June 2020

Keeping you informed and inspired.

VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 6

June 2020

AUTOMOTIVE

Auto Dealerships Driven to Survive During an Economic Storm

COVER STORY

Deemed an essential business by Gov. Kay Ivey, car dealerships and their service departments have been steadfast in making the best of a bad situation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Kimberly Ballard - Page 2

SITDOWN WITH SUCCESS

Sitdown with Success: Bruce Weddendorf

In 2009, Bruce Weddendorf, his wife, Jo, and business partners Dan Perry and Colin Austin joined forces to create Straight to Ale, one of the most iconic brands in the local craft beer community.

By Lori J. Connors - Page 12

ADDITIONAL STORIES • HudsonAlpha Joins Forces with iCubate, iRepertoire, Huntsville Hospital and the Local Community in its Fight Against COVID-19

By Lori J. Connors • Page 5

• Schools’ Emergency e-Learning Plan Like “Building a Ship While We Float”

By Kimberly Ballard • Page 6

• ‘Today Show’ Shout-out: Huntsville Real Estate Alive & Well

By Kimberly Ballard • Page 10

Online

Huntsvillebusinessjournal.com

Twitter

@HsvBizJournal

LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/company/huntsville-business-journal/

Facebook

www.facebook.com/huntsvillebusinessjournal

HUNTSVILLE

BUSINESS JOURNAL Vol 3, Issue 6 June 2020 600 Boulevard South Suite 104 Huntsville, AL 35802

2

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

AUTOMOTIVE

Auto Dealerships Driven to Survive During an Economic Storm There is an old southern adage that says what doesn’t destroy us, makes us stronger.

Deemed an essential business by Gov. Kay Ivey, car dealerships and their service departments have been steadfast in making the best of a bad situation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of them have cut hours of operation; they have had to make adjustments to their daily operations; and they have been steadfast about finding ways to keep their employees working, whether with the help of the Paycheck Protection Program or by sheer will.

All of them report a drop in car sales in the early days of the shutdown, but their resilience is paying off as most are reporting a rebound in the past couple of weeks.

The Huntsville Business Journal checked in with the area’s largest car dealerships to find out what it has been like riding out a pandemic in the midst of a massive economic storm, while most of their customers are sheltered at home. The flexibility, adaptability and entrepreneurial spirits truly stand out!

Landers McLarty Automotive Group Frank Williams, executive manager and managing partner of Landers McLarty Automotive Group, said his dealership has an incredible business, so he feels they have an obligation to the community, their customers, and their employees to make whatever adjustments are needed to support them.

“I have focused more on how as a community leader, we can sustain the livelihood of our employees and protect their well-being,” Williams said. “It’s been an adjustment, but it makes you think about priorities which brings you closer to your employees, closer to your family, and it makes you look instead at the positives while forcing you to prioritize. If we do that, we will come out on the right side of this.”

Yes, business has been off about 40 percent but he doesn’t look at it from a profit and loss perspective.

“Technology lets us create platforms that provide what the customers want, as opposed to what we want, and that is a plus,” he said. “I don’t focus on the negative. I am using the situation to look for ways to do business better for

our consumers, and technology has allowed us to do that.”

If a customer doesn’t want to come into the dealership, they have a social distancing tent set up outside. If they want to do it all online, they have created another platform for that. If a customer doesn’t want to leave home, they implemented a pick-up and delivery service to support that.

“Everybody is being hurt so looking at it from a profit and loss standpoint isn’t as important as what we do to adjust our cleaning so people feel comfortable coming to work; and making sure our actions as leaders help sustain people and their families.

“The national media focuses on the losses, but we have not made a single cut. We see a lot of positives with our employees stepping up. We want everybody to be happy and I think we have created what will be a new way of doing business.”

Ray Pearman Lincoln “We have remained open every day throughout the crisis and we have not had a single layoff,” said Paige Pearman-Sandlin, general manager at Ray Pearman Lincoln. “We saw a dip in car sales to about half what we normally see, but people are still out looking; our service department has remained steady; and we have seen an uptick in the number of people setting appointments to see or test drive a vehicle, as opposed to just dropping by. Beginning last week, things began to feel more normal and we have experienced an 80 percent uptick as people seem to be back out and looking.”

She said the changes the dealership has made operationally have not been substantially disruptive.

“Some people are wearing masks, but not everybody; and our employees are ready to put one on if the customer is wearing one or inquires about one,” Pearman-Sandlin said. “We are not shaking hands and we have propped open all the doors, so no one has to turn a doorknob. We are very cautious about common touchpoints and we have a company who comes out and spray disinfects the building while our employees are constantly cleaning and sanitizing their work areas.”

She said they can set up virtual test drives but if a customer wants to physically drive the car, they can do so alone.

If they request a sales rep, everyone wears masks and gloves.

They also have a designated pick-up and delivery driver who wears disposable gloves, and they wrap the steering wheel. They put the keys in a velvet bag and leave them for the owner so there is no direct contact.

“We were actually ready for the shutdown in terms of being able to process a lot of the car buying steps online since we have been doing that for a while, but I think this has helped us get better at it,” said Pearman-Sandlin.

“Throughout most of the shutdown, Lincoln has been offering zero percent interest on 72 month on all 2019 models, but word is, that is about to go away as things are getting back to normal, so now is a great time to buy!”

By Kimberly Ballard / Photos provided by Ray Pearman Lincoln and Jerry Damson Honda

hicle,” said Davis.

He also said if people are hesitant about taking test drives, he guarantees all cars are disinfected before and after each test drive, and they are using steering wheel covers to prevent any spread of the virus or other germs.

“Our main focus throughout this situation has been to keep customers and employees as safe as possible by following the guidelines set by the CDC,” Davis said.

Bill Penney Automotive Group “Prior to March 16, Bill Penney Toyota was having a record month such a great month it was unbelievable,” said Hunter Johnson, general manager at Bill Penney Toyota. “On March 16, we started hearing rumblings some-

Lexus of Huntsville “Lexus of Huntsville has not only remained open through the entire shutdown, but we have maintained our full hours in both car sales and in our service department,” said Dennis Davis, managing director of the dealership.

“Our service department waiting room is open and we are in full compliance with social distancing requirements as set by CDC guidelines.”

Davis said they originally furloughed only two employees, but they have called one back and will Ray Pearman safe pick-up and delivery call the other back as businesses across the board thing is about to happen and when the resume operations.

NBA shut down, it hit us hard. Car “Compared to the weeks or months sales dropped 30 to 40 percent.” before COVID hit in mid-March, car Unwilling to let dread settle in on sales were off somewhat, but the good their employees and thinking the safest news is because Lexus was quick to cut thing was not to have as many people in interest rates to zero percent for the first every department, Johnson and owner time in recent history on some modZach Penney pulled the leadership team els, with others offering six months of together and produced a video for all no payments, it is an excellent time to 250 employees. They took the store to buy that new or certified pre-owned vehalf-staff with no one laid off, stagger-

June 2020

3

AUTOMOTIVE

ing everyone 3 days on and 4 days off.

“The first 2 weeks of April, business went down almost 70 percent, but we manufactured jobs for our employees doing everything from cleaning and sanitizing to doing work around the store we had been putting off like painting and home improvements,” Johnson said.

“Since reopening May 4, we brought everyone back on and although sales are probably still off by 20 percent, we have done really well and getting close to normalcy,” he said. “Our used car department in April had the best April in 56 years, and where the ratio of new to used cars is usually 7 to 1, it is now 1 to 1.”

They have also been there to help the public and to respond to customer calls. Throughout the crisis, the dealership has been going to customer homes to pick up the cars, even if all they needed was an oil change, and delivered it back to them following CDC guidelines for social distancing, wearing gloves and covering the steering wheel.

This popular valet service will become part of regular business going forward, The dealership uses a Quickpage system consisting of a video and a taped virtual test drive. If they still want to test drive it themselves, they wipe it down, add covers to the steering wheel and deliver it to the customer for 24 hours.

“We are also doing ‘payment distancing’. Toyota is offering zero percent financing with no payment for six months and people are taking advantage of it,” said Johnson. “We have always sold cars online, but we are taking it a step forward and emailing paperwork with e-contracting, which will cut hours off the car buying process.”

Smith Infinity Justin Smith, executive manager for Smith Infinity, said the month of April was nonexistent in terms of new car sales but used cars and the parts and service department have kept the wheels rolling through the entire shutdown.

Ironically, his father’s dealership, Jimmy Smith Buick GMC in Athens, is selling so many cars they are close to running out of inventory.

“The imports were slower pushing out special financing than the domestics and I think that has been the difference, but I admit we were down a lot more than I expected going into this,”

he said. “Our parts and service department has remained steady at around 75 percent and while they have carried us through April, we have sold more cars between the first and 15th of May than we did the whole month of April, and we are beginning to start seeing some traffic again.”

He said adjusting to sales in the time of COVID has been somewhat strange.

The instinct is to see someone on the lot looking and to approach them with a handshake, but his sales staff is learning to adjust to how to approach people.

He said many people, especially those wearing masks do not want to come inside and they are all social distancing, so it has been a challenge.

“It is sometimes hard to do business that way, but I think once people hear from the government that they have this thing under control that will change,” he said. “I have to say though that traffic has been twice as heavy the first two weeks of May than it was the entire month of April. Our target for returning back to normal has been May 15 but since the service department does well Monday through Friday, we may hold off opening the service department back up on Saturdays until June 1.”

On a lighter note, Smith said he feels like he is back in college with all the daily webinars.

“I sit in on webinars sometimes it seems all day,” he laughs. “The NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association), the ADAA (Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama), Infinity keeping us up-to-date on their rollouts, and even a webinar from an accounting firm teaching us the PPP. Century Automotive Group Century Automotive has remained open throughout the pandemic but owners George and Tracy Jones immediately put a plan in place to protect their customers and employees.

“Our main company objectives during this time was keeping everyone safe and allowing our employees to be able to work and support their families,” said George Jones. “Several of our employees’ main responsibility is sanitizing the facilities hourly; and everyone is enforcing social distancing in their day-to-day business dealings and meetings.

He said several employees chose not to work, and they supported their request for time off, and they have also adjusted hours and implemented split

crews for most of their departments.

“We adjusted our test drive options based on customer preference and take vehicles to our customers house and allowed them to drive without a sales

with Damson family guidelines,” Boles said. “The family took it seriously, took it to heart, and understood their role in society. If we are judged an essential business, then it is essential our business Jerry Damson Automotive Group 6 feet apart

consultant in many cases,” Jones said.

“We also offered pick-up and delivery for our service customers who weren’t comfortable coming into the dealership.”

He said fortunately their sales volume was only down 10 percent in April, but for the most part, business has been back to normal in May. “We are fully staffed and back to our normal business hours, however we realize we must continue to sanitize and continue social distancing,” he said.

“I’m grateful to our customers who have supported us during this time.

We are a small, locally owned family business celebrating our 50th year. I’m grateful for our employees who have maintained positive attitudes throughout this crisis, and we will continue to take great care of our company and customers.”

Jerry Damson Automotive Group Ben Boles, director of digital media for the Jerry Damson Automotive Group, said that from the day Gov. Ivey put the stay at home order in place but deemed automotive dealerships and their service departments essential, they developed a governing philosophy surrounding how to keep their employees and customers safe.

“We adopted procedures and protocols to make sure we were compliant not just with state guidelines, but really,

be leader in the community.

He said they were committed to accommodating whatever their customers needed and will do whatever it takes to make it work for them.

“Our waiting room is open and we have a spacious new building, so we spread out the furniture to make it safe and comfortable. If you prefer, we pick up your vehicle and deliver it back to you. That is fine too,” he said. “We were very quick to adopt high sanitation standards that include gloves, coverings, contactless servicing of your car, and we amended the way we did test drives.

We practice social distancing and wear masks when necessary.”

He credits the Damson clean-up shop as the unsung heroes of the coronavirus shutdown because they get every individual car, including used cars, immaculate, sanitized, and they have created a new definition of a frontline-ready used car.

“We have been able to stay open all the days we are usually open and that keeps our employees working, but we did scale back our hours a little because there has been less foot traffic,” Boles said. “We’ve had a lot of change but thankfully as the economy has started reopening, things are looking up. People are coming out and looking and they are serious too, definitely here to buy a car!” w

4

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

GUEST EDITORIAL: ROY WRIGHT

When Extreme Weather and a Crisis Collide: The Case for Building Stronger in Alabama Dixie Alley is a hot spot for severe weather, with Alabama facing the threat of tornadoes each spring and again in the fall.

Even in the break between those months, lies hurricane season.

The state has been spared from a major tropical storm in recent years, but that won’t last. As Hurricane Michael reminded us, those less frequent weather systems regularly produce high winds deep into inland counties and often spin off tornadoes statewide.

This year, severe weather has followed its normal storyline – more than two dozen tornadoes already impacting Alabama and predictions of an above average hurricane season.

This spring, the country rightfully turned its attention to COVID-19. Yet, deadly storms in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas reminded people here and across the South that they face the potential of two very different but quite formidable disasters.

A pandemic and severe weather both deserve our full attention, and Easter weekend they demanded it. In the wake of devastating storms, our appreciation for a strong place to call home grows and likewise, as we’ve hunkered down to slow the spread of coronavirus, it has also amplified the need for a strong roof over our heads in times of trouble.

While we’re hopeful the worst of coronavirus will soon pass, it has made it clear — in severe weather-prone areas like Alabama — residents must always be prepared to deal with more than one crisis. Mother Nature will always be with us and, while she cannot be tamed, when considered in relation to unknown future risks, she’s the one we are best equipped to plan for now.

We are not powerless against severe weather. At the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety research center in Richburg, S.C., a team of scientists meticulously recreate extreme weather events with windspeeds up to 130 mph and study their interactions with fullscale homes and commercial buildings.

Decades of research and testing led to the national standard for stronger building. Called Fortified Home, it is a set of voluntary, beyond-code building practices centered around stronger connections to hold the roof onto the

house, reinforced roof edges to further withstand high winds, and a sealed roof deck to prevent rain from entering even during high winds that may blow off shingles.

Alabama’s coastal counties are shining examples of what is possible when we commit to strengthen our homes to reduce damage from severe weather.

Following devastating damage from Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, thousands of homes in Baldwin and Mobile counties were built back or re-roofed to the Fortified standard. In fact, Alabama leads the nation with more than 13,000 Fortified homes, almost entirely in those two counties.

Considering the frequency and severity of tornadoes in Central and North Alabama over just the last decade, it’s time to take what has worked to reduce the loss along Alabama’s coast to the rest of the state.

While no home or building is hurricane- or tornado-proof, homes built to this standard have proven to be more durable through EF-2 tornado and Category 3 hurricane winds, narrowing the path of damage and reducing the number of displaced families. When coastal North Carolina was battered by Hurricane Dorian last year, 99.5 percent of homes built to the fortified standard made it through the storm avoiding damage significant enough for an insurance claim.

At no time has the importance of preparing for that worst day been clearer.

Now, even as we practice “safer at home,” I would urge Alabamians to prepare for severe weather in meaningful ways that are still possible.

The dual crises we face now show the importance of escalating the pace of beyond-code building in Alabama, making it more accessible in both coastal and inland communities, particularly those that will soon start to repair and rebuild from these recent storms.

Improving the performance of buildings against natural disasters and reducing the risk of repeated losses readies us for a time when the virus is contained but Mother Nature still is not. w Roy Wright is president and CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

Subsidiary of EVENT Publishing

Publisher/President ................................................................ Todd Stephenson Editor .......................................................................................... Bud McLaughlin Writers.........................................................................................Kimberly Ballard

Lori J. Connors

Mike Easterling Graphic Design ............................................................................. Justina Simon Website................................................................................................ Jim Gharib Photographers...................................................................................Steve Babin

Kimberly Ballard

Eric Schultz

Justina Simon Director of Sales ................................................................. Carolyn Stephenson Account Executives...............................................................................Lee Nast

Amanda Peach

Michelle Epling Distribution......................................................................................Glenda Mace Huntsville Business Journal is published monthly by EVENT Publishing,

PO Box 14219, Huntsville, AL 35815.

For advertising information call 256.533.8078, e-mail todd@eventhuntsville.com, or visit us on the web at www.huntsvillebusinessjournal.com For editorial information contact editor@huntsvillebusinessjournal.com ALL CONTENTS ©2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION OR USE IN WHOLE OR IN PART OF THE CONTENTS WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS PROHIBITED. HUNTSVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF EVENT PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. UNSOLICITED PHOTOGRAPHS OR ARTICLES ARE SUBMITTED AT THE RISK OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER OR AUTHOR. EVENT PUBLISHING ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR THE RETURN OF ANY UNSOLICITED MATERIALS AND MAY USE THEM AT ITS DISCRETION.

June 2020

5

BIOTECHNOLOGY

HudsonAlpha Joins Forces with iCubate,

By Lori J. Connors / Photos by HudsonAlpha iRepertoire, Huntsville Hospital and the Local Community in its Fight Against COVID-19 The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to grow.

Globally, the count is quickly approaching the 5 million mark. In the United States, the numbers are equally disturbing at 1.5 million. In Alabama, there have been more than 11,200 with Madison County inching toward 300 confirmed cases by mid-May. Yet, there are no treatment protocols and a vaccine has yet to be developed.

Reliable testing has its limitations with regards to quality, quantity, and time.

As COVID-19 continues to impact our world, great things are developing at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

Revolutionary, in fact.

Scientific researchers, along with the area’s medical community have joined forces in the effort to understand and combat this insidious virus.

At the core of this collaboration is HudsonAlpha and Huntsville Hospital,

along with iCubate and iRepertoire, two diagnostic technology companies on the HudsonAlpha campus.

Through learning how the human immune system responds to a virus, HudsonAlpha and iRepertoire are studying local patients with COVID-19 under a Huntsville Hospital IRC approved protocol.

“We set up a collaboration with Huntsville Hospital and it’s just getting started,” said Dr. Rick Myers, president and scientific director at HudsonAlpha.

“Huntsville Hospital is a key player Dr. Rick Myers, president and scientific director in all of this. It’s at HudsonAlpha really important to get blood samples from people who have been infected - on the same day the blood has been drawn and to do the ex-

A new promotional product born out of necessity - the acrylic Sanitary key

As we open back up our social worlds, those Coronavirus cooties are still lurking everywhere. This handy acrylic key can be used to open doors, punch keypads at elevators, ATM’s, gas pumps, vending machines - you name it. Another way to show your employees or clients you care about their health and safety.

Call or email and I’ll give you the info on this great new item. www.thepromoagency.net leigh@ThePromoAgency.net • 256-617-1171

periment.”

“By understanding the immune system of patients that have effectively fought the pathogen, we can pinpoint the exact identity of Dr. Jian Han, iRepertoire founder and cells that effecchief scientific officer tively eliminate the virus out of millions of possibilities,” said Dr. Jian Han, iRepertoire’s founder and chief scientific officer.

“The research to measure the immune system and develop an antibody and use it against an infectious agent, in this case SARS CV2, that type of research has been going on a decade at HudsonAlpha with Dr. Han and his group,” Myers, said. “When COVID started hitting, we started working on developing this approach.”

Although testing for COVID-19 is available, demand far exceeds supply.

Along with limited availability, there are other shortcomings, such as accuracy and speed: both factors critical to minimizing the spread of the virus. iCubate recently rolled out its iCCOVID19 Assay diagnostic test. By targeting specific genes of the SARSCoV-2 virus, the Assay is specifically designed to test people demonstrating symptoms. Results are quick, with a turnaround of less than six hours from the time of sample collection.

HudsonAlpha has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by conducting significant research to better understand how the virus operates. Scientific research is not free; fundraising initiatives were quickly put into place. As a result, the community enthusiastically responded. As a part of #GivingTuesdayNow, $5,000 was raised in just five days, all in the name of COVID-19 research. w

6

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

EDUCATION

Schools’ Emergency e-Learning Plan Like “Building a Ship While We Float” While the public was caught off guard by the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March, the Huntsville City, Madison City and Madison County school systems were perhaps the best prepared for the circumstances. They first heard about coronavirus cases showing up in Italy and in Ireland in February after several area students returned from an overseas trip for spring break; and a Grissom High School band cancelled a trip to Ireland because of it.

Each of their systems had e-learning platforms ready to go for just such an emergency but no one was prepared for it to last more than two weeks.

And each of the three school systems, although working collaboratively to implement their plans, faced its own set of problems because all districts look different, and resources vary.

“Is it perfect?” Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Christie Finley asked.

No. “Were there hiccups?”

Absolutely.

But as she explained, “We just felt like we were truly building a ship while we float.”

“Education is an industry and like any industry leader, we don’t react, we have to be proactive,” said Finley.

“We had preventive measure teams in place and after hearing the news, we immediately began breathing life into our strategic plan. “ It is a living, breathing document based on five basic pillars: Learning Outcomes, Whole Student Development, Professional Growth, Operations and Re-

sources, and Community Connections.

Huntsville was bolstered by its 1-to1 computing initiative that ensures every student from kindergarten through 12th grade has a computer; but Madison City Schools doesn’t have a 1 to 1.

According to Eric Terrell, Interim Superintendent of Madison City Schools, he had to quickly find a way to make it work.

“A lot of our students have their own laptop computers, but not everyone, so we got busy inventorying the number of Chromebooks and devices we had that we could give out to our students,” he said. “By the time school started, we had deployed over 3,000 Chromebooks to families.”

All three systems were concerned about providing all students with an umbrella of social and emotional support that would act as a guiding force as these contingency plans were put into place.

Again, Huntsville had some advantages on the instructional side.

Most Huntsville students are familiar with the online learning environment and they have cover with the Canvas Learning Ecosystem, an online platform used by students and teachers to communicate outside of school.

Huntsville was able to ensure students had some sense of familiarity and a routine, but neither the Madison County School System nor Madison City had this experience.

“We didn’t have familiarity with online learning and instruction,” said Terrell. “We don’t run the Canvas platform and only two to three percent of our

teachers were really familiar with online teaching and learning.”

Knowing that a lot of parents and teachers themselves were facing their own set of difficulties from sudden unemployment to having their kids stay at home, would exacerbate the situation.

“We worked together with parents and teachers to get it going, knowing there are a lot of things going on that are not normal right now,” said Terrell. “As long as we kept that at the forefront, we knew we could make the best decisions for our students, families, and our employees.”

Superintendent Finley agreed.

“You can’t just cancel school,” Finley said. “That was always in the back of our minds. There are students with special needs that need support, but the truth is, all students need support. They need the instructional piece and the social and emotion pieces too.”

Dave Weis, president of the Madison County School Board, was also proactive in creating a plan for finishing the school year in a virtual manner but the county faced issues that were entirely different from either Huntsville or Madison.

“We cover 850 miles and much of it is rural and very spread out,” Weis said.

“We face some significant challenges in terms of insuring our children are going to receive an adequate education between now and the end of the school year. Our team jumped into action and developed what I think is a great program to get kids through the remainder of the year that will keep them learning and engaged so they can be prepared for moving up a

By Kimberly Ballard

grade if they hopefully go back to school in this fall.”

He said the board approved several purchases that had never been done.

“The board approved the purchase of Wi-fi hotspots on school buses and in strategic locations around the county for our students; the purchase of laptops; and a feeding program,” he said.

Finley called their Community Connections pillar imperative to pulling off a successful end of the school year online.

“Looking at the resources we had available that many districts don’t have is ETV, our own educational television station. It is a great tool to use not just for our students but for students across Alabama,” she said.

By rolling out ETV, students could go to the Huntsville City Schools homepage and click on the blended learning link. There they choose their curriculum by grade level. It included reading, math, and social studies, as well as art, music and even physical education.

Ministerial groups including Manna House all came together with help from the school system’s operations team who deployed buses into the communities to distribute meals to students, as well as to school campuses.

Finley said they had an outreach that said, ‘Hey, we want to put Wi-fi capability in every school that will extend 300 yards on every campus’. Then Huntsville Utilities heard the call and in two days, outfitted all 37 campuses and 42 schools so every student has access.”

Preparedness does not necessarily mean all three were ready for prime time, but when it became time to implement their emergency school plans, all three school systems were able to partner with community organizations to help support and provide the services they needed to support even the neediest of families. w

June 2020

7

PERSONAL FINANCE

Sticking to Budget Can Boost Emergency Fund During the coronavirus pandemic, our health concerns – for ourselves and our loved ones – have been at the top of our minds. But financial worries have been there, too, both for people whose employment has been affected and for investors anxious about the volatile financial markets.

And one aspect of every individual’s total financial picture has become quite clear – the importance of an emergency fund. in normal times, it’s a good idea for you to keep three to six months’ worth of living expenses in a liquid, low-risk account. Having an emergency fund available can help you cope with those large, unexpected costs, such as a major car repair or a costly medical bill.

Furthermore, if you have an adequate emergency fund, you won’t have to dip into your long-term investments to pay for short-term needs.

These investment vehicles, such as your IRA and 401(k), are designed for your retirement, so the more you can leave them intact, the more assets you’re likely to have when you retire.

And because they are intended for

your retirement, they typically come with disincentives, including taxes and penalties, if you do tap into them early.

However, as part of the economic stimulus legislation known as the CARES Act, individuals can now take up to $100,000 from their 401(k) plans and IRAs without paying the 10 percent penalty that typically applies to investors younger than 59½. If you take this type of withdrawal, you have up to three years to pay the taxes and, if you want, replace the funds, beyond the usual caps on annual contributions.

Of course, life is expensive, so it’s not always easy to put away money in a fund that you aren’t going to use for your normal cash flow.

That’s why it’s so important to establish a budget and stick to it. When developing such a budget, you may find ways to cut down on your spending, freeing up money that could be used to build your emergency fund.

There are different ways to establish a budget, but they all typically involve identifying your income and

expenses and separating your needs and wants.

You can find various online budgeting tools to help you get started, but, ultimately, it’s up to you to make your budget work.

Nonetheless, you may be pleasantly surprised at how painless it is to follow a budget.

For example, if you’ve budgeted a certain amount for food each month, you’ll need to avoid going to the gro-

cery store several times a week, just to pick up “a few things” – because it doesn’t really take that many visits for those few things to add up to hundreds of dollars.

You’ll be much better off limiting your trips to the grocery, making a list of the items you’ll need and adhering to these lists. After doing this for a few months, see how much you’ve saved – it may be much more than you’d expect.

Besides using these savings to strengthen your emergency fund, you could also deploy them toward longerterm investments designed to help you reach other objectives, such as retirement.

Saving money is always a good idea, and when you use your savings to build an emergency fund, you can help yourself prepare for the unexpected and make progress toward your long-term goals. w (Provided by Brad Wallace, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Investments)

8

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

COVER STORY

Independent Radio Voices Facing Budget Struggles to Inform Listeners

By Mike Easterling

If Wes Neighbors is reading the tea leaves correctly, independently owned local radio stations might have a bright future if the coronavirus doesn’t cause much more financial headache.

Neighbors, a financial consultant by trade, owns 97.7 The Zone that carries sports talk and live events such as Auburn football, UAH basketball, and high school games. He said the trend he sees is moving in favor of local content.

“I’m finding that people are ready to go back to the local shows,’’ said Neighbors, who also co-hosts The Drive with Steve Moulton weekdays from 5-7 p.m. “They want to hear their contemporaries on the air. I almost think it’s going in that direction.’’

In addition to 97.7 there are three other locally owned radio stations in Huntsville: Mix 96.9, owned by Penny Nielsen; WEUPFM 103.1 and 1700-AM, owned by Hundley Batts Sr. and his wife Dr. Virginia Capers; and WTKI 105.3FM and 1450-AM, owned by Fred Holland.

“It’s been a learning experience,’’ said Neighbors, a stockbroker by

trade. “I thought I’d do a show two to three months and here I am.’’

Holland of WTKI is also an on-air personality and is the longest-serving talk show host in North Alabama with his first program airing on the station in 1992.

According to the station’s web-

site, his 6-8 a.m. show “Talk Radio for Real Life’’ is “the evolution of talk radio from merely debating political theory to offering a vehicle for solutions to life challenges.’’

Holland had stints at other stations. He even did sales for two years.

June 2020

But the urge to get back behind the microphone was too great and he took a show on WVNN. In 2010, he thought owning a station sounded good.

“I kept driving by this place (WTKI) and decided to make an offer,’’ he said. “They took it.’’

With three employees, including himself, and one part-timer, Holland said he’s a jack-of-all-trades at the station. But, he’s still going strong at 68 years old.

“I got the bug when I lived in Ottawa (Ontario),’’ he said. “The voice of the Rough Riders, Ernie Calcutt, he lived down the street.

He gave me a tour of the station and I was hooked.’’

Holland said one of the biggest challenges of operating independently is his staffing budget. The station has just three employees, including himself, and one parttimer.

“Anything that needs to be done, like replacing the toilet paper roll, I’m the one who has to do it,’’ he said.

Batts is the “Old Pro’’ among the local owners. He and his wife, Dr. Virginia Capers, bought WEUP -- the state’s first black-owned station -- in 1987. The couple has since added two more AM and one FM stations.

WEUP began broadcasting as a 100-watt AM station in 1958 from a trailer on the grounds of Syler Tabernacle Church with a mix of gospel, sermons, news, and rhythm and blues. It now broadcasts 25,000 watts from its building on Jordan Lane.

Batts, who also owns the Hundley Batts and Associates Insurance Agency, was inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019.

“I’m excited that someone

would even put my name in as a candidate because I know the ABA does its research before they even give you a ‘hello,’ ’’ Hundley told the ABA at his induction. “So, I’m just tickled pink.’’

Neighbors said other than his relative lack of experience -- he’s owned the station for just one year -- budgeting is also a concern as it is for all independent stations.

And not just during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting stay-athome order that recently was lifted.

“I would think one difficulty is the economics of scale,’’ Neighbors said. “If you’re a major station, there are deals you can make. If you’re with Cumulus you can get Tennessee football through Learfield and Learfield also has Alabama football. They might not have to pay as much for one or the other.’’

Another hurdle independents have to jump is they get very little advertising outside of the city from where they broadcast.

“We get some sales out of Guntersville and some out of Scottsboro and of course we love having those people,’’ Neighbors said from his downtown office not far from WTKI’s studio. “But our majority of sales come from a probably 10-mile radius of where I’m sitting right now.’’

In the midst of the pandemic, his station has lost some sales and has seen an economic downturn that mirrors the market -- 35 percent from mid-March until the re-opening. He also said the station was working with advertisers during the current financial crises, his staff brainstormed ideas so they “wouldn’t have to talk about the virus every day,’’ and that some sponsors have “stepped up.’’

While acknowledging it was “hard to make money when there are no sports’’ Neighbors said his staff put in the necessary work to keep things moving forward.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve done well,’’ he said, “but I’m pleasantly surprised.’’ w

9

Wes Neighbors, Steve Moulton Drive You Home on The Zone

By Mike Easterling / Photo by Eric Schultz Know this much about the two hours Steve Moulton and Wes Neighbors do an early evening-sports talk radio show: The former is the straight guy to the latter’s comic.

“Let me read you some statistics,’’ Neighbors said into his microphone as he prepared to reel off some numWes Neighbors bers about the University of Alabama basketball team’s improvement under first-year coach Nate Oats.

“I thought you said stats were for losers,’’ deadpanned Moulton.

“Yeah, if you shut your trap I’ll tell you why,’’ Neighbors answered from across the table at 97.7 The Zone’s studio upstairs from Iron Tribe Fitness Steve Moulton off Woodson Avenue near downtown.

Wes Neighbors Moulton lives and breathes his There’s no malice in the 5-7 p.m. airing, just good-natured banter that chosen career. He has done UAH bashas made the pair a favorite sportsketball play-by-play for 15 years and talk combo in the Tennessee Valley. is the Huntsville Havoc play-by-play Moulton has radio in his blood broadcaster and does high school footand has held jobs at several local staball broadcasts for Madison Academy. tions since he moved to the Valley in For Moulton, the airwaves are his 2001, including his current 10-year lifeblood. stint at 97.7. Neighbors, however, is “You can’t get him off the radio,’’ a successful stockbroker who didn’t Neighbors said. “One day he asked think his foray into radio was meant me to get him a lottery ticket. I told to last. him if he won, he’d have too many He joined Cole Cubelic on a shortresponsibilities to be on the radio. He lived show a few years ago. Cubelic said he’d buy the station. I said you’d left for other shows and Moulton, still have too many responsibilities to who was already at the station, and be on air.

Neighbors joined forces. Not only has “He said, ‘OK. Don’t buy me a the show become a regular stop for listicket.’ That tells you how important teners, but Neighbors also bought the radio is to him.’’ station a little over a year ago.

Neighbors brought a familiar At The Zone, Neighbors not only sports name to the local show. He, moonlights from his day job runhis late father Billy, his brother Keith ning Neighbors Wealth Management and son Wes all played football at Group but he also owns a farm. He Alabama and his other son Connor and his wife Phyllis own 140 acres played at LSU. straddling Gurley and New Market.

While Neighbors and Moulton He leases the land on the Gurley side have proved to be a winning combiand owns 75 cows among a menagnation it wasn’t necessarily that way in erie where the family lives on the New the beginning.

Market side.

“We got better after his mother “My wife is an independent womtold him to let me be the comedian an who loves animals,’’ he said. “We and he sets me up,’’ Neighbors said. could start a circus. She’s got them all Added Moulton, “100 percent trained. It’s the damnedest thing I’ve true.’’ w ever seen.’’

10

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

REAL ESTATE

‘Today Show’ Shout-out: Huntsville Real Estate Alive & Well Huntsville got a big national shout-out recently when Josh McFall, CEO at the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors joined NBC’s “Today Show” Virtual Plaza in the 8 o’clock hour to toast the city’s positive real estate outlook in spite of the coronavirus lockdowns.

A deep dive into the quarterly housing data by compiled economists at the University of Alabama-Huntsville led by Jeff Thompson and Dr. Brinda Mahalingam; and weekly real estate activity reports assembled by the HAAR team, provide them with quick snapshots of the North Alabama real estate market.

The most recent data trendline runs from Jan. 11 to May 9 and shows little to no change in real estate activity in Madison County since the pandemic.

In fact, there have been some increases.

The data from January and February were stable with an increase of almost 20 percent jumping into

Pictured right Josh McFall, CEO of HAAR

March and there was excitement about that carrying into April.

According to McFall, the housing stats for the past four months starting in January were 584 homes sold; in February, 554 homes sold; in March, 663; and in April, 667 homes sold.

“We took a little bit of a dive initially when Alabama went into lockdown mode, but it’s been continually increasing again,” said McFall.

“We believe it was because it was the first of the month, more than because of the stay at home order, but regardless, it was enough that we almost climbed back.

“March 28 blew us out of the water because we were already starting to talk about the pandemic, but we had a lot of pending home sales due to an early spring housing market driven by so much demand. A lot of those homes were pending sales that closed end of March and continued into April.”

McFall said HAAR was excited to see the May 15 data since they have been monitoring and marrying not only the data with housing stats, but also because they can monitor when a Realtor opens a lockbox, or schedules a showing.

“That traffic activity was giving us a confidence monitor to know that agents were still showing houses,” he said. “A lot of those were being done over Facetime or a Zoom call.

“And we had a lot of questions come in about sight-unseen contracts, which is something that is in the national conversation now.”

The nagging problem, how-

ever, completely unrelated to the pandemic, has been historically low inventory.

The latest report shows the lowest inventory of houses since the Multiple Listing Service has been keeping records and Huntsville continues to see declines.

“Having enough housing necessary to meet the demand has been part of our continual discussion points for the past two years,” McFall said. “The deficit has caused prices across the Tennessee Valley to rise.

The pandemic was no different for us and it continues to be so.”

He believes the arsenal of tools and technology available to the MLS has made the home sales process somewhat immune to the devastation some businesses have suffered during the pandemic.

“When Gov. Kay Ivey deemed real estate essential across the state, as long as the industry used social distancing and Department of Public Health guidelines, MLS technology let agents still show homes using virtual showings or online showings,” said McFall. “It has a transaction management system that allows buyers to sign contracts digitally, and the adoption of those processes went way up with a lot of folks using it.

“We also have a showing system that if a Realtor is going to schedule an in-person showing, it has built-in buffer times between showings, so they are never overlapping with another showing. That prevents two families at one

By Kimberly Ballard / Graphics, photo provided by Huntsville Area Association of Realtors showing, even if it is a vacant property, and it allows for proper social distancing during this time.

There are other positive signs in weekly and quarterly data provided by the reports.

For the week ending May 2, which includes the end of April, there were 365 homes sold at a $350,000 price point, which is a number nearly identical to those sold at $200,000 to $250,000.

“The reason we call this out is because oftentimes when we think of housing, we think of that $250,000 price point,” said McFall. “But interestingly enough, the first quarter showed us that basically they were neck-and-neck as far as the price points we are seeing.

“A lot of that is due to the low inventory and the rising price there.

The first quarter median sales price, which is inclusive of all of Madison County, was nearly the same as last year at $233,688.

“Now of course, everything changed in the second quarter, so we pulled some data to show trendlines of what has been happening since this all started.”

Despite that, he said looking ahead, he continues to be optimistic and with Ivey lifting some restrictions, he believes people will be smart about being out in public.

“We are continuing to see the numbers increase,” he said. “April through July are typically the largest sales months and we are already trend-

June 2020

11

REAL ESTATE

ing ahead of that, even amidst the pandemic. The key here, we believe, is ensuring our agents and realtors are prepared to be smart in their showings, practice social distancing, follow the guidelines, and we must continue to give them the tools and resources to do so.”

In terms of new construction,

McFall said there are no analytics on it but, anecdotally, he can say with confidence that construction is still powering on.

“Go into any neighborhood and there are workers everywhere,” he said. “They are practicing social distancing but continuing to build those homes because there is such a demand

for it.”

The bottom line?

“Just know that housing and real estate has been continually moving during this pandemic, and we see it as a good indicator of what is coming in the months ahead,” said McFall.

“Sales continue at record levels because the demand is still there. New

listings decreased a little bit, but since pending sales increased, that means folks are still making those purchases during this time.

“And if you have been on the fence about listing your home - call a real estate agent. There is no better time than now to list your home because the market is still moving.” w Times Plaza, Huntsville, Alabama

Intergraph Corporation (part of Hexagon) Corporate Headquarters, Madison, Alabama

Proud to be part of

HUNTSVILLE & NORTH ALABAMA since 1985

General Contractor 4900 University Square, Suite 2, Huntsville, AL 35816 www.robinsmorton.com

12

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

SITDOWN WITH SUCCESS: BRUCE WEDDENDORF

Straight to Ale Helping to Brew Up Some Hospitality In 2009, Bruce Weddendorf, his wife, Jo, and business partners Dan Perry and Colin Austin joined forces to create Straight to Ale, one of the most iconic brands in the local craft beer community.

Opening in 2011 as a production facility on Leeman Ferry Road, Straight to Ale quickly outgrew its space once a taproom was added. Now, in its new site as a Campus 805 anchor, Straight to Ale is the oldest and second-largest brew pub in the state of Alabama.

Why did you start Straight to Ale? To make Huntsville more fun! To provide a product that was uniquely Huntsville. To get people together over beer. All kinds of people – beer, community, and networking.

Before 2009, there was not a craft beer segment to the beer market. Free the Hops really paved the way for the whole industry by helping to pass the Gourmet Beer Bill. That was the first

industry game-changer.

In fall 2011, when the law was passed where we could have taprooms, it changed our business model completely. It made it so much better, so much easier to reach customers and to make bonds with those customers.

The thing is, we really didn’t know what it would do. We didn’t understand at the time how big a part of our lives it was going to become because we were still very much a manufacturing business.

Over time, our business model has evolved. We grew from being just manufacturing-oriented to becoming part of the hospitality industry. That wasn’t something we planned, but it’s been tremendously beneficial to our business and beneficial to Huntsville.

What gives you the most pride with your business?

We provide the space and the experience where people can come to relax.

By Lori J. Connors / Photo by Steve Babin

It’s all kinds of people and everyone has the beer in common; the beer and the desire to be with other people. It’s amazing to touch the friendships, the business relationships, and all kinds of important connections and networking that come out of this place. And that is very satisfying to see; that type of success where we’re really influencing a lot of people’s lives, we’re making their lives better. We’re giving them somewhere to connect with other people and it’s beneficial to the community, so I’m really proud of that.

What have been some of your challenges and how did you overcome them?

Initially, the laws were challenges, until the passing of the Gourmet Beer Bill and the Taproom law. The pandemic revealed some weak links, such as home alcohol delivery. It was something that we hadn’t noticed until COVID 19. As far as challenges go, I

see them as something to go over, go under, go around, or break the walls down.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a brewery?

Be adaptable, be flexible. Do something you love and something to help people. Love what you do. w

Definite DELIVERY, Definite QUALITY In an IDIQ world, you need a bank you can trust. With Bank Independent, AC Inc. found a partner who can deliver the quality the defense and aerospace industry requires.

EXPERIENCE Bank Independent has been providing customized banking solutions to the communities of North Alabama since 1947. AC Inc. understands the value of over 70 years of experience because they were founded in 1948 to provide custom metal fabrication to the defense and aerospace industry.

EXPERTISE Bank Independent’s team of bankers get to know their customers’ businesses and partner to help them achieve their goals. Just as AC Inc. relies on the expertise of their team to solve complex problems, our bankers engineer solutions to meet their customers’ needs.

SERVICE In business banking, relationships matter. AC Inc. trusts Bank Independent to provide the service they need, whether it’s onsite or online, even afterhours.

TIM SINGLETON KENNY WALKER BO GRAHAM BETH LASTER JOHNNY CLARDY BARRY BRYAN SHANNON JOHNSON RICK WEIR

Business banking at its best. Bank Independent.

BIBANK.COM | MEMBER FDIC | 877.865.5050

June 2020

13

AEROSPACE

Cummings Aerospace to Build State-of-the-Art HQ at Redstone Gateway Cummings Aerospace is moving its headquarters to the growing Redstone Gateway development.

The new corporate headquarters, 7100 Redstone Gateway, will be able to accommodate Cummings Aerospace’s multiple business functions under one roof.

“We’re excited for our employees as we consolidate into a new corporate headquarters at Redstone Gateway,” said Cummings Aerospace President & CEO Sheila Cummings. “This new facility will allow us to continue to serve our customers with the highest level of service within close proximity.

“This move reflects our commitment to the future of our employees, our customers, and our company.”

Corporate Office Properties

Trust executed a 46,000 square foot build-to-suit lease with Cummings, a Native American Woman-Owned Small Business.

The facility is anticipated to be operational during the first quarter of 2021.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to support Cummings Aerospace’s continued success, and to welcome another leading Huntsville based company to Redstone Gateway,” said COPT President & CEO Steve Budorick. “This decision reaffirms Redstone Gateway’s unrivaled combination of efficiency, convenience, walkable amenities, and access to important commands at Redstone Arsenal.” w

From Staff Reports / Rendering provided by Cummings Research

14

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL

BRIEFCASE

Huntsville/Madison County Achieves Highest Growth in the State for 2019 Travel Revenue The Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau has been given quite a reason to celebrate.

According to the 2019 economic impact report recently released by the Alabama Tourism Department, the Huntsville and Madison County area achieved the state’s highest percentage increase in travel and tourism revenue over the past year, reaching $1.62 billion in sales.

The area also secured the number two spot in county visitation rankings, bringing in roughly 3.7 million visitors and leap-frogging fellow Alabama tourism hot spots Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery.

2019 saw the economic impact of travel and tourism to Madison County reaching its highest levels ever, providing nearly 19,000 jobs, and saving residents roughly $925 in taxes as a result of travel expenditures.

These figures represent a 15.2 percent increase in traveler spending on hotels, restaurants, shopping and transportation.

In addition to the explosive growth the city has seen over the past year, the CVB attributed much of the 2019 increase to the successful efforts of partners such as the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Alabama Bicentennial Commission in promoting two key events for Huntsville - the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the Alabama bicentennial. Celebrations around these anniversaries were major tourism drivers for the area.

“2019 was truly a banner year for the Rocket City,” said Judy Ryals, president/ CEO of the CVB. “Not only did Huntsville continue to see growth in our hotel, dining, and entertainment options, but so many of our community partners rallied together to offer top-caliber events and programming around two nationally significant events – the Apollo 11 50th anniversary and our state bicentennial.

“It’s not every year that we get to enjoy such a global spotlight on our city.

We worked hard and leveraged that attention to the best of our abilities, and it’s wonderful to see the return on those efforts.” w

GMD Contract Modification Increases Budget for HuntsvilleManaged Boeing Program The only program capable of defending the entire U.S. homeland against long-range ballistic missile attacks has been modified by the Pentagon.

Boeing was awarded a $128.5 million modification to its Huntsvillemanaged, Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) development and sustainment contract.

The modification increases the total value of the contract from $11.2 billion to $11.3 billion and covers work performed through September 2022.

Under the modification Boeing will manufacture C2 boost vehicles, booster spare parts and associated avionics to maintain fleet and flight test programs, according to the Department of Defense.

Boeing has led the industry team as prime contractor and system architect since inception of the GMD program, with engineers and experts who work right here in Alabama. w

Crestwood Promotes Kristina Goodwin to Assistant Chief Nursing Officer Crestwood Medical Center has promoted Kristina Goodwin to Assistant Chief Nursing Officer. In her new role, Kris assists the Chief Nursing Officer in executive-level management of resources, strategic planning, and development of policies and procedures that align with the mission and vision of Crestwood.

“Kris is a highly-respected leader who is focused on improving patient outcomes,” said Pam Hudson, CEO of Crestwood Medical Center. “During her time at Crestwood, Kris has been a valuable asset to our team and has played a critical role in our success, particularly in the critical care and cardiovascular service lines.”

Goodwin, a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner, has been with Crestwood for six years, most recently serving as Senior Director of Nursing Services.

Prior to that, she served as Director of Critical Care and Cardiovascular Services and oversaw initiatives that resulted in positive patient outcomes and quality of care.

She also served as a Clinical Educator for Cardiovascular Services, where she created and implemented several hospital-wide programs, such as, a sepsis

program and a Modified Early Warning System program to identify patients who are at risk and who may require a higher level of care.

“I am very excited for this opportunity. Crestwood Medical Center plays such a vital role for our area, providing quality healthcare option in the Tennessee Valley,” Goodwin said. “I look forward to the honor of serving our patients, staff, and community in this capacity.”

Kris received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. w

Teledyne Brown Awarded Sensor Contract for National Security Space Assets Teledyne Brown Engineering, in partnership with its sister companies Teledyne Advanced Electronic Solutions and Teledyne e2v HiRel, was recently awarded a $1.8 million contract to assemble Energetic Charged Particle (ECP) – Lite, sensors for the United

States Air Force (USAF). These sensors will be flown on National Security Space assets and possibly other International Missions.

An ECP-Lite sensor contains miniature space weather sensors that provide data for assessing anomalies regarding the four space environment hazards consisting of total radiation dose, surface charging, deep-dielectric charging and single-event-effects.

As part of the scope of this contract, Teledyne Brown Engineering will build, test, calibrate and integrate ECP-Lite sensors for future assets.

“We are proud to help the United States Air Force improve space weather monitoring to increase their capabilities in an extreme environment,” stated Jan Hess, President of Teledyne Brown Engineering. “We have made countless contributions to enable technologies and further our understanding of space and are grateful to be supporting this effort.”

The ECP-Lite sensor was developed by the USAF and the Aerospace Corporation in response to a signed policy memorandum issued in 2015, mandating the requirement that all USAF satellite program offices incorporate ECP sensors on all new satellite acquisitions in a certain acquisition phase. w

June 2020

15

BRIEFCASE

Department of Defense Announces Winners of the Fiscal Year 19 Nunn-Perry Award, Recognizing Excellence in the DOD Mentor Protégé Program The Department of Defense (DOD) announced the fiscal year 2019 Nunn-Perry Awards winners today, recognizing excellence in the DOD Mentor Protégé Program.

DOD Mentor Protégé Program participants deliver capabilities across major defense programs in support of the warfighter. Recipients of the NunnPerry Award excel in protégé growth and development.

• Army: System Studies & Simulation, R2C, J.F. Drake State Community & Technical College and Oakwood University • MDA, Raytheon Company, Kord Technologies, Bethune-Cookman University and Oakwood University

The DOD Mentor Protégé Program was established Nov. 5, 1990, in response to concerns raised by DOD prime contractors regarding their inability to meet Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) subcontracting goals. At the time, many SDBs lacked the technical capabilities to meet DOD subcontract requirements. ‘’The Department of Defense and the American economy succeed because of the innovations borne from small companies like those in the DOD Mentor Protégé Program,” said . Shannon Jackson, Deputy Director of the Office of Small Business Programs within the Office of Industrial Policy, Jackson.

“Within the defense industrial base these companies work to deliver cutting edge technologies and services that challenge the status quo and have the capacity to shape the future of their respective industries. In order to create these capabilities to support the warfighter, their companies have to deliver more than technology or services.”

“The DOD Mentor Protégé Program helps innovators grow as companies to meet the growing and shifting demands of the warfighter and the Department.

The Nunn-Perry Award pauses to highlight the companies that have navigated that challenging transition from capabil-

ity to company above and beyond their peers. Congratulations to this year’s award recipients,’’ said Jackson. w

MartinFederal Consulting Recognized as as 2020 Great Place to Work MartinFederal Consulting, a global industry leader in providing professional services to the federal government has been designated 2020 Great Place to Work-Certified for the third straight year.

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue and increased innovation. To be selected as a contender, company employees complete an anonymous Employee Engagement survey rating their employer in areas such as employees’ trust in their leaders, mutual respect between employ-

ees and managers, perceived fairness of workplace decisions, and team camaraderie. Only those companies who have created an exemplary workplace through outstanding communication, with an environment encouraging employee engagement and strong, motivated, leadership are selected for this certification.

“We are thrilled to be Great Place to Work for the third year in a row,” said Jacqueline Stanley, director of human resources at MartinFederal. “As a growing company, employee satisfaction is a high priority to ohur leadership team. It says a lot that our employees have reported a consistently positive experience with their coworkers, their leaders, and their jobs.”

The survey showed that a MartinFederal employee’s work has “special meaning” and is more than just another job. MartinFederal also scored higher than the previous year’s small and medium-sized workplace score in community service and company adaptability categories.

David Mathis, CFO/COO at MartinFederal, said, “We value our employees and their work-life balance immensely. It is an honor to receive this certification.” w

16

Huntsville BUSINESS JOURNAL