heart of a great community is great health care and it goes along with all the other quality of life (elements),” Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said at a groundbreaking for the project near Jackson Hospital. The River Region Health Center will be one of 11 Central Alabama facilities operated by Health Services Inc. “We’ve been doing our work below the radar,” Mapp said. “We hear of health care reform in
“A lot of that is driven by a reform environment, but most of it is driven by recognition across the community that there is an opportunity to improve the wellness and well-being of the community. Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean said it took a bi-partisan effort for the project and “it has something to do with what’s right.” Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Montgomery), who was mayor when the project was first discussed, said, “We knew as a team we could make Montgomery better and this is a product of that. This is a major, major step in the right direction for Montgomery and the River Region.” Here is a rendering of the River Region Health Center
Washington, but I can tell you that health care is taking place here in Montgomery.” Baptist Health President and CEO Russ Tyner said, “This event (groundbreaking) and this
particular building would not be possible without collaboration across private and public providers across this community, which is unprecedented, unlikely and unforeseeable just two years ago.
The City of Montgomery contributed $1.5 million to the project while Montgomery County gave $1.2 million. Jackson Hospital donated the land, which was worth more than a $1 million. •
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
15
Auburn University at Montgomery is busy changing perceptions beginning with those all-important first impressions. The university greeted its fall semester students with a new main entrance to the campus, which will improve traffic flow, provide pedestrian safety and will also give AUM a dynamic gateway. Construction has been approved for a nearly 75,000-square-foot wellness center that will feature facilities for faculty as well as a pool, weight room, track, basketball courts and rock-climbing wall. The wellness center will have two labs for the physical education department and exercise science, faculty offices and two classrooms, according to AUM Chancellor John Veres.
40 Years Old and Loving It The Chamber’s vision and leadership brought Auburn University to Montgomery by David Zaslawsky
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
2010 fall tuition for 15 credit hours
“We are basically moving our physical education/exercise science department lock, stock and barrel into the (wellness center) so that they can work with their graduate students in the lab and continue to do the kind of really significant scholarly research they are doing in exercise physiology.”
$3,090
($206 per credit hour); $120 for technology fees; $120 for student activity fee and $35 administrative service fee for a total of $3,365.
In the next five to 10 years, Veres envisions a growing university that is adding more majors, including the expansion of graduate programs in nursing as well as looking to partner with Auburn University. Currently, the two universities have one joint doctorate program.
Number of courses currently taught
1,126
The university, with enrollment this fall of 6,000 students, has been ranked among the region’s best colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Schools are ranked in 16 indicators including peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, financial resources and alumni giving. That’s just a quick peek in the future of AUM, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year and yes, the university has come a long way in four decades from its humble origins on Bell Street. Actually that nearly 30,000-square-foot campus was a satellite campus for the University of Alabama. The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce was intimately involved with wanting either Alabama or Auburn to build a campus for a four-year university. When Alabama backed out, Auburn was approached and accepted. The Chamber, working with state Sen. Joe Goodwyn, helped create the current campus on 500 acres in East Montgomery, where the land was purchased for $750,000. In 1967 then-Alabama Gov. Lurleen Wallace signed the act creating AUM and the university opened its doors Sept. 16, 1969 for fall registration at the Bell Street location.
Percentage of out-of-state students
7
Percentage of international students
3
Auburn University at Montgomery has come a long way in 40 years.
The university had nearly 600 students for its first semester there. AUM offered 76 courses in 16 different areas. Two years later, AUM moved to the new campus and had 1,500-plus students. The university’s first two buildings contained the library, classrooms, faculty and administrative offices totaling 134,000 square feet. During the next 10 years, the university grew to 18 buildings, 450,000-plus square feet and a capital investment of $20 million. AUM now offers 1,100-plus courses and 44 degrees in its five academic schools: business, education, liberal arts, nursing and sciences. Recently, a master’s program in cyber systems and information security was added.
Number of academic schools
5 – Business, education, liberal arts, nursing and sciences Enrollment for fall 2009
5,555
Number of degrees offered
44
Number of professors
About 170 full-time faculty Number of employees
About 500
Annual payroll
$45.3 million
“We would like to educate the people to go to work (at 754th Electronic Systems Group at the Gunter Annex in Montgomery),” Veres said. “If possible, we would like to educate some of their work force that may currently have a bachelor’s degree and want to get an advanced degree in something as specific as information security. We really see that as a way we can help grow the economy in Montgomery.” Another area of study, where the university hopes to attract students is storage area CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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AUM will offer for the first time this fall an organizational leadership program. “It’s truly a degree that focuses on leadership as opposed to management,” Veres said. “We hope to provide future leaders for non-governmental and non-profits, which are a growing sector of our economy.” Veres’ hope is that such new areas of study will increase enrollment and prepare students for careers.
John G. Veres III is chancellor of Auburn University at Montgomery.
CONTINUED from page 17
network. Veres said that Hewlett Packard, Unisys and local information technology firms such as Integrated Computer Solutions – have helped the university create what Veres calls “a storage area network center of excellence.”
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
“We are not a vocational school, but on the other hand you want to have the degrees in areas where your students can get a job when they finish,” Veres said. “We do our students a disservice if we lose sight of what their personal goals are. The bottom line is the academy exists to serve the students, and if we don’t understand our students and what their needs are and serve their needs well, then were not doing what we need to do for them.” He also is seeking to bolster the enrollment by increasing the number of international students. Doing that would prepare AUM students to do business in a multi-cultural world and, as interntional students return
to their home countries, would improve other countries’ perceptions of the U.S. “We think it’s really, really important to give them (U.S. students) the opportunity to go to class with those kinds of folks and interact with those kinds of folks so they are better prepared for the world they are going to have to work in,” Veres said. Another area of focus for the university is the vanishing funding from the state, which has declined 30 percent since 2008. Veres said one way to combat the shrinking funding is to concentrate on revenue streams with which the school has some control, such as tuition, contracts and private gifts. He wants to increase scholarship dollars because the university attracts a lot of first-generation college students who are receiving federal aid and/or federal loans to attend school. “As we grow and produce more credit hours, then people pay us more tuition and we are able to take those monies and try to help some of our students who are least able to pay their tuition,” he said. •
‘Make the case for their generosity’ by David Zaslawsky When Auburn University at Montgomery alumni Carl Whatley went to renew his car tags recently, he noticed the wide variety of plates. There were license plates for Auburn University and the University of Alabama. There were license plates for Faulkner University and Huntingdon College. He Carl Whatley said there must have been 150 types of vehicle plates. But there were no license plates for AUM. “I told someone at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) that we are trying to get some exposure for AUM ; we have 27,000 people who graduated from AUM and we need a car tag.” What happened? “We’re working on that,” Whatley said. That is just one of the obstacles that Whatley faces as chairman of Auburn Montgomery’s five-year capital campaign, which began in late spring. The 1983 AUM graduate said the university’s database has almost 27,000 names of alumni and more than 11,000 of those live within a 20-mile radius of Montgomery. But the alumni association has been struggling – there are less than 300 active members. He said part of the reason for the low number of active alumni members is a lack of resources “to go out and engage the alumni and make a case for membership,” Whatley said. Whatley has resources of his own after selling ProEthic Pharmaceuticals to Kowa Co. Ltd., a multinational firm headquartered in Japan. He wrote a letter to the nearly 27,000 alumni in that database and mailed it at his own expense. The goal of the capital campaign is between $10 million and $20 million, according to AUM Chancellor John Veres. “I think it’s very attainable,” said Whatley, who is CEO of Cendalor LifeScience Ventures. “As a matter of fact, I think we can probably do much better.” Veres said one of the top priorities is a sciences lab building, which would increase the space for freshmen biology labs and create research lab space for faculty. The capital campaign started with soliciting donations from the university’s vice chancellors, heads of departments, members of the chancellor’s advisory board . The next step is seeking gifts from businesses and organizations. The final step is approaching 27,000 alumni. “If everybody would give a little that would help,” Whatley said. “You are always going to have a small group of people who will contribute large sums of money. The key is to find the individuals who have that devotion to the university, engage them and make the case for their generosity.”
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Member Profile
Richard M. Stabler (left) and Chuck Jordan are co-managing shareholders at Wilson Price Barranco Blankenship & Billingsley.
Quality First WilsonPrice dedicated to client service by David Zaslawsky
The new co-managing shareholders at Wilson Price Barranco Blankenship & Billingsley proudly show off an impressive coaster. Just beneath a cryptic inscription, Q1C2, is a short message: “Ask Me.� So I did.
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
“If you would ask me where I would like to be 10 years from now – I would like to see us have a presence in all the large metropolitan areas in the state.” Q1C2 stands for “Quality First, Character and Commitment.” “When Chuck (Jordan) and I got elected to this role (as comanaging shareholders), we came up with a symbol of what we strongly believe in and the vision going forward,” said Richard M. Stabler. “Chuck and I feel that if that formula or symbol is displayed in every single thing we do, from client service to working with each member of the firm internally, and everybody adheres to that – only good things will happen. What about the C2? “It’s a commitment to client service, which our Founding Fathers established as a founding principle,” Stabler said. “It’s a commitment to the highest quality product that we can produce. It’s a commitment to learning at all times, including about one self. It’s a commitment to each other within the firm and it’s a commitment to character building.” The public accounting and consulting firm planned to launch a character training program in September. Stabler said employees will learn about 49 character traits and “how they can be incorporated into their daily lives. We believe as you go through a continuous process of focusing on those traits, over time those traits get ingrained in what you do every day in a positive way.” Stabler said it all amounts to making the right decisions – doing what’s right. “That’s the philosophy we’ve always had, but part of our process is to formalize it,” said Jordan, who along with Stabler became comanaging shareholders Jan. 1. They took over for Carl Barranco and Tom Gilliland, who ran the firm for 30-plus years. Stability and consistency are two themes at the firm. Stabler has been with WilsonPrice for 31 years and Jordan has spent 36 years with the firm – both of their entire professional careers. Nearly all 25 shareholders in the firm have also spent their entire professional career with WilsonPrice. “Our challenge is to continue that legacy that they (Barranco and Gilliland) have left for us – build on it and make it better,” Jordan said. The firm, which was founded by was Jim Wilson Sr. and Louie Blankenship in 1957, has a fundamental principle of “extreme dedication to client service,” according to Stabler. That principle led to the creation of a number of affiliate companies: Family Office Service; Wilson Price Information Technology, LLC; Wilson Price Wealth Management, LLC; Strategic Placement Services, LLC; and Plain-English Accounting. Those affiliate companies account for more than 10 percent of the firm’s revenue.
Stabler said the firm’s largest industries are real estate, manufacturing and non-profits/governmental entities. He said there is “a lot of growth potential going forward” in the college and universities niche. “We are analyzing and reviewing where we are now and where we want to go,” Stabler said. “We are always evaluating some of the service niches that we are not in at their potential, and if we deem that there is potential within a given niche, we may elect to pursue that.” Although the firm has not acquired another company, Stabler said that is always under consideration and he and Jordan are taking a more aggressive approach than their predecessors. “If we did look at another firm as a candidate, we would focus very heavily on the culture match that these people are like minded when it comes to dedication to clients, quality, service and character,” Jordan said. Stabler said, “The hardest part of a merger is blending the culture. If you can’t blend the culture then it won’t work and there are many that have not worked.” •
Wilson Price Barranco Blankenship & Billingsley, P.C. Number of employees
145 Number of CPAs
71 Years in business
50-plus Founded in
1957 Number of clients
Thousands throughout the Southeast Affiliate companies
Family Office Service Wilson Price Information Technology, LLC Wilson Price Wealth Management, LLC Strategic Placement Services, LLC Plain-English Accounting
“We want to grow the firm – without question,” Stabler said. “We want to expand our geographic footprint in the years to come and provide opportunities for our people.” The bulk of the firm’s client base is in Central and South Alabama and WilsonPrice is “primarily looking to grow within the state, at least initially,” Stabler said. October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
The annual gathering is the signature event for the Women In Business Forum and this year’s event will be even more memorable thanks to the ATHENA Award. The ATHENA Award, presented annually by a wide variety of groups and organizations, was established in 1982 in Lansing, Mich., and now has its headquarters in Chicago. The mission of ATHENA International is: “Supporting, developing and honoring women leaders Inspiring women to achieve their full potential Creating balance in leadership worldwide.” Since its inception, there have been 6,000plus awards in more than 500 communities in the U.S. The ATHENA Award is international with recipients in Canada, China, Russia, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Some of the International ATHENA Award recipients have been: > U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. > Former Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin > Former Colorado Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder > First Woman of Wall Street Muriel Siebert > Founder of USA Networks Kay Koplovitz The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce is the only organization in Alabama authorized to present the ATHENA Award. It will be presented to a woman who has “demonstrated excellence, creativity and initiative in their business and profession; provided valuable community service and assisted women in attaining their leadership potential. This year marks the Women In Business Forum’s third annual gathering, but presenting the ATHENA Award has made an impact. The organization, which drew 125 people to its first annual gathering, is looking to attract about 300 to this November’s event at Wynlakes Golf and Country Club.
“I think the most important thing about the ATHENA Award is the fact that we have recognized a woman in leadership in a very public way,” said Robin Barca, chair of the Women In Business Forum’s steering committee. She is senior vice president and chief operating officer for Baptist Health and is president of Leadership Montgomery. “Just as the annual gathering is our signature event, I think this becomes a signature award for us. The award is particular to a woman and particular to a woman in leadership in both the community and business as well as one who reaches out and grows young women in leadership.” Lisa McGinty, director, Small Business Programs, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, worked with the ATHENA Award national headquarters to secure the award for Montgomery. “I thought it would be an excellent fit in terms of the Women In Business Forum group growing into the next level,” she said. “I discovered that nobody in the State of Alabama had a license for it. I thought what’s more appropriate than to have the Women In Business Forum hold the keystone license for the State of Alabama.” The organization applied to present the award, which cost about $1,600. The award is being sponsored by Wilson Price Barranco Blankenship & Billingsley, PC. “We think this (ATHENA Award) is a unique award that really fits the mission of the Chamber and the mission of the Women In Business Forum,” said
Cameron Martindale, senior vice president, community development, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. “The annual gathering is designed specifically to bring businesswomen together to network with a purpose around a keynote speaker, who will truly provide professional development for these women.” Barca: “The annual gathering is informal – it’s fun. It’s a great opportunity to network with other women across the community that we wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to meet.” That is a critical element of the Women in Business Forum. “I’ve been here in Montgomery for 8½ years and I never would have met most of these women had the Chamber not made this a priority,” Barca said. “When you look at the list (steering committee) of some of these folks … and to be able to develop a personal as well as a professional relationship with them and share some of our war stories and the challenges we face.” “To have a concerted time for senior women leaders to be able to come together and talk about issues that are important to us; to share our experiences; to learn and grow from each other; to come together and make an impact as group on the community – to me it’s one of the best experiences I’ve had in the 8½ years I’ve lived here.” Barca hopes the Women In Business Forum is making a difference in how senior female CONTINUED on page 24
The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce is the only organization in Alabama authorized to present the ATHENA Award. October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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First female regional Panhandle bank president is keynote speaker The keynote speaker for the third-annual Women In Business Forum Annual Gathering is motivational leader Carol Carlan.
business leaders are perceived. “I think the more we do outreach by offering programs like LunchWorks, by beginning the ATHENA Award in our community, I think that recognition of who we are and what we are trying to accomplish will become more evident,” she said.
Carlan, who is market president for GulfSouth Private Bank, is also CEO of Carlan Consulting, which helps individuals and companies grow through seminars, webinars, lecture series and Our Collective Mind.
“What I see at the event (annual gathering) is a tremendous energy and hunger across our community for women in leadership roles to come together and have an opportunity to network with purpose.”
She was the first female regional bank president in the Panhandle. She took early retirement from Wachovia when she was the West Panhandle president. She is an advocate of women’s financial education and success.
She said it’s not uncommon for senior female business leaders who are in their company’s No. 2 roles, to have few opportunities to reach out “outside our own organization or business to get to know other female leaders and have an opportunity to network with them and work together on community issues.
Carlan, a certified LifeSucccess consultant, has been recognized as one of the Panhandle’s Top 5 Most Powerful Women by the St. Petersburg Times. She was named Business Leader of the Year by both the Pensacola Business Journal and the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce PACE Setter Awards.
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Carlan has actively been involved with education, business, economic and social issues in her community as well as the State of Florida. - David Zaslawsky
“That is what this Business In Women Forum has offered – not only for us to be better able to interact and grow, but also for us to reach out to younger leaders in the community and offer opportunities for them to do the same,” Barca said. •
Steering committee provides recognition,Exposure for senior female business executives
Women In Business Annual Gathering
by David Zaslawsky
Where
Organizations and businesses are looking to have more diversified board of directors. But where do you find those people? Well, if an organization or a business is looking to add women to its boards, all they need to do is turn to the Women In Business Forum. That organization, which is an initiative of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, features a steering committee of close to 20 women who are senior business executives. “Because many of the women in the community are not the CEOs they are not always out in the public getting recognition,” said Cameron Martindale, senior vice president, community development, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. “The women are more likely to be CFOs or COOs.” Martindale said the original concept of the Women In Business Forum was to create an organization for senior women business leaders, to give them a way to meet and get to know one another. “We wanted to create a database of these senior women in the community that are willing and able to contribute and participate on boards, but were simply not asked because they didn’t have the visibility of the CEO,” Martindale said. “Once we got everyone together we also realized they needed professional development because they had no place to get their own professional development and to have a peer-to-peer relationship. This organization under the Chamber umbrella provided that outlet.”
The steering committee members received professional development and also mentored younger women and men. Last year, participants in the Women In Business Forum learned about how they could become involve in service projects, which helped expand the organization. “If we look down the road and where we think this organization is going, we’ll keep the steering committee small because that’s our feeder group to get to boards,” Martindale said. “We are looking for more and more ways to continue to be more inclusive so that we can provide a broader and broader service to women in our community,” Martindale said. “Women want to participate in this and we are looking for ways that they can participate, but it (the organization) will always be built around networking with purpose.” Next year, the organization is looking at adding a second major event that would focus on professional development. The Women In Business Forum partnered with the Chamber’s LunchWorks program to attract a broader small business audience. The organization conducted LunchWorks on appropriate communications with technology, dressing for success and networking.
When
Nov. 4 Wynlakes Golf and Country Club Cost
$25 for Chamber member; $35 for non-Chamber member; $100 corporate discount for 5 tickets Agenda
5:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Registration and networking 6 p.m. -6:45 p.m. Opening remarks and keynote speaker 6:45 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Networking ice breaker, reception and door prize giveaway For information
Contact Nancy Beggs at (334) 230-8356 or nbeggs@ montgomerychamber.com
“We want to take the wonderful talent that these women possess and share that with our younger professionals – our younger business leaders – and to bring them along,” Martindale said.
Martindale said that the steering committee members did their best networking when it had a purpose and that’s how the “theme of the core organization is networking with purpose,” she said.
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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‘Hip Four-Door Sedan’ 2011 Sonata drives Hyundai’s record sales pace by David Zaslawsky
A photo on Capitol Hyundai’s website shows the Tim Haseltine family, who all happen to drive Hyundais. Haseltine, who is assistant manager for protocol and tours for Montgomery-based Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, drives a 2011 red Sonata. His wife has a 2010 Elantra Touring model and their children drive the following vehicles: 2010 Santa Fe, 2007 Santa Fe, 2006 Accent
Top Ten Sonata’s top months
Dec. 2007: 24,872 August 2010: 21,399 May 2010: 21,195 Dec. 2005: 20,853 March 2010: 18,935 April 2010: 18,536
and 2006 Elantra. Most, but not all the vehicles were purchased at the Montgomery dealership. According to sales figures this year, Hyundais are popular throughout the country – not just where the Sonata is manufactured in Montgomery. The Korean automaker is on pace to sell 500,000-plus vehicles in the United States for the first time after averaging 45,000-plus vehicles a month for the first eight months of 2010. That 500,000 plateau is a significant milestone. The most vehicles Hyundai has sold in the U.S. were 467,009 in 2007, which marked the ninth straight year of increases. With more than 360,000 units sold through August 2010, Hyundai needs to average less than 35,000 sales a month for the remainder of the year to reach 500,000.
July 2010: 17,836 June 2010: 17,771
Hyundai’s annual U.S. sales
March 2006: 17,487
1997: 113,186
May 2006: 17,035
1998: 90,217 1999: 164,190
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Hyundai’s top months
2000: 244,391
Aug. 2009: 60,467
2001: 346,235
July 2010: 54,106
2002: 375,119
August 2010: 53,603
2003: 400,221
June 2010: 51,205
2004: 418,615
June 2008: 50,033
2005: 455,012
June 2007: 49,368
2006: 455,520
May 2010: 49,045
2007: 467,009
July 2006: 47,205
2008: 401,742
Dec. 2007: 46,487
2009: 435,064
May 2008: 46,415
2010: 363,491 (through August)
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
“It (500,000 units) demonstrates that the consumer is accepting the brand as a mainstream brand,” said HMMA spokesman Robert Burns. “It is a stepping stone to the next milestone – maybe 750,000 units or 1 million units because you’ve got now 500,000 purchasers hopefully this year and next. That word-of-mouth (message) could be phenomenal when you start seeing those kinds of numbers.” Consider this: Six of the Sonata’s topselling months have been this year; three of Hyundai’s top four months have occurred this year; and the surging sales are during a slow recovery. The company continues to gain market share – reaching 5.2 percent in July and then increasing that to 5.3 in August, the automaker’s highest market share ever and the company’s 20th straight month of market share gains. The company’s yearto-date market share is 4.7 percent. “To see our brand in close to two years gain market share by more than 50 percent during a down economy is an impressive move,” Burns said. He said if you add the market share of Kia with Hyundai and the two are part of Hyundai Motor Group – you have a 7.8 percent market share, which matches Nissan/Infinity’s 7.8 share. “Our team members are very proud by what they are doing day-in and day-out,” Burns said. “They take a lot of pride in trying to build the highest-quality car possible so when the consumer gets it at the dealership they don’t have any issues and it’s just an enjoyable driving experience for them. “The design folks and the engineering folks did their part to say, ‘This is how it should be built’ and we tried to do
everything we can to build it to the right specs without issues. It’s been quite a successful launch for this vehicle.” Those team members and their families have helped contribute to Hyundai’s success by purchasing 200-plus vehicles through July, including 81 Sonatas. The Sonata is leading the Hyundai’s surge this year with nearly 130,000 units sold through August and has accounted for 35 percent of all company sales. Sonata sales through August are the fourth highest total ever and just 2,000 behind the third highest total. The all-time record for Sonata sales was almost 150,000 in 2006. Through the first eight months this year, Hyundai has sold 50,000-plus more vehicles than during the same time span last year – a 17 percent increase. The company sold 50,000-plus vehicles in both July and August – the fifth time in company history. Don’t expect Sonata sales or Hyundai sales for that matter to slow the remainder of the year. The Montgomery plant will be manufacturing a turbo Sonata in early fall and later this year a hybrid Sonata will be made in Korea and available in the U.S. market. “It will reinvigorate the momentum around the Sonata by introducing these two new options,” Burns said. “The company put out feelers that there was a turbo version and a hybrid version coming so some people may have delayed their purchase of a Sonata for that very reason.” The redesigned 2011 Sonata has resonated with consumers and according to Burns it expanded the demographic from buyers 45 and up to maybe 30 and up. “It opened up a whole consumer marketplace,” Burns said. “It’s still a fourdoor sedan, but it’s kind of a hip four-door sedan. It’s a very sporty four-door sedan. It’s very compelling even if they are thinking about a competitor four-door sedan.” Now add the safety features that Hyundai is famous for as well as the best fuel economy average across the lineup (30.9 miles per gallon). “We’ve gotten great marketing, positive reviews and sustained momentum as far as sales go,” Burns said. “You are getting quite a vehicle,” he said referring to the 2011 Sonata “for the price point with all the amenities that most consumers have come to expect.” •
Superlative reviews commonplace for Hyundai by David Zaslawsky Back in August, the headline for a mini car review in the Montgomery Advertiser read: “Running errands in luxury.” And what luxurious vehicle was the review about? If you guessed the 2011 Sonata you would be right. The reviewer said when her young children – 3 and 7 – first saw the 2011 Sonata they thought it was a racecar. The reviewer said the Sonata “had a luxurious” feel and made errands more tolerable. She was impressed with the vehicle’s trunk, which had plenty of room for her 40-pound bag of dog food. There have been innumerable reviews similar to this one. The Korean automaker is so confident in its positive reviews that it is selecting 50 people to drive a 2011 Sonata for a month, blog or write about their experience on the Hyundai uncensored page and post comments on their own social networking sites. Those 50 people are receiving a Flip cam for their own on-camera videos, a gas card and $500 spending money. “They are allowed to say any and everything they want,” said Robert Burns, spokesman for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, which produces the Sonata in Montgomery. Hyundai hopes those 50 will repeat some of the superlatives that have been reported in automotive trade publications and a consumer publication. A red 2011 Sonata was featured on the May cover of Motor Trend. The headline on the cover: “America’s Next Best-Seller? It’s fast, great-looking and loaded. What’s not to love?” There is also a promo: “Sonata vs. the rest,” which is a story about the crowded and intensely competitive family sedan market.
Here’s how Consumer Reports’ summarizes its review: “Its combination of distinctive styling, a roomy interior, engaging dynamics, impressive fuel economy, and low price is difficult to beat.” Back to that red 2011 Sonata. That color option also starred in a television ad touting the company’s painting procedure. If you visit the HMMA facility, you’ll find a red 2011 Sonata in the showroom. Hyundai and its 2011 Sonata have created quite a buzz and now for the first time, the automaker cracked the Top Five in The Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch with a 13 percent share. Hyundai gained 6 percent in the nonluxury/coupe/sedan/hatchback segment and now has 29 percent of the total consideration of shoppers for the segment. Hyundai trails Honda, Toyota and Ford. James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, wrote: “Ford continues its upward trajectory and Hyundai is truly on a roll. Both brands prove that when you make dynamic, exciting and affordable products that appeal to the new-car shopping masses, consumer perception begins to change and subsequently, sales will follow.” Burns said that Hyundai Motor Co. CEO Chung Mong Koo pushed the automaker 10 years ago to focus on quality. “That helped moved the need on brand perception – slowly, but surely and then come out with a lineup right now that is dynamic, exciting, but yet still affordable and extremely good fuel efficiency. It’s a nice mix of products across different price points to bring the consumer to the Hyundai brand.”
That red 2011 Sonata was also gracing the cover of Consumer Reports “New Car Preview” issue, which is on newsstands until mid-November. Once again, there is a glowing review of the 2011 Sonata, calling it a “world-class competitor” among other things.
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Elantra production coming to Montgomery By David Zaslawsky Hyundai officials announced in September that the Elantra will be produced at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama’s (HMMA) facility in Montgomery. The 2011 redesigned Elantra will make its U.S. debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Production of the Elantra will begin later this year and will go on sales in 2011, according to HMMA spokesman Robert Burns. “Hyundai’s philosophy is to build our vehicles where we sell them and with the addition of the Elantra to our U.S. production mix we now manufacture our three most popular models right here in the U.S.,” John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement. The third vehicle he was referring to was the Santa Fe, which had been manufactured in Montgomery, but production was recently shifted to West Point, Ga., where Kia, Hyundai’s sister company, is producing the Sorento. It has been a decade since the Elantra model dominated Hyundai sales. In 2000, more than twice as many Elantras were sold as Sonatas. More than 100,000 Elantras were purchased for six consecutive years, beginning in 2000 and that included an all-time high of 120,858 units in 2003. After ranking No. 1 in sales from 2000 to 2004, the Elantra has ranked second in four of the last five years to the Sonata. Through the first eight months of the year, Elantra sales have increased 21 percent and have already topped 90,000 units. “We are thrilled to be adding another pillar of the Hyundai lineup to our production mix here at HMMA,” Ashley Frye, vice president of production for HHMA, said in a statement. “We’ve been extremely proud to build both Sonata and Santa Fe on our assembly line, both of which have been hugely successful models for Hyundai in the U.S. and we hope to carry that momentum with us as we embark on the new 2011 Elantra.”
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Win-win-win Situation Total Resource Campaign benefits volunteers, businesses, Chamber by David Zaslawsky
The message coming from the Chairman of the Board Directors for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce could not be any clearer: The Total Resource Campaign (TRC) is a big deal. It is such a big deal to Nimrod T. Frazer Jr. that for the first time in five years, the Chamber chairman is the also the TRC chair. “There is nothing more important right now as far as strengthening the Chamber than the TRC to be successful,” said Frazer, who along with his Chamber titles is the general manager of Industrial Partners. “It brings in new dollars for the Chamber to support the Chamber and its missions. It supports the Chamber programs and increases membership.” Frazer said he is personally calling 35 to 40 CEOs of companies that have been involved in previous TRCs, as well as 35 to 40 CEOs of companies that have not been involved, to encourage their participation. “I’m just letting them know that it’s important enough for me to be involved as the Chamber chair and it’s also important to me to call them personally and ask for their participation,” Frazer said. “That personal connection to me hopefully will make an impact – will make a difference.” The TRC raises funds for the Chamber’s programs, events, publications, electronic media and recruits new members. Unlike years past, this year’s campaign, which ends Nov. 18, will consist of volunteers representing corporate teams. Each corporate team will have a team captain and two to eight volunteers.
Year Amount raised Chairperson 2006
$553,365
Ray Petty
2007
$706,000
Larry Puckett
2008
$669,907 Gene Crane
2009
$683,360 Guy Davis
“In our prior four years, we were organized with a TRC chairperson and we had four or five vice chairs,” said Gene Crane, member and investor relations task force chairman for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. He is the Central Alabama region president for Whitney Bank. “The vice chairs each had a series of teams that were generally corporate teams, but this year we are moving exclusively to corporate teams to try and create that synergy and sense of teamwork among those businesses that choose to participate in the Total Resource Campaign.” Crane, who was chairperson of the 2008 TRC, said there were about 60 volunteers 60 minute Coffee selling products in last year’s campaign and he hopes this campaign features closer to 100 volunteers. “We just know that if we have 40 more people involved what that might mean for us,” Crane said. There is about $1.4 million in products, sponsorships and advertising opportunities in the TRC. “If we can get these CEOs to agree to have their companies sponsor a corporate team and have that CEO get engaged or their senior leaders and others getting engaged with their team as they go through the process – the time and effort they spend helping with the TRC – they will become better for it,” Frazer said.
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Diversity Summit
That is one of the promises from this year’s campaign: The volunteers will be even more of an asset to their company. For the first time, there will be exclusive professional development sessions for the volunteers with self-marketing expert Jeff Beals and productivity expert Laura Stack. military appreciation Night
alabama update
“It’s a chance for us to add some value to (the volunteers) in a lot of ways through relationships that they would have cultivated through the other TRC volunteers,” Crane said. “It’s their chance to really get to know and interact with Chamber staff, Chamber senior leadership and board.” Frazer said the volunteers will learn new selling techniques and “sales is a big part of what we all do.” Crane added that the TRC helps cultivate future Chamber leaders. Another change this year was the creation of a Total Resource Council that consists of 12 people who were past TRC chairs, vice chairs for multiple years, Chairman of the Board Directors for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and what Frazer calls the “top guns” – volunteers who have sold $25,000 or more of Chamber products. Although there are incentives, including commissions and trips for the top-selling volunteers, “they do it for a lot of reasons, but the most important reason we hope is to support the Chamber,” Frazer said. Crane said that most companies that buy sponsorships or participate in various Chamber events are making strategic business decisions. “They want to be with certain events going on at the Chamber because of the networking opportunities it represents for their companies,” he said. “Or maybe they are doing it more in the realm of their own advertising budget through something like the Montgomery Business Journal magazine or otherwise to help them brand their company and create better identity in the community.
Chamber annual meetnig
“It really is a win for everybody: the volunteer, the Chamber and the member business all get a lot out of the Total Resource Campaign.” Back to school Breakfast
women in business forum
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Everyone Wins in the Chamber Race! NETWORKING EVENTS
DIVERSITY & LEADERSHIP
Annual Meeting - $1,500 to $7,500
2011 Athena Award - $2,000
60 Minute Coffee - $1,500
Diversity Summit - $700 to $10,000
Business After Hours - $2,000 Chamber Orientation - $1,000
Minority Business Development Community Forum - $600
Minority Business Partnership Mixer - $500 to $1,500
Women in Business Annual Gathering - $1,000 to $5,000
EDUCATION
Women in Business Forum Steering Committee Luncheons - $300
Back to School Breakfast - $500 to $2,500 Education Champion - $5,000
“It really is a win for everybody: the volunteer, the Chamber and the member business all get a lot out of the Total Resource Campaign.” - Gene Crane, 2009 Chairperson
School Clean Up - $1,000 to $2,500
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CONVENTION & TOURISM Convention & Visitor Bureau E-Newsletter - $750 Convention Bags - $5,000
Alabama Update - $500 to $4,000
Event Planner Envelopes - $1,000
Business Retention & Expansion Resource Guide - $750
Visitor Center Ad Panels - $1,500
Business Training & Development Series - $750 to $1,500
Visitor Center Digital Advertising - $1,000 to $2,500
Community Information Packet - $750 to $2,500
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Corporate Development Momentum E-Newsletter - $2,500
Entrepreneurial University - $2,000
Economic Development Flash Drive - $1,000
MONTGOMERY BUSINESS JOURNAL MAGAZINE
Official Economic Development & Recruitment Video - $10,000 River Region Economic Summit - $850 to $5,000
Montgomery Business Journal Special Delivery - $1,000
State of the City & County - $475 to $2,500
Montgomery Business Journal Super Deal - $5,000 to $15,000
Total Resource Campaign - $1,000 to $3,000
Print Edition:
Trendlines Newsletter Quarterly Sponsor - $500
* Back Cover Ad - $1,000
VIP Economic Development Dinner - $2,500
* Half-Page Horizontal Ad - $500
* Full-Page Ad - $1,000
* Half-Page Vertical Ad - $500 * Inside Back Cover Ad - $1,500 * Inside Front Cover Ad - $1,500
MBJ ONLINE MBJ Website Member News Banner - $300 MBJ Website Premium Banner - $350 MBJ Website Section Front Banner - $250
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
SPORTING NETWORKING EVENTS Annual Chamber Open - $750 to $7,500 Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce/Air University Golf Challenge - $300 to $3,000
MILITARY & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Eggs and Issues Breakfasts - $475 to $2,500 Military Appreciation Initiative - $500 to $4,000 Military Salute at Riverwalk Stadium - $1,000 to $3,000 Military Family Appreciation Day at the Zoo - $500 to $2,500 Veterans Day Parade VIP Reception - $3,000
ELECTRONIC MEDIA MONTGOMERYCHAMBER.COM Do Business Banner - $10,000 MONTGOMERYCHAMBER.COM Live, Work & Play Banner - $10,000 MC.COM Job Board - $1,000 MC.COM Member Directory - $500
VISITINGMONTGOMERY.COM Banner Ads - $2,500 Weekly ENews - $3,000
OTHER CEO Roundtable Breakfast - $500 to $1,000 Chamber Annual Video - $10,000 New Member Bag Sponsor - $500 The Ambassadors - $1,000 Washington, DC Fly-In - $5,000
The Chamber Race ends at 5 p.m. on November 15, 2010. Most products are not available after the campaign. The products that are available after the campaign closes come with a higher investment, for example the Montgomery Business Journal ads jump 40% on November 16th.
For a contact list of TRC 2010 Chamber Race teams and volunteers, go to www.montgomerychamber.com/trcteams. Anyone on the list can assist you in finding the product that will help you grow your brand and target your business objectives and initiatives… and fit in your budget! Email questions or requests to trc@montgomerychamber.com or call Lynn Norton at 240-9431.
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Member News
BusinessBuzz Montgomery Advertiser Readers Choice Awards, including eight first-place awards.
Hunter Lewis
MONTGOMERY NATIVE NAMED SYSCO’S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CALERA - Hunter Lewis of Montgomery was named Sysco of Central Alabama’s Rookie of the Year recently at the company’s annual awards banquet. A rookie is a sales associate who has been with the company three years or less. “In three short years, Hunter has grown his knowledge of the food business and developed into a top performer growing both his sales and his territory,” said Ralph Ham, vice president of territory sales for Sysco of Central Alabama. “He is always customer-focused and eager to help with anything that will grow the business of his customers.” Lewis is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., where he majored in hospitality meeting management and sales. FAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES WIN BIG IN READERS CHOICE AWARD CONTEST MONTGOMERY - A Mini Flex Storage and its Montgomery New Business Incubator tenants won 13 awards in the
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A Mini Flex Storage won five of those awards in the categories of climate controlled and standard storage as well as for its moving supplies. Touch of Class Limousine and Transport won two awards for transportation service. The facility won two awards last year.
Brick and Tile Co.; and W. Alan Worrell, Sterling Bank. The awards luncheon is open to the public. To purchase tickets and/or reserve tables for a group, contact Alice Williams at the Samaritan Counseling Center at (334) 262-7787, ext. 200. For information, visit www.riverregionethics.com.
SAMARITAN COUNSELING CENTER WILL HONOR AREA BUSINESSES MONTGOMERY - The Samaritan Counseling Center Inc. has named 15 area businesses finalists for the 2010 River Region Ethics in Business and Public Service Awards. Winners will be announced at an awards luncheon Nov. 8 at the Wynlakes Golf and Country Club. The keynote speaker will be Drayton McLane Jr., chairman and CEO of the Houston Astros. Finalists include: Small Business: Anchor Mortgage Services, LWT and WealthMark Financial Solutions, LLC; Medium Business: B & M Management Co., Integrated Computer Solutions and Major Oil Co./United Food and Fuel; Large Business: Alabama Gas Corp., International Paper and Max Credit Union; Non-Profit: Hospice of Montgomery, Medical Outreach Ministries and Family Sunshine Center; and Individual Award: W. Daniel Hughes, Summit America Capital; J. Michael Jenkins IV, Jenkins
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Lisa McKissick, Jackson Thornton Director of Human Resources and Ned Sheffield, Jackson Thornton Managing Partner, accept the Best Companies to Work for in Alabama award.
JACKSON THORNTON RECOGNIZED WITH BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR AWARD MONTGOMERY - Jackson Thornton was recently named one of the 2010 Best Companies to Work for in Alabama. Designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Alabama, the statewide program is a project of Business Alabama magazine and Best Companies Group. “We are honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award,” said Ned Sheffield, managing partner of Jackson Thornton, a certified public accounting and consulting firm. “Our business is about
serving people and we think it’s evident our team has a passion for what they do. An honor like Best Companies to Work For is confirmation that our people really do make the difference.” TROY UNIVERSITY RANKED TOP IN THE STATE BY FORBES TROY – Forbes Magazine has ranked Troy University the state’s leading institution of higher education in its third-annual “America’s Best Colleges” list and ranked Troy 16th nationally on its “America’s Best College Buys” list. Last year, Troy University was ranked as the state’s top public institution. The survey, conducted jointly with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, included 600 institutions nationwide, and based its rankings on student evaluations, graduates’ success, student debt loads and graduation rates. This year, Troy University was ranked No. 237 of the 600 colleges surveyed, making it the only institution in Alabama - public or private - ranked in the top 250. “We were thrilled by the announcement by Forbes Magazine that Troy University has been recognized as the best university in the state of Alabama inclusive of the publics and the privates,” Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. said. “Beyond that we were also proud to be ranked 16th nationally on its best college buy list.
BUSINESS BUZZ
Judi Miller
Included on the list are the firm’s founding shareholder, Jere L. Beasley, as well as shareholders J. Greg Allen, Thomas J. Methvin, J. Cole Ports, Daniel W. “Dee” Miles III, Michael J. Crow, Andy D. Birchfield Jr., Rhon E. Jones, Roman A. Shaul, P. Leigh O’Dell, Julia Anne Beasley, LaBarron N. Boone and R. Graham Esdale Jr.
HEALTH FOUNDATION DONATES $25,000 TO INSTITUTE FOR PATIENT SAFETY AND MEDICAL SIMULATION MONTGOMERY – The Institute for Patient Safety and Medical Simulation, a partnership between Baptist Health and Auburn University, has received a $25,000 grant from the Cardinal Health Foundation. The grant awarded to the institute will be used for “The Impact of Error Prevention Technique Testing in a Simulation Laboratory.” The research being done at the institute will study the effects of a series of interventions designed to decrease medication errors, according to Judi Miller, director of the institute, “We believe that non-clinical skills training using the latest in simulation technology is the key to changing behavior and making a lasting improvement,” Mill said. “This grant from Cardinal Health will begin our journey toward safer care for patients everywhere.”
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peerreview publication in the legal profession, and appears as the exclusive lawyer list on U.S. News & World Report website www.USNews.com.
Her prior Junior League responsibilities include serving as chair of the DHR Back to School Event and AUM’s Speech and Hearing Clinic. She has also served on the community research committee as corresponding secretary; community council vice president and membership vice president. She has been a member of the Junior League for 14 years, during four of which she served on the board.
Mia Mothershed
CARTER SYMONE – PREMIER PARTIES FOR GIRLS OPENS UP AT HILLWOOD FESTIVAL PLAZA MONTGOMERY – Carter Symone – Premier Parties for Girls opened its doors at Hillwood Festival Plaza on Zelda Road. The company offers a wide range of party choices, including customized parties for customers. It also is a cognitive and social development center for children ages 3-8.
Laura Stevenson
MONTGOMERY JUNIOR LEAGUE ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT MONTGOMERY - The Junior League of Montgomery announced that Laura Stevenson will serve as its president for the 2010-11 year.
Parke Hinman
MONTGOMERY AREA FOOD BANK ADDS 10 COUNTIES TO SERVICE AREA MONTGOMERY - The Montgomery Area Food Bank (MAFB) is expanding its services to accept responsibility for 10 more Alabama counties. The additional counties expands MAFB’s service area to 67 Alabama counties.
Stevenson, a Chicago native, received a bachelor’s degree
“Last year was a record year for the food bank and this year will call for much more with the addition of the new service areas,” said Parke Hinman, executive director of the Montgomery Area Food Bank. For information or to make a donation, visit the MAFB website at: www. montgomeryareafoodbank.
org or call the food bank office at (334) 263-3784.
Stephen White
MONTGOMERY CANCER CENTER REOPENS PRATTVILLE OFFICE MONTGOMERY – Montgomery Cancer Center, LLC (MCC) announced the reopening of its medical oncology office in Prattville. The new office recently underwent a comprehensive remodeling and relocation to the second floor. It is located in Prattville Medical Park at 645 McQueen Smith Road, Suite 207.
The organization distributed more than 13 million pounds of food last year, which is the equivalent of 430 tractor trailer loads.
BEASLEY ALLEN ATTORNEYS NAMED TO 2011 EDITION OF BEST LAWYERS MONTGOMERY – Thirteen Beasley Allen attorneys were selected for the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers.
in international studies and a master’s degree in teaching from Spring Hill College in Mobile.
Dr. Stephen “Drew” White will relocate his practice to the Prattville office, and will see patients 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. White is a medical oncologist, who has served the patients of Montgomery Cancer Center since 2003. He was previously on the staff of the Boston Baskin Cancer Group at the University of Tennessee Cancer Institute in Memphis, as well as the Cancer Specialty Clinic, also in Memphis. ONLINE COMMERCE GROUP RANKED IN TOP 5,000 LIST MONTGOMERY - Inc. magazine ranked Online Commerce Group, LLC No. 784 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastestgrowing private companies. Founded in 2004 by local entrepreneurs Scott McGlon and Gerry Monroe, Online Commerce Group (OCG) started with a few (CONTINUED ON PAGE 36)
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35) niche websites focused on selling upscale outdoor living products to residential and commercial markets. OCG has since expanded its Internet presence with more than 200 niche websites and posted a 512 percent threeyear growth in revenue. “We are thrilled to have been named by Inc. magazine as one of the nation’s top entrepreneurial companies for the third consecutive year,” said OCG President McGlon.
& Visitor Bureau: www. visitingmontgomery.com. Also at the convention, the Chamber’s Montgomery Business Journal received an Award of Excellence. Entries receiving an ACE Award for Excellence surpass the fundamental standards and criteria for communication excellence. “We are so very proud of the ACCE awards. The ‘Visiting Montgomery’ video is such a creative and powerful marketing tool for tourism and recruitment,” said said Randall George, president of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber staff has gone above and beyond in showcasing Montgomery as a vibrant, culturally diverse city.”
Randall George
CHAMBER RECEIVES THREE PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS AT NATIONAL CONVENTION ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce took home three prestigious awards at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) national convention in Milwaukee. The Chamber is the 2010 recipient of the Best of Show Award for Communications Excellence for its “Visiting Montgomery” video, which is used to promote tourism within the River Region. The video also won a Grand Award in the video category. According to the ACCE, the Best of Show award illustrates and embodies the essence of communications excellence. Only one entry from among this year’s five Grand Awards received this honor. The video can be seen in its entirety on the website for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Dean Vette
GMC DEALERSHIP RETURNS TO MONTGOMERY MONTGOMERY - After a two-year absence in the Montgomery market, GMC is returning to the Capital City. Classic Cadillac Buick has acquired the General Motors GMC franchise specializing in pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles, vans and crossovers and already has inventory available for sale. The name of the dealership will be changed to Classic Buick GMC Cadillac to reflect the addition of the new line. “There’s an incredible local demand for GMC trucks and we’re delighted to now be able to fill that need for the market,” said Dean Vette, the dealership’s general manager. “We’ve already got a number of GMC models on the
BUSINESS BUZZ ground for customers to choose from and we’ve got a couple of truckloads more on the way. Our service department is already geared up to service vehicles for current GMC owners as well as our future customers.” INFORMATION TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS RANKS AMONG FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES WETUMPKA – Information Transport Solutions Inc. (ITS) was ranked No. 1,930 on Inc. Magazine’s top 5,000 list. It marks the seventh straight year that ITS, a full-service provider of technology solutions, was on the magazine’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. “It is an incredible honor to be named by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s top entrepreneurial companies,” said Jeff Drury, CEO and chief financial officer of ITS. “… I would like to thank
Jeff Drury
Jackie Bushman
our customers and employees for their hard work and dedication that has greatly contributed to the success of ITS.”
the doors closed, Buckmasters’ staff collected 58,103 pounds of canned goods — almost twice the food collected in 2009.
BUCKMASTERS EXPO PARTICIPANTS DONATE NEARLY 60,000 POUNDS OF FOOD MONTGOMERY - About 30,000 hunters and their families attended the 17th Buckmasters Expo, but it was the Salvation Army of Montgomery and the area’s homeless who benefited the most. Admission was just one can of food per person. By the time
“We are so grateful to Buckmasters and the generous support of hunters and the Montgomery community for making it possible for us to meet this need,” said Salvation Army spokesperson Carolyn Key. “Last year, we prepared more than 150,000 meals and assisted nearly 8,000 families with groceries. With the success of our partnership with Buckmasters, we will be able to do far more.”
“A team effort made this year’s event another success,” said Buckmasters CEO Jackie Bushman. “We couldn’t have pulled this off without the combined support of the Alabama Tourism Department, the Montgomery County Commission, City of Montgomery, Chamber of Commerce and national and local sponsors. We also have an incredible Buckmasters’ staff.” STARKE AGENCY AGAIN NAMED A BEST PRACTICE INSURANCE AGENCY MONTGOMERY - Starke Agency Inc. was selected again as a Best Practice Insurance Agency by the IIAB and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm. Only 195 agencies across the nation qualify for this exclusive Best Practices Study. To be (CONTINUED ON PAGE 38)
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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BUSINESS BUZZ (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37) of this fascinating country. In turn, it allows us to enhance the experience of our travel clients.” CAPELL & HOWARD ATTORNEYS NAMED IN THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA
Trey Starke
chosen, an agency has to be among the 25 to 35 topperforming agencies in one of six revenue categories. “It is an incredible honor to be recognized among the nation’s best insurance brokers,” said Starke Agency President Trey Starke. “Our customer focus, ensuring our clients are protected and have confidence moving forward, is the key to our success. We are very grateful to our clients and employees for this national recognition.”
Liz Sutton
SUTTON SELECTED TO ATTEND FIVE-NIGHT VISIT TO TOKYO MONTGOMERY – Montgomery travel executive Liz Sutton was selected by Travel + Leisure for a five-night trip to Tokyo. Sutton, president of Alabama World Travel and Sutton & Associates, attended Travel + Leisure advisory board meetings. “It was such an honor to represent my industry in Japan,” Sutton said. “The hands-on activities of a Kimono fitting, tea ceremony, Japanese floral arranging, sushi making and sumo wrestling were just some of the many cultural experiences that enhanced our knowledge
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Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
MONTGOMERY – More than half of Capell & Howard’s attorneys have been included in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Five of those attorneys have appeared on this distinguished list for 20 years or more and an additional five have been included in the list for at least 10 years. The law firm has been ranked first in Montgomery by Best Lawyers in a number of categories. Capell & Howard lawyers recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for 2011 are: Shapard D. Ashley, Henry C. Barnett Jr., George L. Beck Jr., William D. Coleman, Bruce J. Downey III, J. Lister Hubbard, Henry H. Hutchinson and D. Kyle Johnson. Others are R. Brooke Lawson III, William K, Martin, Frank H. McFadden, Robert R. Meadows III, Robert F. Northcutt, James M. Scott, K. Palmer Smith, Debra D. Spain, James N. Walter Jr. and M. Courtney Williams for tax law. The firm was ranked first in the following practice areas are: alternative dispute resolution; construction law; corporate law; criminal defense: white collar; employee benefits law; employment law-management; general commercial litigation; labor law-management; real estate law; tax law and trusts and estates law. •
Members on the Move LIM NAMED PRESIDENT, CEO OF HYUNDAI MOTOR MANUFACTURING ALABAMA MONTGOMERY – Hyundai Motor Young Deuk Lim Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, (HMMA) recently announced Young Deuk Lim has been named president and CEO of the Montgomery automotive manufacturing operation. Lim is responsible for the strategic direction and management of HMMA’s company operations. During the past year, Lim served as chief operating officer for HMMA. Prior to joining HMMA, Lim worked at Hyundai Motor Co.’s automotive assembly plant in the Czech Republic. He joined Hyundai Motor Co. in 1979 and has served in leadership positions of increasing responsibility during his 31 years with Hyundai. Outgoing President and CEO Dong Gwan Shin has returned to Korea.
MAX CREDIT UNION HIRES SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT MONTGOMERY – Max Credit Union recently hired Martin Head as senior Martin Head vice president of myMAX Business Services. Head comes to Max with more than 22 years of experience in the financial services industry specializing in commercial lending. “I am excited to be on board with Max and have the opportunity to build relationships with business owners in our area,” Head said. “Max will become the premier business lender just as they have been with consumers. I look forward to bringing that personal connection to the commercial lending environment.” Head has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Auburn University and a graduate degree in banking from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. He is a native of Montgomery and has focused his career in the River Region.
PARTNERS REALTY ADDS AGENT
Reg Mantooth
MONTGOMERY - Partners Realty announced that Reg Mantooth joined the firm as an agent.
Mantooth, whose background includes accounting, will focus on the leasing, sales and management of commercial properties. Partners Realty is full-service real estate company.
SUTTON & ASSOCIATES ADDS STAFFER TO MANAGE INCENTIVE TRAVEL PROGRAMS
CBS 8 NEWS TEAM HIRES GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER MONTGOMERY – Tamika Bickham has joined the Tamika Bickham CBS 8 News Team as a general assignment reporter. Bickham is a graduate of the University of Miami with degrees in broadcast journalism and theater arts. Bickham interned with CNN in Los Angeles, where she contributed to the extensive coverage of Michael Jackson’s death. She also interned with Miami’s No. 1 news team WPLG, while also serving as a reporter for the University of Miami’s Emmy-nominated newscast, “Newsvision.” “We are excited to have Tamika join our staff,” said WAKA-TV General Manager Jim Caruthers. “We think she has a lot of potential to be an outstanding reporter here in the River Region.” To submit your business news for publication, email a press release to editor@montgomerychamber.com. Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Members only.
MONTGOMERY - Sutton & Associates recently announced that Laura Brelsford has joined the company. Laura Brelsford
Brelsford, who manages incentive travel programs, is a Huntingdon College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She also has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Alabama. She comes to Sutton & Associates from her most recent position as the member services coordinator for the YMCA.
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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New Members Advertising
Construction Services
Daily Deal Squad Paul Klein P.O. Box 11762 Montogmery, AL 36111 334-782-0555
Prestige Homes, LLC Tedrick R. Hopkins 300 Wiltshire Drive Montgomery, AL 36117 334-215-8985
Armored Car & Courier Services
Dentists
Executive Couriers of Montgomery Ray H. Bodiford P.O. Box 11575 Montgomery, AL 36111-0575 334-272-8549
Art Galleries
Dry Cleaners/ Laundries
The Dauber Gallery Mark Dauber 130 Commerce Street, Suite 102 Montgomery, AL 36104 334-538-4677
Jim Massey’s Cleaners & Formals Jim Massey 531 E. South Street Montgomery, AL 36104 334-262-8852
Associations/ Non-Profit
E-Commerce & Search Engine Marketing
Public Relations Council of Alabama-Montgomery Chapter President P.O. Box 242758 Montgomery, AL 36124
Online Commerce Group, LLC Scott E. McGlon 3180 Wetumpka Highway Montgomery, AL 36110 334-558-0863
Builders-Commercial
Event Planner
Faulk Constructors, Inc. C.J. Faulk 3974 Birmingham Highway Montgomery, AL 36108 334-834-9789
Personal Touch Events Carron Morrow 9920 Wares Ferry Road Montgomery, AL 36117 334-279-6279
Builders-Residential
Financial Services
Distinctive Homes of Alabama, LLC Gary Blackman 75 Avenue of the Waters Pike Road, AL 36064 334-657-9253
NEXT Financial GroupMontgomery Keith McAlister 1320 Carmichael Way Montgomery, AL 36106-3691 334-279-7596
Catering Services
Fire/Water Damage
Incredible Edibles, Inc. Pam Hawkins 11123 F Chantilly Parkway Pike Road, AL 36064 334-244-8808
ICON Restoration Pam Wascom 2421 President’s Drive, Suite B-15 Montgomery, AL 36116 334-270-0514
Computers-Software/ Hardware/Consulting
Gifts & Specialty-Retail
BAE Systems William Mooney 8610 Explorer Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80920 719-637-1161
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Dale Entrekin, DMD, PC Dale Entrekin 7022 Vaughn Road Montgomery, AL 36116-1370 334-271-3111
Barb’s On Mulberry Barbara Grimes 1923 Mulberry Street Montgomery, AL 36106 334-269-2272
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Government Rel/ Lobbying
Machinery-Mfr.
MANTRA Governmental Jarrod Massey 166 Commerce Street, Suite 300 Montgomery, AL 36104 334-386-2740
David Byrd 2750 Gunter Park Drive West Montgomery, AL 36109 334-272-1457
Heating & Air Conditioning Services Trane Craig Elliott 915 Lagoon Business Loop Montgomery, AL 36117 334-215-2900
Home Repair/ Improvements B and B Painting and Home Repair Services Bill Blessing 1957 Woodmere Loop Montgomery, AL 36117 334-277-6343
Hospitals/Clinics American Family Care-EastChase Felicia Fortune 2147 Riverchase Office Road Birmingham, AL 35244 205-403-8902
Information Technology Firms Printwise Technologies, Inc. Newt Higman 600 South Court Street, Suite 310 Montgomery, AL 36104 334-323-9473
Investment Securities Stifel Nicolaus Sheree Luker-Sharp 4137 Carmichael Road, Suite 330 Montgomery, AL 36106 334-213-1600
Janitorial Service/ Supplies Supreme Cleaning, Inc. Charles E. Lewis P.O. Box 231493 Montgomery, AL 36123 334-333-6733
Lawn & Garden Care Vaughn Road Garden Center Janine Koslofsky 9350 Vaughn Road Pike Road, AL 36064 334-272-8180
Giles Food Service Equipment
Media Company BackChannelMedia Eric Martin 86 Summit Avenue Summit, NJ 07960 908-608-4798
Mortgage/Finance Alabama Small Business Capital Angie Winter-Sweatman 1784 Taliaferro Trail, Suite B Montgomery, AL 36117 334-269-3833
Printers/Copy Centers Delta Printing and Sign Company DeAnn Weston 6001 Monticello Drive Montgomery, AL 36117 334-271-2679
RestaurantsFine Dining Ham and High Tiffany Bell 5251 Hampstead High Street, Unit 112 Montgomery, AL 36116 334-239-9982
RIBBON CUTTINGS & GROUND BREAKINGS
HERE WE GROW AGAIN
The Men’s Wearhouse
Marina Bar & Grill
Alabama Telco Credit Union
6866 EastChase Parkway Montgomery, AL 36117 Kenya Jarmon-Manager Clothing & Accessories-Retail
617 Shady Street Montgomery, AL 36104 334-239-8226 John & Jennifer Bull-Owners Restaurants-Bar/Grill
Safetec Security
Hardee’s
Xocai Healthy ChocolateShelby Kelley
6334 Woodmere Boulevard Montgomery, AL 36117 334-356-2774 Lisa Weeks-Manager Security Systems
Simmons Battery
725 Oliver Road Montgomery, AL 36117 334-271-6251 Bennett & Jonathan Simmons-Owners www.southeasternbatteries.com Batteries
5401 Atlanta Highway Montgomery, AL 36109 334-272-1191 Veronica Coleman-General Manager Restaurants-Fast Food
2906 Atlanta Highway Montgomery, AL 36109 334-271-4526 Deanna Bush-Branch Manager Credit Union
68 Laurelview Road Dadeville, AL 36853 256-825-3333 Shelby Kelley-Independent Distributor Health & Nutrition
Capitol Filmworks & The Studio
7123 EastChase Parkway Montgomery, AL 36117 334-269-3456 Joan Brinsfield-Owner/President Photography-Finishing/Equipment/Supplies
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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Economic Intel
Food prices decline slightly MONTGOMERY – After buying school supplies and new clothes for their children, parents’ wallets got a little relief from declining food prices. The average cost of 20 basic market basket items was $52.99, down 78 cents or 1.5 percent from a month earlier, according to the latest results from the Alabama Farmers Federation’s monthly food price survey,. A significant portion of the savings came from items in the meat case, where shoppers were able to stock up on choice cuts of chuck roasts and steak, among other items. Chuck roasts were down 36 cents this month to $3.30 a pound, while Tbone steaks decreased 24 cents to $8.27 a pound. Also more affordable were pork chops, down 12 cents to $3.33 a pound; chicken breasts, down 9 cents to $2.05 a pound; bacon, down 8 cents a pound to $4.65; ground beef, down a nickel to $2.47 a pound; and whole fryers, also down a nickel to $1.16 a pound. Boston butt prices saw a slight increase, up 2 cents a pound to $1.88. Eggs increased 10 cents to $1.26 a dozen. An increase in the demand of several staples nudged prices along the produce aisle a little higher, up 7 cents on
42
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
average. Tomatoes were up 21 cents a pound to $1.41; sweet potatoes increased 7 cents a pound to $1.02; and lettuce increased 2 cents to $1.46 a head. Red potato prices were cheaper, however, down a penny to 83 cents a pound. While a few items in the dairy case increased, the savings on milk helped balance the scale. Half-gallons of milk averaged $3.01, down 8 cents from the previous month. Meanwhile, shoppers in the market for butter, cottage cheese and ice cream found moderately higher totals on their grocery receipts. Butter was up a nickel to $3.86 a pound; cottage cheese was up 3 cents to $2.54 a pound; and ice cream increased 2 cents to $3.95 a half-gallon. Regional reports collected by volunteer shoppers throughout the state showed the market basket averaged $50.50 in Northwest Alabama, $52.26 in Central Alabama, $53.55 in Northeast Alabama and $56.89 in South Alabama. Alabama Farmers Federation, a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, is the state’s largest farm organization. Its county members conduct the informal monthly market basket survey.
Unemployment Data Civilian Labor Force
Unemployment Rate
August p 2010
July r 2010
August r 2009
August p 2010
July r 2010
August r 2009
Montgomery MA
167,531
166,276
168,873
9.1%
9.1%
10.3%
Autauga County
23,975
23,709
24,224
8.1%
7.8%
9.6%
Prattville City
15,578
15,397
15,675
6.7%
6.4%
7.8%
Elmore County
35,264
34,998
35,441
8.3%
8.3%
9.3%
Lowndes County
4,812
4,785
4,963
15.5%
15.7%
18.5%
Montgomery County
102,367
102,168
104,195
10.0%
9.7%
10.2%
Montgomery City
93,447
92,844
94,311
9.0%
9.1%
10.3%
Birmingham-Hoover MA
512,111
508,826
513,639
8.9%
9.0%
10.5%
Birmingham City
96,057
95,471
96,542
11.6%
11.6%
13.3%
Huntsville MA
207,885
207,157
202,969
7.2%
7.4%
8.1%
Huntsville City
92,309
92,017
89,993
7.2%
7.4%
8.0%
Mobile MA
183,560
182,044
182,234
10.2%
10.0%
11.4%
Mobile City
85,556
84,795
85,042
10.4%
10.2%
11.7%
2,122,881
2,108,108
2,112,735
9.3%
9.3%
10.9%
154,678,000
155,270,000
154,897,000
9.5%
9.7%
9.6%
Area
Alabama United States
MA=Metropolitan Area. pPreliminary rRevised Estimates prepared by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations in Cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, based on 2009 benchmark.
National Retail Sales
(Monthly and Quarterly) June
Wal-Mart Target Sears Sam’s Club
July
2010
-1.8%
2009
-1.5%
2010
+1.7%
+2.0%
+1.8%
2009
-6.2%
-6.5%
-2.9%
2010
-2.2%
2009
-8.6%
2010
Family Dollar Dollar General Best Buy
2010
Lowe’s JCPenney
Gap
Rite Aid
+0.6% +1%
2009
-1%
2010
+7.0%
2009
+6.2%
+3% -2%
+5%
Walgreens
+0% AutoZone
June
July
August
2010
+5.9%
+4.6%
+4.5%
2009
-5.6%
+0.4%
+0.2%
2010
-3%
-6%
-1%
2009
-10%
-9%
-7%
2010
+2.1%
2009
+6.1%
2010
-2.5%
-1.1%
-1.0%
2009
-0.6%
-0.6%
-1.9%
2010
+2.0%
+0.4%
+2.1%
2009
+3.4%
+2.0%
+1.9%
2010 2009
2010
+5.1%
2009
+8.6%
Advance Auto Parts McDonald’s
2010 2009
Home Depot
Kohl’s
CVS +1.0%
2009 Costco
August
-3.9%
2010
+1.0%
2009
-8.5%
2010
+1.6%
2009
-9.5%
Burger King Wendy’s
2010
+4.5%
-0.6%
+2.3%
2009
-8.2%
-12.3%
-7.9%
Arby’s
2010
+5.8%
2009
+4.8%
2010
+5.7%
2009
+2.6%
+1.7%
2010
-1.5%
2009
-4.5%
2010
-1.7%
2009
-0.4%
2010
-7.4%
2009
-6.9%
U.S. same store sales compiled from 10-Q and 10-K forms (excluding fuel sales) Source: RetailerDaily.com
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
43
2010 Montogmery Building Starts Building Permits
Building Valuations
JUL 2010
JUN 2010
JUL 2009
JUL 2010
JUN 2010
JUL 2009
New Construction
19
27
19
$3,810,400
$3,863,000
$1,989,400
Additions and Alterations
108
69
79
$3,728,400
$1,689,600
$4,627,000
Others
27
32
47
$943,200
$2,379,200
$3,679,000
Total
154
128
145
$8,482,000
$7,931,800
$10,295,400
Source: City of Montgomery Building Department
Montgomery Regional Airport AUG 2010
AUG 2009
Year over Year % Change
YTD 2010
YTD 2009
Year over Year % Change
Air Carrier Operations
1,154
1,009
14.4%
8,401
7,510
11.9%
Total Operations
5,784
5,523
4.7%
47,260
45,774
3.2%
Enplanements
14,581
14,788
-1.4%
122,036
102,432
19.1%
Deplanements
15,065
14,570
3.4%
123,053
103,830
18.5%
Total Passengers
29,646
29,358
1.0%
245,089
206,262
18.8%
Source: Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) Dannelly Field
Montgomery Metro Market Home Sales JULY 2010 Total Home Sales
JUNE 2010
Month/Month % Change
JULY 2009
Year/Year % Change
Statewide JULY 2010
250
376
-33.51%
351
-28.77%
2,885
Median Selling Price
$129,250
$130,000
-0.58%
$137,500
-6.00%
$128,909
Average Selling Price
$155,507
$148,453
4.75%
$150,226
3.52%
$150,678
91
82
10.98%
92
-1.09%
153
3,386
3,364
0.65%
3,097
9.33%
42,174
Average Days on Market Total Homes Listed
Source: Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE), The University of Alabama
Sales Tax Collections AUG 2010
AUG 2009
Year over Year % Change
YTD 2010
YTD 2009
Year over Year % Change
$2,942,105
$3,008,384
-2.20%
$25,596,970
$25,623,316
-0.10%
City of Montgomery
$6,855,651
$6,586,479
4.09%
$58,277,583
$56,844,952
2.52%
Montgomery County Pike Road
$165,256
$184,464
10.41%
$1,283,072
$939,600
36.56%
Autauga County
$580,870
$580,258
0.11%
$4,790,232
$4,821,328
-0.64%
Prattville
$1,147,834
$1,066,389
7.64%
$9,641,000
$9,184,660
4.97%
Elmore County
*
Wetumpka
$492,297
$446,641
10.22%
$3,632,413
$3,722,519
-2.42%
Millbrook
$436,359
$401,665
8.64%
$3,645,829
$3,389,176
7.57%
Sources: Montgomery County Commission, City of Montgomery, City of Pike Road, Autauga County Commission, City of Prattville, Elmore County Commission, City of Wetumpka, City of Millbrook Note: YTD numbers are January 2010 thru current month. *Did not receive this month’s numbers.
44
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Airline Fares Roundtrip airfare comparisons from Montgomery, Birmingham and Atlanta airports to key destinations. Destination
Montgomery
Birmingham
Atlanta
Baltimore (BWI)
$219
$193
$148
Boston (BOS)
$216
$242
$203
Charlotte, NC (CLT)
$118
$118
$118
Chicago (ORD)
$223
$256
$163
Cincinnati (CVG)
$244
$182
$173
Dallas/Ft Worth (DFW)
$244
$213
$203
Denver (DEN)
$278
$290
$218
Detroit (DTW)
$223
$236
$163
Houston (HOU)
$358
$218
$183
Indianapolis (IND)
$252
$196
$143
Las Vegas (LAS)
$405
$357
$268
Los Angeles (LAX)
$306
$283
$288
Memphis (MEM)
$346
$302
$123
Miami (MIA)
$243
$195
$168
Nashville (BNA)
$238
$158
$151
New Orleans (MSY)
$278
$158
$151
New York (JFK)
$268
$266
$208
Orlando (MCO)
$242
$242
$148
Philadelphia (PHL)
$262
$258
$153
Pittsburgh (PIT)
$223
$223
$163
St Louis (STL)
$218
$183
$158
Seattle (SEA)
$367
$328
$258
$1,350
$869
$818
Tampa (TPA)
$242
$178
$148
Washington DC (DCA)
$263
$228
$183
Seoul, Korea (SEL)
Date of travel: Oct. 19-24 2010. Date of pricing: Sept. 12, 2010. Source: travelocity.com
Hyundai Sales VEHICLE
AUG 2010
AUG 2009
YTD 2010
YTD 2009
Accent
3,844
10,099
34,882
50,651
Sonata
21,399
11,815
128,484
85,677
Elantra
15,181
21,673
90,960
75,193
Tiburon
0
45
0
8,542
Santa Fe
5,687
10,791
57,110
51,057
341
336
2,140
2,593
3,343
2,531
26,730
11,189
Entourage
0
20
0
3,395
Veracruz
919
841
5,096
8,130
Genesys
2,889
2,316
18,089
14,269
Total
53,603
60,467
363,491
310,706
Azera Tucson
Source: Hyundai Motor America
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
45
Quarterly Reports Quarterly Revenues
Net Income
Earnings Per Share
Earnings Estimate
Year-ago Revenues
Year-ago Net Income
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group
$877M
$10.7M
$0.03
$0.05
$912.7M
$14.9M
Revenue declined 9.4% to $269.6M
Kohl’s
$4.1B
$260M
$0.84
$0.82
$3.8B
$229M
E-commerce division up 50%
O’Charley’s
$194M
(-$2.5M)
(-$0.12)
(-$0.05)
$206.2M
$2.9M
Fourth straight quarterly loss
JC Penney
$3.9B
$14M
$0.06
0.05
$3.9B
(-$1M)
Online revenue rose 4% to $317M
$743.1 M
$63.6M
$0.62
$0.46
$742.1M
$42.1M
Completed sale of On The Border for $16.5M profit
$5.1B
$305M
$0.74
$0.73
$4.8B
$261.6M
Customer traffic continued to increase significally
Wal-Mart Stores
$103.7B
$3.6B
$0.97
$0.96
$1001B
$759M
International business up 16% to $25.9B
Home Depot
$19.4B
$1.2B
$0.72
$0.71
$19.1B
$3.5M
Average ticket remained flat at $52.30
$745.8M
$19.5M
$0.22
N/A
$637.2M
$1.1B
Revenue increased 17%
Lowe’s
$14.4B
$832M
$0.58
$0.59
$13.8B
(-$26.7M)
Target
$15.5B
$679M
$0.92
$0.92
$14.6B
$759M
Will offer 5% discount for using Target credit card
Blockbuster
$788M
(-$69M)
(-$0.32)
N/A
$982M
$594M
Revenue fell 20%
Dillard’s
$1.4B
$6.8M
$0.10
$0.12
$1.4B
(-$26.7M)
Hibbett Sports
$139.8M
$4M
$0.14
$0.16
$123.1M
$1.1M
Ann Taylor
$483.5M
$18.6M
$0.31
$0.33
$470.2M
(-$18M)
Kirkland’s
$89.5M
$3.3M
$0.16
$0.18
$87.7M
$3.4M
Revenue increased 2.1%
Gap (Old Navy,
$3.3B
$234M
$0.36
$0.35
$3.2B
$228M
Profit grew 3%
Sears Holdings
$10.5B
(-$39M)
(-$0.35)
(-$0.18)
$10.6B
(-$94M)
Kmart brand improved profit margin
Foot Locker
$1.1B
$6M
$0.04
$0.03
$1.1B
$0
Wet Seal
$131.5M
$1.6M
$0.02
$0.02
$136.4M
$3.1M
Profit declined nearly 50%
Aeropostle
$494.7M
$43.6M
$0.46
$0.41
$453M
$38.6M
Same-store sales rose 4%
GameStop
$1.8B
$40.3M
$0.26
$0.27
$1.7B
$38.7M
Revenue up 3%
SteinMart
$275.9M
$11.3M
$0.25
$0.24
$287.50
$1.5M
Had no debt at end of the quarter
$1.9B
$129.3M
$1.07
$1.07
$1.8B
$103.4M
Profit jumped 25%
$345.3M
(-$8.2M)
(-$0.30)
(-$0.34)
$315.7M
(-$7M)
Revenue up 9.4%
PetSmart
$1.4B
$48.4M
$0.41
$0.36
$1.3B
$39M
Profit increased 24%
Dick’s Sporting Goods
$1.2B
$51.5M
$0.43
$0.41
$1.1B
$38.9M
Profit surged 32%
Dollar Tree
$1.4B
$78M
$0.61
$0.54
$1.2B
$56.9M
Revenue incerased 12.7%
$775.6M
$30.8M
$0.28
$0.22
$672.1M
“$399,000 “
Hot Topic
$150M
(-$6.3M)
(-$0.14)
(-$0.13)
$157.8M
(-$3.2M)
Quarterly loss nearly doubled
Limited Brands (Victoria’s
$2.2B
$178.7M
$0.54
$0.34
$2.1B
$74.3M
Had several one-time gains
Barnes & Noble
$1.4B
(-$62.5M)
(-$1.12)
(-$0.80)
N/A
$12.3M
Legal expenses mount in proxy fight
Burger King
$623M
$49M
$0.36
$0.34
$629.9M
$58.9M
Profit declined 17%
Big Lots
$1.2B
$38.9m
$0.48
$0.47
$1.1B
$28.4M
Profit soared 37%
Winn-Dixie
$1.8B
$14M
$0.25
$0.15
N/A
$9.4M
Same-store sales declined 5.2%
Name
Brinker International (Chili’s)
TJX (T.J. Maxx)
Abercrombie & Fitch
Banana Republic)
Ross Stores The Children’s Place
Williams-Sonoma
Secret, Bath & Body Works)
Source: PR Newswire and Charles Schwab wire services
46
Montgomery Business Journal October 2010
Notable
Sales at same stores open at least one year rose 1.6%
Repurchased 77.6M shares of stock during the quarter Sales at same stores open at least one year increased 11.9% Revenue up nearly 3%
Gross profit margin up 2.3 percent points
Revenue rose 15%
October 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
47
Post Office Box 79 Montgomery, AL 36101