Inside Columbia's CEO Winter 2016

STORYTELLER

Sarah Hill Draws Inspiration From A Passionate Cause

STARTUP STRATEGY

Bill Turpin Takes Over At The MU Life Science Business Incubator

WINTER 2016

www.ColumbiaCEO.com

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CONTENTS

Inside Columbia’s CEO • www.ColumbiaCEO.com • Volume 7, Issue 2

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Opening Bell: The Buzz On CoMo Biz

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Coach’s Clipboard: 6 Habits Of Successful People

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Up & Coming: The Ladder Report

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The Reading List: 5 Business Books To Read This Winter

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Regional Roundup

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The 2016 CEO Sentiment Survey

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Data Bank: Local Construction Activity

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Construction Zone: A Jobsite Tour Of Major Building Projects

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The Conference Room: A Conversation With Infrastructure Task Force Chairman Chris Kelly

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Shopping: Executive Gift Guide

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CEO At Play: 3 Questions

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Entrepreneurial Spirit: Never A Dull Moment At Bluescentric

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Aspirations: MU Offers Entrepreneur Training To Disabled Veterans

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Bank Notes: The FDIC Market Share Report

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Business Basics: How To Protect Your Business From Cyberattacks

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Publisher’s Note

on the cover: Bluescentric owner Matt Marshall is

fine-tuning his entrepreneurial skills as he pushes his roots music-based merchandise business into growth mode. Read all about it on Page 30. Photo by L.G. Patterson.

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STAFF Publisher Fred Parry fred@insidecolumbia.net Associate Publisher Melody Parry melody@insidecolumbia.net Chief Executive Officer Cathy Atkins catkins@insidecolumbia.net Associate Publisher & Executive Editor Sandy Selby sandy@insidecolumbia.net Managing Editor Kathy Casteel kathy@insidecolumbia.net Editorial Assistant Peg Gill peg@insidecolumbia.net Contributing Writers Heather Finn, Kate Hrdina, Porcshe Moran, Gary Pinkel Photo Editor L.G. Patterson lg@insidecolumbia.net Graphic Designers Trever Griswold trever@insidecolumbia.net Joe Waner joewaner@insidecolumbia.net Operations Manager Kalie Clennin kalie@insidecolumbia.net Operations Assistant Lilly Smith lilly@insidecolumbia.net Marketing Representative Rosemarie Peck rosemarie@insidecolumbia.net Digital Marketing Coordinator Sean Zullo sean@insidecolumbia.net Director of Customer Retention Gerri Shelton gerri@insidecolumbia.net Finance Manager Brenda Brooks brenda@insidecolumbia.net Distribution Manager John Lapsley Inside Columbia’s CEO magazine 47 E. Broadway • Columbia, MO 65203

Office: 573-442-1430 • Web: www.ColumbiaCEO.com Inside Columbia’s CEO is published quarterly by OutFront Communications LLC, 47 E. Broadway, Columbia, Mo. 65203, 573-442-1430. Copyright OutFront Communications, 2016. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Postage paid at Columbia, Mo. The annual subscription rate is $19.95 for four issues.

Please Recycle This Magazine.

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SUMMER 2015

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OPENING BELL

TWOFER

MidwayUSA Wins Second Baldrige Award The best-run small business in America is right here in Columbia.

MidwayUSA has won its second Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

The Columbia-based Internet retailer of shooting, hunting and outdoor supplies first earned Baldrige honors in 2009. The award is the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence.

Owned by Larry and Brenda Potterfield, MidwayUSA employs more than 350 at its facility on Van Horn Tavern Road. The company offers more than 110,000 products from more than 800 suppliers to 1.2 million active customers.

Gross sales exceed $350 million annually.

Potterfield founded the business with his brother, Jerry, in 1977 when they opened Ely Arms Inc., a guns and ammunition shop on U.S. 40. They renamed the shop Midway Arms the next year, and Potterfield bought out his brother in 1980; another name change and a relocation later, MidwayUSA is one of the fastest-growing businesses in its industry, sustaining a 43.8 percent average annual growth rate in net income and a 21.3 percent average annual growth rate in gross sales.

In October, the company received a 2015 Missouri Quality Award; it won an earlier MQA in 2008.

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THE BUZZ ON COMO BIZ

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OPENING BELL

THE BUZZ ON COMO BIZ

ARKANSAS AUTO GROUP BUYS JOE MACHENS DEALERSHIPS Arkansas-based McLarty Automotive Group has acquired all but two auto dealerships in the Joe Machens Dealerships group. The purchase, announced in late October, transfers to owner Mark McLarty the Columbia dealerships for Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Nissan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Toyota, Scion and Volkswagen, plus Joe Machens Capital City Ford Lincoln in Jefferson City. McLarty plans to continue operating the dealerships under the Joe Machens name with few staffing changes; the Machens group is one of the largest employers in Boone County with nearly 1,000 employees and is the largest dealership group in Missouri.

Gary Drewing, sole owner of the Joe Machens Dealerships since 2006, has retained the BMW and Mercedes-Benz dealerships, renaming them BMW of Columbia and Mercedes-Benz of Columbia.

GARY DREWING Drewing and his son, Rusty, will leave the Machens organization.

From its base in Little Rock, Ark., parent group McLarty Automotive Holdings operates in Arkansas, Missouri, China, Brazil and Mexico. Chairman Mark McLarty is the son of Thomas “Mack” McLarty, former White House chief of staff during the Bill Clinton administration.

McLarty Automotive Group also owns Columbia Honda, acquired in the purchase of Fletcher Honda last March.

MFA Oil Picks Up 2 More Fuel Retailers MFA Oil Co. has purchased two more fuel companies, expanding the Columbia-based cooperative’s presence in Kansas and Arkansas. The new purchases are Lybarger Oil Inc., a propane, refined fuels and lubricants retailer based in Garnett, Kan., and Elaine Petroleum Distribution Inc., a refined fuels supplier based in Elaine, Ark. The Lybarger purchase includes 10 propane plants, eight refined fuel plants, five unattended fueling locations and a bulk and packaged lubricants business. Elaine Petroleum is one of the leading suppliers of farm diesel in eastern Arkansas.

MFA Oil has acquired eight companies in five states in the past 12 months. The farmer-owned co-op is the seventh largest propane retailer in the United States.

New Landmark Hospital Gets OK The Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee has approved a certificate of need for Landmark Hospital’s Transitional Recovery Center of Columbia. The $12 million 60-bed skilled nursing facility will be located at Business Loop 70 and Hathman Place.

Construction is set to begin in February.

Landmark also operates a long-term acute-care hospital on Old 63 North in Columbia.

Columbia College Launches Competitive eSports Program Airport Sets Passenger Record Columbia Regional Airport set a monthly record for passenger traffic in October 2015 when 12,017 passengers moved through the facility. The passenger count is the highest for one month since the airport opened in 1968, says Airport Manager Don Elliott, The airport recorded 53,793 total enplanements for the first 10 months of 2015, a figure that surpassed the 53,080 passenger count for all of 2014.

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Columbia College will plunge into competitive video gaming in the fall of 2016. The college is one of the first in the country to offer scholarships to talented student gamers.

The college will recruit two teams of five players (and two alternates) to play the game “League of Legends” in the Collegiate Star League. The CSL has awarded more than $250,000 in scholarship money to collegiate champions since its founding in 2009.

New eSports Director Bryan Curtis has begun a search for a parttime coach. The college is currently renovating a small building on Range Line Street into the Game Hut, a venue that will be open to team players and casual gamers. For information on the program, contact Curtis at blcurtis@ccis.edu or call 573-875-7437.

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THE BUZZ ON COMO BIZ

Coulter Partnership Awards 5 Grants The University of Missouri’s Coulter Translational Partnership Program has awarded $500,000 in grants to five interdisciplinary research teams from the MU College of Engineering, School of Medicine and College of Veterinary Medicine. u Engineer Roger Fales and pediatricians John Pardalos

CoMo Eats More Chicken The long wait was finally over for Chick-fil-A fans when the popular chicken franchise opened on Stadium Boulevard in September. The happy crowds are as much a testament to the company’s customer service model as its product. According to the 2015 American Customer Satisfaction Index, Chick-fil-A outpaces all other chains with the highest level of customer satisfaction ever recorded by a fast-food restaurant. The company’s index score of 86 — for benchmarks in accuracy, quality, speed, variety, staff courtesy and cleanliness — leaves other restaurant chains in the dust, even the fullservice ones. For the past two years, the chain was named “best drivethrough in America” by the quick-service restaurant trade journal QSR. Chick-fil-A is also shaking up the gift card market this year. CardHub, an online platform for credit card sales and resale, says the gift cards that increased in popularity the most from 2014 to 2015 are Chick-Fil-A, TJ Maxx and Home Depot.

Based in Atlanta, Chick-fil-A is the largest chicken fast-food chain in the United States.

Local Co-ops Rank In Top 20 Two Columbia-based cooperatives are included in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual rankings of the nation’s Top 100 Ag Co-ops. MFA Oil Co., with $409 million in assets, ranks 18th; business volume in 2014 was more than $1.53 billion. MFA Inc., with $439 million in assets, ranks 20th; business volume was $1.52 billion in 2014.

The nation’s 2,106 farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives posted record income and revenue in 2014, the USDA reports. The co-ops earned $6.5 billion in net income and generated $246.7 billion in total revenue last year. Despite a decline in the number of cooperatives, membership increased 1 percent nationwide last year to nearly 2 million and employee numbers jumped to 191,000.

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and Ramak Amjad are collaborating to create a device that automatically varies oxygen levels to premature infants. u Engineer Randy Curry and dermatologist Nicholas Golda are developing a laser device that will make dermatology procedures safer, more effective and easier for practitioners to use by reducing the risk of serious, irreparable eye injuries that can result from accidental exposure to even a reflection of the laser beam. u Computer scientist Prasad Calyam and surgeon Salman Ahmad have developed Panacea’s Cloud, a hands-free portable system that will enable audiovisual communications for medical directors during disaster situations when Internet and phone access could be limited. u Engineer Mahmoud Almasri and veterinary bacteriologist Shuping Zhang have designed a sensor that can detect salmonella in food in a more timely and efficient manner, ensuring the safety of consumers and helping to prevent food-borne outbreaks. u Bioengineer Raghuraman Kannan and ophthalmologist Dean Hainsworth have developed a disposable sensor that detects diabetic retinopathy, a major eye complication that arises in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The mission of the Coulter Translational Partnership Program at the University of Missouri is to increase the capacity and the pace of biomedical innovation that ultimately benefits patients and society by addressing unmet clinical needs. Bridge funding awarded under the program is focused on bringing biomedical engineering solutions to the point at which they become attractive for follow-on funding. The founding contributors to the Coulter Translational Partnership are the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and the University of Missouri.

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THE BUZZ ON COMO BIZ

BRIEFLY … u LANDMARK BANK is celebrating its

150th anniversary, commemorated recently with a certificate from The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The bank opened as Exchange National Bank in July 1865, at Eighth and Broadway in Columbia.

Landmark is one of the oldest nationally chartered banks west of the Mississippi River.

u The BOONE COUNTY FAIR will

relocate to Sturgeon in 2016. The fair is scheduled for July at the John Dale Lawrence Memorial Fairgrounds Park.

u TECH ELECTRONICS, a technology

Hello, Sunshine!

Boone Electric Builds Solar Farm The Columbia City Council has approved a rezoning request of Boone Electric Cooperative to allow installation of solar panels on the grassy area just north of the cooperative’s headquarters near Range Line Street.

Boone Electric announced plans to build a community solar farm in September. “Many coop members want to be involved in solar energy, but are not able to place solar panels at their homes,” says General Manager/CEO Todd Culley. “This community solar project is a way for them to participate.”

When the project is up and running, co-op members will be able to purchase the output from one or more panels, which will offset monthly usage at the member’s primary residence.

Plans are to construct a 100-kilowatt system by spring of 2016.

“Based on survey results from our members, the board of directors understands the need to include additional sources of renewable energy into our power portfolio,” Culley says. “BEC’s community solar project is a great way to meet this need.”

3 Startups Claim Prizes At CoMo Pitch Weekend The 54-hour innovation marathon of Columbia Startup Weekend yielded three winners last fall.

First-place winner StaffedUp created an online system that matches restaurant owners and managers with job applicants. Led by Room 38 owner Billy Giordano, the StaffedUp team can organize and keep track of applicants for retail food business establishments; future expansion may include other retail businesses. www.staffedup.com Second-place runner-up TenantLoop offers an online data base management system to connect rental landlords and tenants with mobile and Web applications for communication, payment services, document storage and property management. www.tenantloop.com Third-place runner-up eSports Booth is an online marketplace for professional online gaming team and player apparel. www.esportsbooth.com The weekend competition, hosted by Influence & Co. at Museao, featured 140 participants working in 19 teams. Winners received seed money, cash and other entrepreneurial services.

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services organization, recently moved to a larger, newly renovated facility.

The 8,000-square-foot space at 1406 Range Line St. allows Tech Electronics to house the office staff, warehouse and testing labs in one building.

u MISSOURI TECHNOLOGY CORP. has

awarded the University of Missouri a $145,000 grant to expand its Entrepreneurial Scholars and Interns Program from 12 students to 16. Since the ESIP began two years ago, 14 students have enrolled in the program; seven have launched startups.

u Kimberly Collier and Jennifer Coffman

have added a fashion and lifestyle website companion to their STOP DROP & SWAP boutique on Peach Way. The locally produced blog at www.stopdropandswap.com offers style and shopping advice as well as links to favorite products and other local businesses.

u THE BANK OF MISSOURI has

executed an agreement to merge with Bank Star of the BootHeel. Bank Star branches in Steele and Caruthersville will join the 21 locations — in Columbia and 20 other southern Missouri sites — that make up The Bank of Missouri.

u The MID-MISSOURI TOURISM

COUNCIL is hosting a tourism fair in February. The event takes place on Sunday, Feb. 28, at Parkade Center, 601 Business Loop 70 W.

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UP & COMING

THE LADDER REPORT Look Who’s Moving Up In Business

MIDDLETON

FOLEY

HENSON

McINTOSH

HOLLINGSHEAD

A shakeup in the UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI administration has placed several employees in interim positions. University system President TIM WOLFE resigned in November; retired MU deputy chancellor MIKE MIDDLETON has replaced Wolfe as interim president. Columbia campus Chancellor R. BOWEN LOFTIN has moved into a new role as director for research facility development.

HANK FOLEY, MU senior vice chancellor for research and graduate studies, has replaced Loftin as interim chancellor for the MU campus; MARK McINTOSH, professor and chair of the department of molecular microbiology and immunology and associate vice chancellor for research and strategic initiatives, has been named interim vice chancellor for research, graduate studies and economic development for the MU campus. CHUCK HENSON, associate dean for academic affairs and trial practice in the MU School of Law, has been named MU interim vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity and equity, a position the Board of Curators recently created for each of the system’s four campuses. MU Health Care Marketing Manager JENNIFER HOLLINGSHEAD has been named MU interim vice chancellor of marketing and communications, replacing ELLEN de GRAFFENREID, who left the university in mid-November.

In addition, the Board of Curators has added to its lobbying staff.

ANDY BLUNT — son of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and brother of former Gov. Matt Blunt — will represent the interests of the university system to lawmakers in Jefferson City.

The Board of Curators also underwent membership changes in November: Gov. Jay Nixon appointed YVONNE SPARKS, assistant vice president and community development officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, to fill the empty District 1 seat on the board.

Columbian ANN COVINGTON resigned her District 4 seat three years into her six-year term, for personal reasons.

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UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI head football coach GARY PINKEL resigned at the end of the Tigers’ 2015 season. Pinkel announced his resignation plans in November, citing health reasons. Pinkel concluded his 15-season career in Columbia as the winningest coach in Mizzou history.

BARRY ODOM replaces Pinkel as the new coach.

Missouri Lawyers Weekly has named CALEB COLBERT a 2015 “Up & Coming” attorney. Each year, the publication selects attorneys 40 years old or younger, or in their first 10 years of practice, as “Up & Coming” lawyers; 56 lawyers in the state were selected this year.

Colbert, a shareholder with BROWN WILLBRAND PC, practices in the areas of real estate, land use, construction and civil litigation.

DAWN DALY is the new director of operations for HOUSE OF BROKERS. She replaces LOLA CAREY, who recently retired

from the local real estate brokerage after 25 years.

The CALLAWAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE has hired TAMARA FITZPATRICK as its executive director.

Fitzpatrick comes to Fulton from Fort Smith, Ark., where she was director of operations for the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Callaway chamber recently formed as the umbrella organization for three local business development groups that have merged — the Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Fulton Area Development Corp. and the Show-Me Innovation Center. The three organizations now share a common location at 510 Market St. in Fulton.

SHELTER INSURANCE President and CEO RICK MEANS has joined the board of Regional Economic Development Inc. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Vice Chancellor of Operations GARY WARD also joined the board as an ex-officio (nonvoting) member. Means and Ward began their terms Oct. 1.

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Company

Profiles columbia magazine inside

PWArchitects, Inc. PWArchitects, Inc., a commercial architecture firm that offers customized design solutions to its clients, is pleased to announce that it will be moving the architectural office to a new building in southwest Columbia. The firm plans to be at the new location in The Colonies off of Forum Boulevard. by Dec. 28, 2015.

“We’ve been experiencing some growing pains for a while now,” said Erik Miller, Principal Owner/Architect for the firm. “Like many of our clients,

it’s about finding the right balance of space, using that space efficiently, and creating an environment that truly reflects our business. The decision to move away from downtown was a difficult one,” said Miller. “We have been in the heart of Columbia for 37 years. Our new location, though, will give us room to grow and allow us to better serve our clients.”

One of the most important aspects of designing the new office was involving the staff throughout

the process. Employees were given the opportunity to collaborate through one-on-one interviews and group design sessions. “Working collaboratively with our clients is a natural part of our design process,” says Miller. “It just so happens that this time we were our own client.

Like any client, we had to make a lot of difficult decisions. Now we are looking forward to seeing the results of our efforts.”

Bradley Wright, AIA, CCS, LEED AP BD+C | J. Christopher Davis, AIA | Erik Miller, AIA, CDT 2120 Forum Blvd., Ste. 101 | 573-449-2683 | www.PWArchitects.com WINTER 2016 I INSIDE COLUMBIA’S CEO

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The Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri & Southern Illinois presented a TORCH Award to SERVICEMASTER OF COLUMBIA/MID MISSOURI in November. The TORCH awards recognize companies and charities that are committed to exceptional standards for ethical business practices and service to their customers, employees, suppliers and communities. Owned by ADAM KINSER, ServiceMaster of Columbia/ Mid Missouri has been a BBB-accredited business since 2003.

The Better Business Bureau recognized 11 businesses, two charities and four students at its St. Louis event. Honorees included JENNA LIU of Columbia, a senior at Rock Bridge High School, who won a Student of Ethics Award.

From left to right: ServiceMaster’s Nikki Kijanko, Josh Kijanko, Adam Kinser, Aniceta Kinser, Becky Smith and Bob Smith

Podiatrist MARIANNE J. MISIEWICZ has been elected president of the Missouri Podiatric Medical Association.

Misiewicz has been in private practice at COLUMBIA PODIATRY since 2003, and is on staff at several mid-Missouri hospitals, including Boone Hospital Center and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital. She is the first female president of the MPMA. UMB BANK has hired BENJAMIN COSTELLO as vice president, market leader in Jefferson City. In his new role, he is responsible for leading and directing financial services to individuals and businesses in Jefferson City, and is a liaison for UMB Bank and the community. Costello has eight years’ experience in the financial services industry, most recently as a relationship manager at Commerce Bank in St. Louis.

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JASON VEGA has joined CORNERSTONE NATIONAL INSURANCE as the new Missouri and western Illinois sales manager.

Vega is responsible for marketing CNI’s auto rate recovery plan. A University of Missouri graduate, Vega previously worked at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. He brings nearly 20 years’ financial planning and insurance experience to Cornerstone’s network of independent agents.

AT&T Missouri President JOHN SONDAG has been elected chairman of the MISSOURI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. Sondag, the unanimous choice of the chamber’s board of directors, will serve a two-year term as chairman.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the largest business association in the state; together with the Missouri Chamber Federation, it represents more than 40,000 employers.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has named PATRICK K. McKENNA director of the MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. McKenna previously served as deputy commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. He replaces interim director ROBERTA BROECKER, who has returned to her position as MoDOT’s chief financial officer.

GARY MASSEY, dean for adult higher education at COLUMBIA COLLEGE, recently announced plans to retire in January after more than 22 years at the college. Massey, a 1985 Columbia College graduate, joined the college staff in 1993 after a 27-year career with the U.S. Coast Guard. He became dean in 2010.

Share your business news with Inside Columbia’s CEO. Email the editor at kathy@insidecolumbia.net.

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TOP DOG META PET FOOD PRODUCER RANKS NO. 1 Cole County pet food manufacturer Schell & Kampeter has landed six products on a list of the top 20 dog foods in the country.

Dog Food 20, an online resource center that reviews dog food products, ranked Schell & Kampeter’s Taste of the Wild and Diamond brands as the No. 1, 2, 4, 5, 16 and 20 brands on its 2015 list. A Taste of the Wild grain-free formula featuring wild game took top honors.

Schell & Kampeter’s highly ranked dog foods include: 1. Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food: High Prairie Canine Formula

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

with Roasted Bison & Venison.

2. Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food: Wetlands Canine Formula with Roasted Wild Fowl 4. Diamond Naturals Dry Food 5. Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food: Pacific Stream Canine Formula with Smoked Salmon 16. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula 20. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Formula Headquartered in Meta, brothers-in-law Gary Schell and Richard Kampeter founded Diamond Pet Foods in 1970. The family-owned company manufactures Diamond and Taste of the Wild brands at its four plants in Missouri, South Carolina and California.

Lakeview Energy To Open Biodiesel Plant In Moberly Chicago-based Lakeview Energy LLC plans to expand its international biofuels operations to Moberly. The company will invest nearly $5 million to upgrade the former Producer’s Choice Soy Energy facility.

The new Missouri subsidiary, Lakeview Biodiesel LLC, will create 19 jobs in Moberly. Lakeview Energy is a renewable energy company with investments in biofuels, agribusiness and wind energy. The biofuels division holds investments in two biorefineries, in Iowa and Ohio, that combine to produce 500 million liters of biofuel annually, plus 300,000 tons of distillers grains and 11 million liters of corn oil.

Joint Commission Rates 4 Area Hospitals As Top Performers The Joint Commission, a national health care accrediting and certifying organization, has recognized four area hospitals as top performers for quality and safety. Capital Region Medical Center of Jefferson City, Lake Regional Health System of Osage Beach, Moberly Hospital Co. of Moberly and SSM Audrain Healthcare of Mexico made the Joint Commission’s list of Top Performers on Key Quality Measures. The report summarizes performance data collected in 2014 on 49 accountability measures of care.

The four hospitals were among 1,043 recognized in the United States (20 in Missouri). The Joint Commission accredits nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in America.

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Fulton & Mexico Win 2015 Innovation Awards Civic projects in the cities of Fulton and Mexico won 2015 Innovation Awards from the Missouri Municipal League. The league honored Fulton for its two-year campaign to privately raise funds through T-shirt sales and commemorative bricks for a new city-owned animal shelter. Mexico’s award recognized the Mexico Community Garden, a partnership of private charitable organizations and public agencies that offers a free program for residents to grow fresh produce in the city’s Martin Luther King Park.

Landmark Bank Opens JC Facility

Landmark Bank has opened a standalone mortgage loan production office on Emerald Lane in Jefferson City. The new office is staffed by Landmark bankers Damon Volkart and Jamie Kliethermes.

Columbia College Names Lake Director

Columbia College has named Kim Bonine campus director at Columbia College-Lake of the Ozarks. Bonine, who earned her master’s degree from Columbia College in 2003, is the second director of the campus; she replaces John Keeney, who served as campus director for 25 years. Bonine has served previously as director of the college’s Jefferson City and Rolla campuses. The Lake of the Ozarks campus is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Fulton Colleges Earn Top Ratings

Westminster College in Fulton has earned two Top 5 ratings this year. Niche.com ranks Westminster among the top five colleges and universities in Missouri, based on student return rates, graduation percentages and student reviews. Financial technology company SmartAsset.com has also given Westminster a Top 5 rating for the number of students with the highest starting salaries post-graduation.

Across town, William Woods University has garnered special mention in the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges. The magazine ranks William Woods third among Midwest universities for graduates with the lightest debt load.

SBTDC Now At Lincoln

The University of Missouri Extension Business Development Program has opened a Small Business Technology & Development Center at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Andria Hendricks, former bursar and director of student accounts at Lincoln, is the new director. The SBTDC, located in Lorenzo Green Hall, serves Lincoln students and faculty, and other entrepreneurs in Jefferson City.

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DATA BANK

BUSINESS BUILDERS

54 demolitions

A Look At Construction Activity In Columbia In the first 10 months of 2015, the city of Columbia issued 1,157 building permits for projects worth more than $267 million.

925 residential building permits $155.7 million

232 commercial building permits $112 million

Value in Millions of Dollars $295.6 Million $269.7 Million $247.2 Million

$171.4 Million

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925 residential building permits $155.7 million 232 commercial building permits $112 million

54 demolitions

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THE CONFERENCE ROOM

SYSTEMS CHECK

A Task Force Tackles The Nuts & Bolts Of Infrastructure

by KATHY CASTEEL

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE MAYOR’S TASK FORCE ON INFRASTRUCTURE? The mayor has asked the task force to study four components of our city infrastructure and to submit to the City Council our evaluation of its condition with any recommendations the task force believes will improve the system. The four areas are: stormwater, sewer, streets and transportation, and downtown electricity.

We have a year to complete our task.

T

he alarm bells started ringing a few years ago. Columbia’s rapid growth has not kept pace with infrastructure needs.

New developments strain the city’s capacities and the maintenance bills are piling up for those systems already in place. As the community wrestles with priorities and funding schemes, a new citizen panel has formed to assess the status of the city’s infrastructure.

Chaired by former state Rep. Chris Kelly, the Mayor’s Task Force on Infrastructure will spend a year assessing the city’s primary systems and developing recommendations for action.

“I hope we devote our time to factual analysis and try to give the City Council — and the community of Columbia — a sense of the condition of our various

infrastructure items,” Kelly said when the task force gathered for its first meeting Sept. 14. “A sense of how we find them … in terms of physical need and the fiscal prognosis.”

Kelly, who served a total of nine terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, left office when the new General Assembly convened in January 2015; he currently operates a consulting company and is registered with the state as a lobbyist. Last spring, he chaired the Foundation for Columbia’s Future, a committee that successfully campaigned for passage of two propositions to fund upgrades on the city’s electrical and stormwater systems.

We checked in with Kelly to get his take on the task force’s mission and priorities as the nine-member panel works its way through the city’s infrastructure woes.

WHAT ARE THE PANEL’S PRIORITIES? We are trying to stay focused on large physical aspects of each area and to stay away from day-to-day management.

For example, our first inquiry was stormwater. We learned that much of the system in the central city is quite old; some clay and brick pipes may be 100 years old. As Columbia grows and adds more impermeable surface, we exponentially increase the pressure on a system not designed to carry that burden, even when it was new — and it is far from new. The stormwater utility was created in 1993. At that time, the focus was addressing flooding issues and associated inadequate or undersized infrastructure.

Since that time, the aging system is failing at a greater rate, so the focus of many projects has changed from stormwater management improvements to replacing and upgrading existing systems.

The cost to maintain the storm system has increased at a greater rate than the revenue, which has basically stayed the same and in some years actually decreased. The money we pay now is not sufficient. The recent rate increase helps

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MAYOR’S TASK FORCE ON INFRASTRUCTURE CHRIS KELLY, Chris Kelly Consulting LLC KATRINA BOLES, a University of Missouri multimedia specialist and 1st Ward resident JOHN CONWAY, a professional engineer and longtime Water and Light Advisory Board member to narrow the gap between actual funding and the cost of service recommended funding, but there is still a gap. And that gap keeps the utility from addressing some failing or flooding issues in a more timely manner. The stormwater utility is currently able to handle emergency repairs and address other deferred maintenance as time and resources allow.

Each year, as the older portions erode further, the problem gets worse.

One big challenge is that we, the citizens, generally don’t see the problem and when it does appear it generally looks like a street issue rather than a failure of a stormwater pipe. The longer we wait, the more expensive the solution will be.

WHERE IS THE NEED GREATEST? The electric and water utilities tend to 28

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be pay-as-you-use. The city can set rates that are reflective of the cost of delivering the commodity so they are both in reasonably good shape. In contrast, the transportation network and stormwater are not tied to actual use and are paid for out of one-time assessments, voter-approved fees and tax revenues.

Therefore, they lag in available revenue and consequently we fall behind.

People should realize that these utilities are not top-heavy with management. The stormwater budget currently pays for eight-plus full time equivalents, including six field operations personnel, one supervisor, one educator and some fraction of FTEs for administration and clerical.

The greatest need is to alleviate the accumulated backlog of critical projects before they cause systemic failure.

GREG COFFIN, a professional engineer with the University of Missouri CODY DARR, a professional engineer with A Civil Group TONY GROVE, co-owner of Grove Construction JEN HEDRICK, an architect and principal with Simon Oswald Associates KIM KRAUS, owner of Go Fitness and Nutrition and 4th Ward resident BILL WEITKEMPER, the city’s former sewer maintenance superintendent

THE CITY MUST ACCOUNT FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM WHILE IT PLANS FOR GROWTH. WHAT ARE THE TASK FORCE’S FINDINGS SO FAR ON BALANCING THESE NEEDS? One of the issues we have seen is the tension between keeping development fees as low as possible and accurately assessing and billing for both the infrastructure needs of a particular development and the cumulative pressure each development places on the entire system.

With regard to stormwater, we have found that some “redevelopment” actually helps improve the stormwater system because the developer replaces and improves the failing system in a more timely manner than the city had planned or had the resources to address. To what extent should that burden be borne by general taxpayers as distinct from the specific development?

WHAT IS THE PANEL’S RECOMMENDATION FOR HOW IMPROVEMENTS SHOULD BE MADE? We have not yet reached the point where we will make recommendations, but we are getting close on stormwater.

WHO PAYS? IN NOVEMBER 2014, COLUMBIANS REJECTED AN INCREASE IN DEVELOPER FEES TO FUND INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS IN NEW DEVELOPMENTS. SIX MONTHS LATER, VOTERS APPROVED TWO MEASURES FOR INCREASED RATES TO FUND UPGRADES TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY AND STORMWATER SYSTEM. IS THERE A FUNDING FORMULA YOU’RE LOOKING AT WHILE SETTING THE PRIORITIES FOR COLUMBIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS? Except for the question of how much financial burden an individual development will bear, the ultimate answer is that the taxpayers (and the users, in the case of water, electric, stormwater and sewer) will pay. The real question is how soon and how much.

There is a direct correlation between the two. The sooner we pay, the less we pay.

SUMMER 2015

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ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

ROOTS & BLUES & BUSINESS At Bluescentric, There’s Never A Dull Moment

by PORCSHE N. MORAN • photos by L.G. PATTERSON

B

usiness is anything but usual for Columbia entrepreneur Matt Marshall. The owner of Bluescentric — an online shop that sells merchandise to roots, rock, soul and blues music fans — is as likely to dress in jeans and a T-shirt as a suit. He schedules his business meetings at a local barbecue restaurant rather than in a boardroom.

For Marshall, going to music festivals is part of market research. His company’s budget includes an expense account for vinyl records. He papers his office walls with concert posters, and considers a turntable and guitar picks just as important as pens and paper.

“This is hard work,” he says. “Growing 30

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a business is a delicate balancing act with far too many long hours, but I can’t find anything more fun than this. I love doing the business part. There is never a dull moment. There is always an opportunity to grow and learn something new.”

HOBBY TO CAREER Marshall, 31, graduated from Rock Bridge High School in 2003. He earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing and business administration from Columbia College. He launched Bluescentric in 2009 as a hobby while he was working as a computer programmer. In 2013, he decided to quit his job to focus on Bluescentric full time.

“I wasn’t happy at work, and I wanted to do something different,” Marshall says. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur.

As a kid, I had a snow cone stand or a lemonade stand. I also love all sorts of music and the culture around each genre. Blending my passion for music with my passion for business has been an interesting mix.”

The mix has proven to be a successful one. Marshall says his business has grown each year since he started. He began by selling T-shirts. Then he expanded his apparel inventory to other items, such as pullovers, tank tops, hoodies and onesies.

Now, he offers even more goods, including glassware, calendars, tote bags, hats and bumper stickers. Marshall says he has shipped products to customers in 65 countries; international sales make up 20 percent of the business. Wholesale and custom screen printing are also facets of the company.

“People love roots and blues music,” he says. “They come out to the festivals in droves. They want items that allow them to express their love for the music, but there isn’t much out there to cater to them. There is a lot of generic music merchandise, but not a lot of people are doing what we are doing.”

Despite the demand for his products, Marshall says that getting the word out about Bluescentric is prone to interesting and unique challenges. He does 75 percent of his advertising through social media. He also promotes the business with ads and giveaways on “Bluesmobile,” a syndicated radio show hosted by Dan Aykroyd as his “Blues Brothers” character Elwood Blues.

“Our market can be challenging to reach because it’s rooted in varying-sized niches, and hinges so much on word of mouth from our direct-to-fan approach,” he says. “You have to fine-tune your advertising and marketing strategy to make sure you’re getting to the right people. The social media tools are of incredible value to us. I wonder if we would have been able to grow as fast as we have without them.”

Once Bluescentric gets a customer, Marshall says that high-quality products and dedicated customer service keep them coming back.

Bluescentric’s team of freelance graphic designers creates exclusive, original artwork for each piece of merchandise in the shop. Marshall and his shop foreman put a handwritten thank-you note in every order. They also add small, free gifts, such as pin-back buttons, to the packages. Bluescentric boasts a 30 percent rate of return for customers.

“Every customer is very valuable to us because these are such tight-knit musical communities,” Marshall explains.

“People talk, and they love to share their enthusiasm. You really have to be good to all, and honestly be a fan and a part of that culture to succeed. We like to show people that we care.”

NO PLACE LIKE HOME The online and mail order nature of Bluescentric gives Marshall the option to run his company from anywhere in the world. Yet, he says Columbia has been a great place to do business. He recently joined EPIC (Emerging Professionals in Columbia), a networking group for young professionals sponsored by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

“Columbia is an awesome place to do this business,” he says. “I own a house here, and I like the city. Musicians know Columbia because of The Blue Note.

It’s good to be right on I-70 and right

between St. Louis and Kansas City. We get our material shipments quickly. It’s also easy to get a flight out of town.”

Marshall says that being sustainable and giving back is an important part of the Bluescentric business model.

The company creates and sources everything — except the stitching of the T-shirts — in the United States, oftentimes in the Midwest. The company also strives to be eco-friendly, printing on recycled paper and recycling 95 percent of all the paper produced.

“We think sourcing and fulfilling responsibly is important,” Marshall says. “We also want to put money back WINTER 2016 I INSIDE COLUMBIA’S CEO

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ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

into the local community. People who are passionate about authentic music are helping to contribute to the music’s economic viability in a low-impact way.”

Besides Bluescentric, Marshall is also the publisher of a quarterly magazine called American Blues Scene. He spends much of his time on the road or in the air traveling for both of his businesses. He says the constant travel makes it hard to find a work-life balance.

“We get inspiration and make business deals from going to concerts and festivals, so traveling has to be a big part of what I do,” says Marshall. “When you are immersed in this all day, every day, you can get burnt out on it. Maintaining this kind of schedule is a perceptual balancing act. But when you listen to the music, you fall in love again and it blows you away.

There is never a shortage of good music.

That is what keeps me going.”

GROWTH MODE Six years into running Bluescentric, Marshall says his company has reached a crucial point. He is in the process of determining the best way to manage the risks and challenges of his business’s rapid growth. He currently operates Bluescentric out of a 800-square-foot space on the south side of Columbia. He has one full-time employee and several freelancers who telecommute from around the country.

“I’m in a spot now where I really need to expand in every area,” he says.

“I need more office space. I need more employees. I’m excited to dig into these issues, but it is a bit scary. I don’t have a blueprint for how to do this. The trick is to find the right way to grow the business without hurting it.”

A strong business plan is one thing that is guiding Marshall. He says that the past 16 months have found him spending a lot of time on the document, but that hasn’t always been the case.

“I had to create a lot of structure for 32

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the business after I had already started it,” he says. “My lack of planning at the beginning showed me how much planning is really needed to be successful.

I’ve done things with a plan and without a plan, and having a plan is much better.”

One part of his plan is licensing.

Bluescentric has secured licensing agreements for several artists, such as late blues legends Howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley. The agreements allow Marshall to create signature apparel and other memorabilia for the fans of these musicians. He’s also inked a deal

with Nike to reuse the “You Don’t Know Diddley” slogan from its famous 1980s Bo Jackson ad campaign. Marshall says he has a short list of about 20 other musicians for which he would like to license products.

“I want the business to grow big enough so that we can come out with really exciting products, and do really cool things for our customers,” says Marshall.

“But, I still want to be able to pay attention to the details. Music is supposed to be soulful and intriguing. We put our hearts into what we do.”

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33

ASPIRATIONS

BOOTS TO BUSINESS

MU Joins Entrepreneur Consortium For Veterans

by HEATHER FINN

W

ar is hell … and for some veterans, so is civilian life.

When disabled veterans finally make their way back home from a tour of duty, it can be hard for them to feel like they truly belong in their community, much less in the workplace. Many feel disconnected from and valueless in their roles as professionals, despite a 2012 study by the Center for New American Security in which 87 individuals from 69 different companies declared veterans bring excellent leadership skills, character, discipline and other admirable traits to their work.

So if employers think hiring vets is a smart business move, how can they get the veterans to see their own true professional value?

Enter the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, known as the EBV National Program.

Founded in 2007 at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, the EBV program offers the services of higher education institutions to post9/11 disabled veterans. The program teaches entrepreneurship and business management skills to its students, who, in turn, walk away with the knowledge and ability to start their own businesses and get involved in their communities — and now it’s right here in Columbia at the University of Missouri.

Although EBV’s home base is in Syracuse, the program can also be found on nine other university campuses across the country: Florida State University; UCLA; Texas A&M University; the University of Connecticut; Purdue University; Louisiana State University; Cornell University; Saint Joseph’s University; and the newest member, the University of Missouri. MU joined the consortium in October through a 34

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community effort among the employees of Veterans United Home Loans, the Mizzou Veterans Center, the MU School of Law Entrepreneurship Center and the Small Business Technology & Development Center.

“They worked with us to get our application going to Syracuse because the EBV consortium has to have a unanimous vote to accept new members; they don’t go out and recruit new members,” says program director Greg Bier, an associate teaching professor at MU’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business. Although the process of becoming an EBV consortium school is tough, Bier says he knew that MU

VETERANS IN BUSINESS 10% of all U.S. small businesses are veteran-owned 13% of veterans are self-employed 50% of post-World War II veterans have launched business ventures 70% of EBV graduates have started their own business 92% of EBV graduates who have launched a venture are still in business

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“

As a veteran myself, I just want these students, these disabled vets, to have some way to merge back into their communities as a business owner.

”

— MU’s EBV Director Greg Bier had the pieces necessary to make a compelling argument for itself: an excellent veterans center on campus, a pre-existing entrepreneurship program in the college of business, the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital and an all-around “veteran-oriented campus.”

Add in MU’s heartland location (most of the other schools are located on or near one of America’s coasts), and the campus became an obvious addition to the group.

“At Veterans United, veterans are their customers, and Mizzou is good at entrepreneurship,” Bier says. “Once we put those two things together, the EBV program was a natural fit.”

The first class of EBV students will come to the MU campus in June. Before they arrive in Columbia, though, students must complete the first of three phases in the program — a 30-day online course that teaches basic entrepreneurship skills and the language of business.

After students complete the remote online stage, participating veterans will begin meeting on the MU campus for a nine-day residency June 4–12, where they will learn from more than 30 accomplished entrepreneurs from all over the country.

“This is where the students really get their inspiration,” Bier says. “They get to meet guest speakers and mentors and get 36

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to really drill down into the business that they’re interested in.”

The second phase ends with a pitch competition in which students present their business ideas to their teachers and guest speakers. Participants will then be ready to go out into the community and bring their businesses to life in the program’s third phase, a 12-month period of guidance and mentorship through the EBV Technical Assistance Program.

“Basically, the EBV consortium maintains contact with those disabled vets to make sure they get the support they need,” Bier says. “We’ll make sure they’ve got the mentors in place and continue to answer questions about cash flow or payroll or human resource-type issues.”

Veterans interested in participating in the program undergo a rigorous application process to join, filling out an online application and undergoing a phone interview in a competition for one of the 15 to 25 spots each consortium school offers every year, Bier says.

The application process is tough, but oh, so worth it. The EBV program is entirely free: MU has raised the money it needs to cover the costs for the veterans who enroll in its program. Bier credits the employees of Veterans United and the Veterans United Foundation for their support.

“This has really been a communitywide effort that Mizzou’s just kind of been the champion for,” he says. “There are a lot of stakeholders involved; it’s not just the college of business putting on the program. We can’t do this alone.”

It’s hard to say how many lives the EBV program will touch, but according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 10 percent of Missouri residents age 18 or older are veterans. About 30 percent of the nation’s post-9/11 veterans report having a service-connected disability.

“There’s such a very large pool of post9/11 vets with disabilities that we want to make sure that they’ve got the economic opportunity when they leave the service,” Bier says.

As he moves forward as the director of the new program, Bier — a combat veteran from Desert Shield/Desert Storm who served in the Army from 1986 to 1995 — says he hopes that disabled post-9/11 vets will find meaning and independence in their work as entrepreneurs.

“As a veteran myself, I just want these students, these disabled vets, to have some way to merge back into their communities as a business owner,” he says. “A lot of them with disabilities just don’t feel as though they fit a larger organization. We want to make sure they understand that they can do this on their own. They can start a business.”

Find out more about the EBV at www.business.missouri.edu/ centers-institutes/EBV or contact Greg Bier at 573-882-9026, email bierg@missouri.edu. Learn more about the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at www.vets.syr.edu.

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Company

Profiles columbia magazine inside

Central Missouri Auto Body Carol Miller

Central Missouri Auto Body has been providing quality collision repair and paintless dent repair for 33 years. Carol Miller, president and owner, credits her business’s longevity to both her staff and to solid business practices. “We have a fantastic staff. Our technicians go through ongoing training and certification,” Miller says.

“We work directly with the insurance companies to make the process simplified for the customer.

For added convenience, we offer loaner cars. We stand behind our work with lifetime warranties.”

Miller feels her upbringing and education

prepared her well for a service-oriented business. She also cites her previous boss as a contributing influence. “I think the one person who helped me become a well-rounded employer is my previous boss. She made the employee/ employer relationship so human. Accepting mistakes without criticism and giving encouragement with an uplifting attitude.” Miller also gives a nod to a special friend who, she says, “puts me in check.”

According to Miller, the one word that best describes her is trustworthy. “As hard as we

5353 N. Highway 763 • 573-875-5877 • www.centralmoautobody.com

try, sometimes things will not come out right, and as hard as those times are, the best way to overcome is to remain calm and do everything in our power to rectify the situation,” she says.

“There is no room for placing blame. Let’s find a solution and move forward, remaining true to our customers to provide our very best service possible.”

In her free time, Miller has a passion for swimming and lately has taken an interest in triathlons.

BANK NOTES

MARKET SHARE

2015 Summary Of Bank Deposits In Boone County LOCAL OFFICES

DEPOSITS

MARKET SHARE

Central Bank of Boone County (Central Bancompany Inc.)

15

$1,246,432,000

35.98%

Landmark Bank, National Association (Landrum Co.)

8

$752,364,000

21.72%

Commerce Bank (Commerce Bancshares Inc.)

8

$512,134,000

14.78%

Bank of America, National Association (Bank of America Corp.)

3

$247,579,000

7.15%

The Bank of Missouri (Reliable Community Bancshares Inc.)

1

$122,315,000

3.53%

U.S. Bank, National Association (U.S. Bancorp)

5

$117,889,000

3.40%

The Callaway Bank (Callaway Security Banks Inc.)

4

$83,122,000

2.40%

First State Community Bank (First State Bancshares Inc.)

3

$57,269,000

1.65%

UMB Bank, National Association (UMB Financial Corp.)

1

$54,220,000

1.57%

Regions Bank (Regions Financial Corp.)

3

$53,566,000

1.55%

First Midwest Bank of Poplar Bluff (Poplar Bluff Banc Co.)

2

$43,174,000

1.25%

Hawthorn Bank (Hawthorn Bancshares Inc.)

1

$40,373,000

1.17%

Providence Bank (Linco Bancshares Inc.)

2

$31,353,000

0.90%

Martinsburg Bank and Trust (Martinsburg Bancorp Inc.)

3

$22,940,000

0.66%

Mainstreet Bank (Calvert Financial Corp.)

1

$22,477,000

0.65%

The Merchants and Farmers Bank of Salisbury (Widmer Bancshares Inc.)

1

$13,691,000

0.40%

Academy Bank, National Association (Dickinson Financial Corp. II)

1

$10,314,000

0.30%

Commercial Trust Co. of Fayette (Harris Taubman Financial Corp.)

1

$9,016,000

0.26%

The Central Trust Bank (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$5,852,000

0.17%

HomeBank (Byron B. Webb Inc.)

1

$5,227,000

0.15%

Central Bank of The Ozarks (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$2,775,000

0.08%

Central Bank of Lake of the Ozarks (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$2,426,000

0.07%

The Missouri Bank II (Warren County Bancshares Inc.)

1

$2,134,000

0.06%

Central Bank of St. Louis (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$1,529,000

0.04%

Great Southern Bank (Great Southern Bancorp Inc.)

1

$1,238,000

0.04%

Jefferson Bank of Missouri (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$1,067,000

0.03%

Central Bank of Sedalia (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$677,000

0.02%

Central Bank of Warrensburg (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$391,000

0.01%

Central Bank of Oklahoma (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$360,000

0.01%

Central Bank of Moberly (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$336,000

0.01%

Central Bank of Audrain County (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$155,000

0.00%

Central Bank of Branson (Central Bancompany Inc.)

1

$46,000

0.00%

77

$3,464,441,000

100%

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION (HOLDING COMPANY)

TOTALS INSTITUTIONS IN THE MARKET: 32

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (deposits on record as of June 30, 2015; updated Oct. 1, 2015) 38

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ADVERTISEMENT

Company

Profiles columbia magazine inside

dents unlimited Marc LaFerriere When Marc LaFerriere and Ryan Garrett examined the Columbia market in 2002, they noted that there were no paintless dent repair shops in town. So they decided to open one.

By 2005, they were doing minor paint repair and refinish, primarily for the wholesale dealer market. Then, in 2006, they purchased the 17,000-square-foot shop that houses Dents Unlimited Columbia today.

During its early years, the business faced some tough times, especially each winter when demand for cosmetic repair would slow. By gradually expanding the shop’s services well beyond small dent and minor

cosmetic repair, LaFerriere — who bought out Garrett in 2012 — was eventually able to maintain a steady workflow throughout the year. Dents Unlimited Columbia now offers collision repair, paintless dent repair, mechanical repair, and auto glass repair and replacement. “Many potential customers do not know we repair severe structural damage as well as mechanical work, including state inspections, brakes and tires, and heavy mechanical work,” he says.

LaFerriere is proud of the relationship of trust that his business has built with the local community. “We do a ton of repeat and

referral business,” he says, “because customers know we offer them honest opinions and stay educated on the repair needs of today’s complex vehicles.” He wants Columbians to know how much he truly appreciates their continued trust and support.

“We have tried to do something different by offering multiple services while maintaining quality standards, trust, and a genuine desire to do best by our customers,” he says. “Hard work and dedication have kept us growing and improving.”

1004 Big Bear Blvd. • 573-817-1200 • www.dentsunlimitedmidmo.com WINTER 2016 I INSIDE COLUMBIA’S CEO

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BUSINESS BASICS

SECURE YOURSELF

How To Protect Your Business From Cyberattacks

D

by KATE HRDINA

on’t click the pop-up ads. Don’t use the same password for everything. We all know the basics about online security for ourselves, but protecting your business online is an even bigger undertaking — and rightfully so: A cyberattack can put your livelihood at risk and your customers at risk.

It’s tempting to assume that hackers only target large corporations where they can get a bigger reward, but think again.

Hackers want an easy profit. That’s why they prey on any size business, especially if security measures are lacking.

According to a 2013 report by the National Small Business Association, 44 percent of small businesses have fallen victim to a cyberattack. The average cost of each attack: $8,700.

“Theft of digital information has become the most commonly reported fraud, surpassing physical theft,” declares the Federal Communications Commission website.

The key to protecting your business is making cybersecurity a top priority. No matter what size business you’re running, this list of top tips can help keep your business in good shape.

1. The first step of cybersecurity is just that — be secure. Download antivirus software that automatically scans for threats, and make sure you have a firewall installed to block threats when you’re online. If your style of work is BYOD (bring your own device), or if your employees work remotely, make sure everyone has the same protection for their own phones, laptops and tablets.

Your business information could be compromised if an employee is working on a public network and doesn’t have security measures in place. It’s also a good practice to develop a policy on what 40

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work information, if any, can be stored on an employee’s personal device.

2. Set automatic updates. Updates for your computer’s operating system, security software and Internet browser often contain security updates, so don’t let them fall by the wayside.

Outdated software and systems are an open invitation to anyone who might be interested in compromising your business’s information.

3. Limit who can do what. Not every employee should have access to business information or permission to install

software on business computers. When you do share confidential business information — financial reports, proprietary technology, trade secrets, etc. — with employees, have an open conversation about what can and cannot be shared publicly. It can be easy for a well-intentioned employee to overindulge when they’re explaining their job at a networking event or bragging on Facebook about the awesome place where they work. Develop a policy (encompassing both online and offline communications) that outlines what kind of information is OK to share, and make it clear who has permission to speak on behalf of the business.

4. If your business has a website with a registered domain, the information you used when registering is free and available to the public. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is an international nonprofit responsible for coordinating domain names on the Internet, and its system known as WHOIS allows anyone to find out who owns a domain. The search also provides any other information (usually mailing address, phone number and email address) used at the time of registration. Privacy services and proxy services can protect your information — consider using one of these, especially if you run your business from home. A privacy service will list an alternative contact in WHOIS; a proxy service actually registers the domain for you, meaning the service provider’s contact information will be listed in WHOIS instead of yours.

5. When customers pay you with a credit card, they’re providing you with a lot of important information that can be compromised. The United States is slowly transitioning to chip cards instead of relying on credit cards with only a magnetic strip. Prevent data breaches by investing in EMV chip technology as soon as possible. Chip cards turn a cardholder’s information into a unique code for every transaction. Not only is this technology more secure, but adopting it will allow your business to escape liability in the case of a fraudulent transaction. As of Oct. 1, 2015, a business is responsible for any card fraud that occurs if the customer presents a chip card and is forced to swipe the card instead.

The most important precaution is awareness. Keep up to date on the latest cyber threats, and learn as much as you can about how your business can stay secure. The U.S. Small Business Administration has an online course called Cybersecurity for Small Businesses at www.sba.gov, and the Federal Communications Commission provides a guide called FCC Small Biz Cyber Planner 2.0 on its website, www.fcc.gov.

Cybersecurity measures may sound tedious, but they are crucial to your business. This is one area where it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry.

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COACH’S CLIPBOARD

ROUTINE RESULTS 6 Habits Of Successful People

by GARY PINKEL

I

t’s not by chance that high performers get to the top of their game.

In the college football world, it takes acting on successful habits to make that climb.

Long before my teams took the field, I was laying the groundwork for success, and what I found was that the best leaders have plans and processes in place that drive progress. Checklists and backup checklists ensure everyone is prepared for any contingency. Never assume that someone will just take care of the particulars.

Every day throughout the football season — July to January — I mapped out daily details, but it’s the core habits I’ve developed that have become a part of my daily life. I’ve become reliant on these habits to achieve success.

Whether you’re an athlete, coach or entrepreneur, these small daily habits are crucial for personal development, and the level of dedication and discipline sustained year after year is essential for growth.

In the end, the ones that contributed to my success weren’t football related. In fact, they translate quite well across other professions and lifestyles. Some habits are miniscule, but it’s the attention to detailed routines that can determine success in the future.

Here are six habits that I make count.

1

Make the bed each morning.

Moms have been saying this for as long as there have been beds to make. I started doing this each morning a few years ago as a quick little win to start the day. Though small in the grand scheme of things, it represents attention to detail and discipline to accomplish a goal. It provides positive momentum that helps lead to a successful day.

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2

Read at least one book a month.

I actually first learned about the importance of bedmaking as a morning routine in a book about the U.S. Marine Corps. Books. Just one a month. They’re inexpensive and easily accessible, and reading regularly leads to new ideas and good habits — like making the bed, for instance. Another tip on bed making I learned from that book: I make the bed as if it were going to be inspected by a drill instructor.

3

Exercise regularly.

I tend to work out a few times a week in the morning so workday tasks don’t interfere. If I wait until afternoon, life gets in the way. The exercise doesn’t have to be intense; rather it’s the consistency that will produce results.

4

Drink water — a lot of it.

It might sound crazy, but water helps jump-start my day. It’s my first drink before coffee or breakfast and certainly before exercising. Research proves it: Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and increases tension, anxiety and fatigue. You can never drink too much water.

5

Make time for friends.

In an era when so many people rely on social networks to stay connected, nothing is better than being in the presence of friends. I’ve been a regular at a local coffee shop since I came to Mizzou 15 years ago. My friends and I meet there weekly for fellowship and encouragement.

I’m sometimes tempted to retreat after being in the spotlight or media, but these visits rejuvenate me and I always leave inspired.

6

Get to the office 30 minutes early.

Getting to the office a half-hour before the workday begins allows time for me to review my plans for the day and itemize priorities. This quiet, uninterrupted period helps me focus on the day ahead, and I’m more intentional with tasks I need to accomplish.

These six tips are only the framework for my daily routine. As with anything, you just have to find what works best for your schedule, personality and lifestyle.

Sometimes, starting with a few small habit changes is all it takes to jump-start success and increase productivity — on and off the football field.

Gary Pinkel is the former head coach of the University of Missouri football team. The 2014 SEC Coach of the Year, he recently stepped down from coaching as the winningest coach in Mizzou football history. A 1973 graduate of Kent State University, Pinkel is a member of both the University of Toledo and the Mid-American Conference halls of fame.

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THE READING LIST

5 Business Books To Read This Winter

We Are Market Basket Stronger The Politics of Promotion

By George Everly, Douglas Strouse & Dennis McCormack (AMACOM, 2015)

By Daniel Korschun & Grant Welker (AMACOM, 2015)

“If you are waiting for someone to promote you, you are wasting your time,” writes author Bonnie Marcus. The Politics of Promotion bases its premise on one inescapable reality of business: who you know is just as important as what you know. Writing for women, Marcus asserts that self-promotion is a leadership skill and strategic networking assures that the right people notice you. She offers tools to help identify opportunities and avoid potential landmines with practical solutions for shortterm and long-term engagement in any organization.

Why do some people thrive under pressure while others wilt?

Resilience — that inner strength that helps people meet adversity head-on and bounce back from setbacks — is something anyone can build, these authors say. Learn how high achievers such as Navy SEALs, Olympic athletes, surgeons and first responders succeed in the face of incredible stress. The authors delve into the science behind resilience and analyze the keys to developing this vital trait. Coupled with inspirational stories of survivors who mustered the strength to outlast adversity, Stronger brings an attitude adjustment to entrepreneurs and CEOs alike.

A family feud played out in the aisles of a grocery store, We Are Market Basket is the fascinating story of the Demoulas family and the centuryold Market Basket grocery chain it owned in New England.

When a rival cousin engineered a coup to fire beloved CEO Arthur T. Demoulas in 2014, Market Basket employees staged a boycott — and were joined by customers and suppliers of all the 70-plus stores in the chain. Pushed to the brink of bankruptcy, Arthur T’s opponents gave up and agreed to sell their shares to him. The chain’s resurgence and growth this year is a lesson in grassroots activism and the heights businesses can reach when they’re passionate about customer/employee relations.

By Bonnie Marcus (Jossey-Bass, 2015)

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The Leadership Handbook: 26 Critical Lessons Every Leader Needs

By John C. Maxwell (Nelson Books, 2015)

If you’ve never read bestselling author and leadership guru John Maxwell, this is the quintessential collection of lessons in leadership.

Maxwell’s Leadership Handbook presents 26 insights that will appeal to those who aspire to leadership positions as well as veteran leaders who yearn to improve.

Written in Maxwell’s easygoing style, each chapter extracts lessons from a story of success or failure, ending with application exercises and suggestions for additional mentoring moments. Note: Readers of Maxwell’s 2008 Leadership Gold will see redundancy in this repackaged offering.

Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative

By Scott Eblin (Wiley, 2014)

Executive coach Scott Eblin offers practical insights for the executive, manager or professional who’s close to maxing out in the red zone. This book is for those who feel like they’re trapped in a hamster wheel with no way to get off. Eblin’s anecdotes and stress-reduction tips include simple routines to reduce tension and sustain peak performance, as well as a personal planning framework for creating the outcomes that matter most at home and at work. It’s time to jump off that hamster wheel and get a life!

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THE 2016 CEO SENTIMENT SURVEY Local Executives Remain Cautiously Optimistic For Columbia’s Economy

by KATHY CASTEEL

T

he dark days of the Great Recession may finally be receding with the years in Columbia’s collective memory as the economic recovery slowly takes hold in the local business community.

Our latest CEO Sentiment Survey reveals a cautious-to-optimistic mindset among local executives as they look to what 2016 holds.

A Glass Half Full There are few Negative Nancys among Columbia’s CEO set. Nearly 42 percent of survey respondents say their outlook for their own businesses is more hopeful than in recent years. A slightly larger group — 44 percent — maintains the same level of optimism as in recent years. Only 14 percent of survey respondents are less hopeful than they were in previous years.

That optimism is tempered with an acceptance of the status quo when CEOs consider the possibilities for change in the economies that surround them.

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improve and 25 percent I believe the Columbia economy in 2016 will: look for a decline. Some 78 percent of survey 24.5% 35.6% respondents believe Missouri’s economy will either improve or stay the same; that percentage drops to 70 percent who believe the same of the U.S. economy and 60 percent for the world economy.

Caution is the watchword for the business ledger in this year’s survey. When estimating organizational costs — payroll, benefits, 39.9% overhead — for 2016, a majority of survey respondents (79 percent) say they expect costs to increase; Improve Stay The Same Decline 19 percent expect costs to stay the same and 2 percent Amid the cautionary forecasts, believe they will decrease. though, hope springs eternal in Job growth looks to be slow this Columbia’s business community. More next year, as two-thirds of survey than half (57 percent) expect business respondents indicate that staffing levels revenues to increase in 2016 while a will remain static. Only 27 percent third (34 percent) believe revenues will expect to hire more staff; about 7 remain the same. Only 9 percent expect a percent see a shrinking employment decrease in revenue in 2016. pool at their businesses.

Read a detailed analysis of our 2016 CEO Sentiment Survey and find out what our readers really think about the issues at www.ColumbiaCEO.com.

The Opinion Leaders We invited owners and managers from businesses both large and small to participate in this year’s survey. Most (70 percent) are either owners or partners in their businesses; 30 percent represent high-ranking company employees.

Small business really means small in Columbia. The majority of survey respondents come from companies with fewer than 50 employees. Nearly 29 percent of the surveyed group represent companies with 10 to 49 employees, and 26 percent work at businesses of fewer than five employees. At the other end of the scale, nearly 11 percent represent companies of more than 1,000 employees; 17 percent employ 100 to 499, and another 6 percent run businesses of 50 to 99 employees. Just 9 percent represent businesses of five to nine employees; 2 percent have 500 to 1,000 employees.

Columbia businesses enjoy the stability of veteran leadership, according to this survey. More than 40 percent of all executives surveyed have been in their current position as a CEO or upperlevel manager for 10 to 25 years, and 23 percent have been in the same job for more than 25 years. Executives with five to nine years’ experience comprise 16 percent of survey respondents. The group with the least experience in management — less than five years — totals 21 percent.

My business employs: more than a 1,000 people

10.6%

between 500 and 1,000

1.9%

between 100 and 499

17.4%

between 50 and 99

6.2%

between 10 and 49

28.6%

between 5 and 9 fewer than 5

9.3% 26.1%

Question 15

What is your business’s greatest need?

All We Really Need …

When CEOs assess their businesses’ greatest need, nearly half want fewer government restrictions/ requirements. A third say they need a more qualified workforce and more than a quarter say a general improvement in the economy would help their business. Nearly 10 percent say they need more available credit and tax incentives.

more available credit

5.7%

more tax incentives

3.8%

fewer government restrictions / requirements

47.1%

more qualified workforce

33.1%

a general improvment in the economy other

The Challenge For 2016 Looking to the future, more than 45 percent of local CEOs surveyed cited “maintaining profitability” as their biggest challenge of 2016.

Nearly as many (43 percent) say they will be tested to attract and retain good employees. Four in 10 say their biggest challenge will be sustaining a competitive advantage.

Nearly 16 percent say they will be challenged to develop leaders at their companies; 15 percent see a challenge in communicating with and motivating employees in the millennial generation.

28% 7%

What will be your top challenges as a CEO/manager in 2016? developing leaders

15.9%

attracting and retaining good employees

43.3%

sustaining a competitive advantage

40.1%

maintaining profitability

45.2%

communicating with/ motivating millennials (20-something) employees

15.3%

other

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What economic signs make you hopeful for the future of your business?

“Business and sales are growing tremendously.”

“People are spending.”

“Columbia is seen as a great place to do business.”

“Columbia’s increasing population, robust downtown, low unemployment.”

“Dramatic changes at the city council.”

“Expanding population of Columbia; addition of schools.”

“Improving stock and real estate markets.”

“Increase in home building.”

“Low interest rates.”

“Low unemployment and increasing disposable incomes.”

“Lower gas prices.”

“Increased construction and increased business investment.”

“Demand for our product is growing.”

“Next year we will have a new president.”

“Stock market rise; new businesses emerging in Columbia.”

“Possibility of new federal and state leadership.”

“We will have a new mayor.”

“2015 was a great year.

See no reason why 2016 should be any different.”

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Priorities We asked our CEOs and business managers to rank the community’s top priorities in 2016. The runaway leading issue — deemed important, very important or extremely important by 95 percent of respondents — is controlling crime. The No. 2 priority for 90 percent of those surveyed is improving infrastructure, followed by 89 percent who demand more accountability from elected officials.

Dead last in this CEO survey is the need to improve public transportation, a priority supported by just 42 percent of survey respondents.

What do you believe should be our community’s top priorities in 2016?

1. Controlling crime 2. Improving infrastructure (streets, sidewalks, sewers, stormwater) 3. Demanding more accountability from elected officials 4. Increasing collaboration between local government and local business 5. Creating economic opportunity/growth/jobs 6. More vocational training opportunities 7. Increasing our overall quality of life 8. Improving public school education 9. Creating a ready workforce 10. Improving the airport/air service 11. Increasing citizen engagement 12. Controlling energy costs 13. Loosening restrictions on development 14. Lowering Columbia’s cost of living index 15. Increasing financial incentives for business 16. Creating more affordable housing 17. Improving public transportation

Climate Change We gave our CEOs a chance to sound off on the issues that matter to them. When asked to describe the current business environment in Columbia, responses came fast and furious in a dichotomy of opinion.

For every respondent who described the local business climate as healthy, booming, business-friendly or “active with many opportunities,” another bemoaned an unfriendly and difficult atmosphere for business, pointing “The city is healthy and to an anti-business city council, “tax and spend” representatives and a city staff of micromanagers. stable for established “It’s not what it used to be,” said one CEO. businesses, but tough “It’s niche-filled,” said another. “There are a small for startups and outside number of successful high-wealth individuals who steer businesses to enter.” the community.”

Even among the optimistic, survey respondents believe there is room for improvement. “Overall, it’s much better than recent years,” many said, “but our community seems to be really divided on critical issues. The city needs to be far more supporting of business in all sorts of ways.”

“It should be considered more inviting that it presently is,” noted several. “The city has made it difficult for new business to locate in Columbia.”

Others have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. “It seems everyone is walking on eggshells, taking things very cautiously,” opined one. “Hopefully, a positive turn could be the November 2016 elections.”

The Town/Gown View We conducted our CEO Sentiment Survey shortly after student protests and unrest roiled the University of Missouri campus last fall. Survey respondents had plenty to say about the events that unfolded on campus.

We asked: How have the recent protests on the MU campus affected the national reputation of Columbia and the University of Missouri? What are some possible solutions to resolving this crisis?

They answered: “A big black eye for both Columbia and the university, which could have an economic impact.”

“Anytime negativity about a major contributor to our economy hits national news, it is a problem.”

“A complete void of leadership.”

“A negative portrayal of Mizzou.

Misinformed students running university affairs.”

“Tell these children NO.” “Very negative. I blame ignorance and the media for most of the controversy.”

“This protest has highlighted a huge disparity between the priorities of many students and faculty, and those of the broader community in Columbia, around the state and around the country.”

“MU should stop pandering to a group of a few and get back to focusing on education and research.”

“It’s an embarrassment to the university, city and state. People in charge are more worried about political correctness than about doing the right thing. Lead, do the right thing, and stop apologizing. Kids who throw a tantrum should be treated as such.”

“I’m going against the grain here, but I think the protests, while they could have been handled better, opened the university’s eyes to needed change.”

“The crisis will occur only if the community continues to sweep the problem under the rug, ignore it or deny it. We must deal with it; it is real. Those who have tolerated acts of racism against others must speak out.”

“I’m not sure why you are calling this a crisis. There were peaceful protests that led to two resignations. Then there was some not-so-peaceful backlash.

I’m not sure this is considered a crisis, especially in light of recent terrorist attacks. That is bigger than what is happening here.”

“I expect to see a decrease in enrollment with the corresponding negative effect on the local economy.

Also, I expect less support from state government. The only solution is time and the appointment of strong leadership.”

“How it is ultimately handled will reflect the reputation we have. So far, I don’t believe it has reflected well.”

“I’m currently out of the country, and when speaking to other Americans, the first thing they bring up is the feeling that Columbia is a racist city. I think it will be a long time before we lose the stigma of having racial tension in our town and on campus. A couple we met from St. Louis said they were looking at MU for their daughter, but now that’s off the table.”

“Allowing a few disgruntled individuals with an agenda to discredit our university and city makes us look weak and vulnerable.

This is not a racial issue, but rather a cultural issue. Different cultures can only coexist if they respect each other, and that goes both ways. All lives matter!”

What do you consider the greatest threat to the success of your business in the next three years?”

“A Republican Congress.”

“Another Democrat president.”

“City Manager Mike Matthes, Mayor Bob McDavid and our city council.”

“Anti-growth city council members and activists who aim at stopping our city’s population growth.”

“Cost of health insurance and regulation.”

“Deregulation … yes, deregulation.”

“Ever-increasing federal regulations.”

“Frivolous litigation.”

“Government interference.”

“Craziness at MU.” “Increasing minimum wage.”

“Inflation, terrorism and high fuel costs.”

“Lack of capital.”

“Lack of skilled workers.”

“Legislature cuts to higher education.”

“New competition moving into the area.”

“Increasing pressure on margins is a constant battle.”

“Costs that I cannot control.”

“Pessimism, which can be quite contagious.”

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CONSTRUC

by KATHY CASTEEL // photos by L.G. PATTERSON

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TION ZONE A Jobsite Tour Of CoMo Building Projects

Construction knows no season this year in Columbia. As 2015 winds down, it seems the cranes and the bulldozers are gearing up. Here’s a sampling of some of the major projects that will alter the landscape and the skyline of Columbia in 2016.

INTERSTATE 70 BRIDGES // Emery Sapp & Sons Inc. Travelers through Columbia on Interstate 70 will have to pay close attention to the shifting work zone as construction continues on the I-70 Bridge Project.

Work began in late August to replace three I-70 bridges over Columbia streets Business Loop 70/West Boulevard, Garth Avenue, and Missouri Route 763/Range Line Street. The traffic impact includes reconfigured traffic flow, lane closures and reduced speed limits until the project’s completion in the fall of 2016. The new bridges will be built next to the existing structures and then slid into place to minimize closures on I-70 and affected city streets. Plans call for the interstate to remain open to two lanes of traffic in each

direction at all times during construction, except for temporary overnight lane closures.

Nearby streets are also scheduled for intermittent closures of 15 to 45 days as the project advances — West Boulevard, Business Loop 70, Range Line, South I-70 Outer Road, Garth Avenue and Creasy Springs Road.

The bridges, built in 1957, currently carry an average of 80,000 vehicles a day. The $18 million design-build project includes replacement of the three bridges and new roundabouts at Range Line and on the north and south sides of I-70 at the Business Loop 70/West Boulevard interchange.

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BOONE HOSPITAL CENTER NIFONG MEDICAL PLAZA // Coil Construction A new medical complex is nearing completion in south Columbia.

Phase 1 of Boone Hospital Nifong Medical Plaza, a $20 million development at the corner of Nifong and Forum boulevards, is scheduled for completion in February 2016. The 80,000-square-foot building was designed to reflect the architectural features of the main Boone Hospital Center campus on William Street in the central city. Boone Medical Group-South will relocate to the Nifong Plaza from its current location in The Insurance Group

building on Southampton Drive. Other services in the building will include convenient care (an addition to the Boone Medical Group-Convenient Care services at Parkade Center), imaging services such as MRI, X-ray and mammography, plus therapy, laboratory work and a pharmacy.

Full development of Nifong Medical Plaza will take place in phases. The 14acre site has the potential to house four buildings with a total of 132,000 square feet of space for health care services.

BROOKSIDE DOWNTOWN // Trittenbach Construction Co. Pizza lovers were aghast at what seemed like a cruel April Fool’s Day joke: Shakespeare’s Pizza would be demolished to make way for yet another student housing development. No joke, though: The pizza joint has temporarily relocated a block away for the duration as the corner of Ninth and Elm streets transforms with the construction of a Brookside Downtown apartment building.

The six-story structure by Jon and Nathan Odle’s Trittenbach Development will feature three retail spaces in the street-level floor — including Shakespeare’s — and a second floor of office space. The remaining four floors will contain apartments.

Shakespeare’s plans to return to business in the new building in August 2016.

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UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

M

U

PATIENT-CENTERED CARE LEARNING CENTER // J.E. Dunn Construction Group The University of Missouri broke ground in July on a $42.5 million medical education building at the MU School of Medicine. The Patient-Centered Care Learning Center is set to open in 2017, the same year the medical school begins admitting 32 additional students to each class.

The six-story building will cover 97,088 square feet with a two-story connector link to the existing School of Medicine and Lottes Health Sciences Library. The center will house patient-based learning labs, a simulation center, an anatomy

learning center, a flat-floor auditorium, mechanical space, and offices and support space. The building includes a new west entrance, service drop-off and parking.

The project will close parking lot HSC1N, along with all service vehicle parking and access to the west end of the medical science addition. In addition, a major portion of parking lot CG15N will be closed and undergo several phases of reconfiguration. Pedestrian access from Tiger Avenue traveling east will be rerouted around the north side of Stankowski Field.

MISSOURI ORTHOPAEDIC INSTITUTE // PARIC Construction The largest freestanding orthopaedic care center in central Missouri is getting larger. University of Missouri Health Care broke ground on a $40 million, four-story expansion of the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute in June.

When complete in 2017, the institute’s clinical space will increase to nearly

200,000 square feet. The fourth floor of the new addition will be dedicated space for research.

The 85,462-square-foot expansion project will include five additional operating rooms, 22 additional private inpatient rooms, three additional digital X-ray rooms, 19 additional outpatient examination rooms, a larger restaurant

for patients and visitors, and addition of a coffee kiosk in the main entrance lobby.

Plans call for the main entrance to be relocated to the east side of the building with a circle drive. A pedestrian walkway from the orthopaedic hospital to the Virginia Avenue parking garage also will be added.

DOBBS REPLACEMENT PROJECT // River City Construction The Dobbs Replacement Project offers a facelift to the University of Missouri dormitory complex on Kentucky Avenue with the replacement of Jones, Lathrop and Laws residence halls and the Dobbs dining pavilion, all built in 1959.

The first phase of the project included the demolition of Jones Hall last spring and the construction of two new residence

halls and a dining facility. The second phase calls for the replacement of Laws and Lathrop with three new residence halls.

The new residence halls will be five stories tall and similar in exterior appearance to the nearby housing complexes on the southwest side of campus. Each hall will feature solar water

heaters and thermostat control systems.

The first of the new residences will open in August 2016; the second new hall and an additional dining facility will open in August 2017. In phase 2, newly completed residence halls will open in 2019 and 2021.

Total cost of the project is estimated to be $141 million.

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Things Are Looking Up

After several years of false starts, the construction industry is finally catching on to recovery mode, says the chief economist of The American Institute of Architects. Last summer, the AIA’s Kermit Baker released a forecast for a more balanced market producing healthy growth in construction that would continue into 2016.

Citing growth in commercial and industrial construction activity since 2014, Baker writes in the July 24 issue of AIA Architect that accelerated spending on the construction of institutional facilities is projected to grow by almost 6 percent next year, with health care and educational facilities driving the growth. Nationwide, Baker predicts spending on nonresidential building to approach $390 billion in 2016. As home values recover, he notes, so will local property tax revenue, providing a better financial base to build new schools and renovate older ones.

Show Me The Jobs

The recovery in the construction industry has left contractors scrambling to find qualified workers. According to the Associated General Contractors of America, 85 percent of contractors in the Midwest say there is a shortage of hourly craft professionals, particularly carpenters, bricklayers, concrete workers and laborers. The 2015 AGC workforce survey also indicates contractors are having difficulty filling project manager/ supervisor roles.

Predicted nationwide spending on nonresidential construction in 2016:

$390 BILLION

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STEPHENS COLLEGE SAMPSON HALL // Reinhardt Construction Inc. and S.M. Wilson & Co. Stephens College has embarked on an expansion and renovation of 68-year-old Sampson Hall to house the college’s new physician assistant program, which is currently undergoing an accrediting process. The $5.9 million project at the corner of Broadway and College Avenue began with the demolition of the hall’s west addition in October.

When complete in late summer 2016, the three-story building will feature a state-of-the-art anatomy lab; high-tech classrooms; exam and observation rooms; flexible break-out rooms for classwork, meetings and conferences; and a suite of faculty offices.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE

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R. MARVIN OWENS FIELD // Reinhardt Construction Inc. Homecoming festivities at Columbia College last fall included a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the college’s recently completed $2 million renovation of R. Marvin Owens Field, home of Cougar soccer.

The yearlong construction project included the addition of turf, men’s and women’s varsity locker rooms for home and visiting teams, a concessions stand, restrooms and a ticket booth. “The Marv”

ST. CLAIR HALL // Reinhardt Construction Inc. Columbia College’s iconic St. Clair Hall got a $575,000 update in 2015.

Renovations to the 115-year-old building’s first floor included energy-efficiency and HVAC improvements and remodeled classrooms and deans’ offices.

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now boasts a three-lane running track around the perimeter for joggers; the field will be available year-round as a recreational space for students, faculty and staff.

The Village of Bedford Walk // Fairway Construction Co. JES Holdings is midway through construction of an independent senior living neighborhood at Bethel Street and Nifong Boulevard in south Columbia. The project includes 88 residential units — apartments and villas in a variety of 1- and 2-bedroom floor plans — on 8 acres with common amenities such as a library and business center, dining area, bistro, private wine storage, courtyard and fireside patio, salon and spa services, a fitness center and pool, movie theater and concierge services.

Utilities and transportation services are included in the rent.

The villas opened in the fall; apartments are slated for completion in May 2016.

PROVISION LIVING AT COLUMBIA // Arco Construction Co. Senior living options in Columbia opened up with the completion of Provision Living on Chapel Hill Road. The three-story structure on 11 acres offers 95 private apartment units — 63 assisted living and 32 with memory care services

PHOTO COURTESY OF PROVISION LIVING

to accommodate those with Alzheimer’s or related dementia.

The $20 million project opened in October. The facility offers a range of customized services based on resident needs. Amenities include entertainment

and community activities, restaurantstyle meals, housekeeping and maintenance, a fireplace lounge, outdoor deck, theater, wellness center, salon and barber shop, walking trail and scheduled transportation. Pets are welcome.

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DIVIDENDS

EXECUTIVE GIFT GUIDE

RING IN THE BLING

by PORCSHE N. MORAN photos by L.G. PATTERSON

’Tis the season for holiday shopping. Stress no more about finding a gift for the clients, employees and colleagues on your list. Columbia’s local shops have done the work for you. From fine writing instruments to handcrafted desk accessories and caffeinated treats, you’ll find plenty of presents to please any professional.

Tornado rollerball pens by Retro 51, available at Calhoun’s ($25 EACH)

Frank Lloyd Wright Collection table clock by Bulova, available at McAdams’ Ltd. ($125)

Wooden business card holder by Kansas City artist Rob’t King, available at Bluestem Missouri Crafts ($42)

Large chocolate and coffee basket, available at The Candy Factory ($59.95)

Picture frame clock in brushed aluminum, available at McAdams’ Ltd. ($38)

Wooden penholder box by Kansas City artist Rob’t King, available at Bluestem Missouri Crafts ($49) WINTER 2016 I INSIDE COLUMBIA’S CEO

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o R E S T A U R A N T S

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Support Our Locally Owned Restaurants When you dine at local restaurants, you help support small-business owners who spend their dollars in the community.

These dollars help keep our neighbors gainfully employed; the cycle continues as employees spend their wages on local arts, culture and other areas of the economy.

Eating local pays BIG dividends for Columbia!

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DIVIDENDS

CEO AT PLAY

Three Questions Out with the old and in with the new! These building specialists have their own take on the season.

LOOK WHO’S TALKING

What list does Santa have you down for this year — naughty or nice?

COIL: Nice. I am a nice grandfather now. My days of being naughty were

over long ago.

GROVE: Naughty.

SIMON: Let’s just say “noncompliant.”

RANDY COIL President Coil Construction

I dub 2016 “The Year Of The …”

COIL: The Year of Transition — politically, academically and other

politically correct words I can’t think of.

GROVE: The Year of Growth.

SIMON: The Year of the Move (some significant potential for family

relocations).

TONY GROVE President/Owner Grove Construction

How will you spend the first snow day of the season?

COIL: I am one of those people who loves the look of fresh snow.

Sitting in the sunroom with a cup of coffee, watching it come down.

Then within a day, I tire of road muck and wish it were spring.

GROVE: Sleep in, eat a big late breakfast, lay in an outdoor hot tub.

SIMON: Clearing the driveway with my new snowblower.

CRAIG SIMON President & CEO Professional Contractors & Engineers Inc.

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DIVIDENDS

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NETWORKING

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Job Point 2015 Columbia’s Local Celebrity Apprentice

4 1

Job Point’s sixth annual Local Celebrity Apprentice fundraiser featured some of Columbia’s savviest business people, using their talents, fame and business acumen to win challenges while raising money and awareness for Job Point, a local development center that provides career planning and job placement assistance. As in the “Apprentice” TV show, contestants tackled mental challenges and team dynamics, judged by “The Boss,” Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick. Amanda Stone of Jacobs Property Management was this year’s winner.

1. Andrew DeStadler, Barbie Miller and Kenzie Staloch 2. Amanda Stone and Matt McCormick 3. Chris Rigby, Amanda Stone and Cara Christianson 4. Drew Bennett, Audrey Sharp and Sarah Eagon 5. Chris Rigby, Cara Christianson and Amanda Stone 6. Ryan Knudsen, Carrie Brown, Angela Percival and Brian Shannon 7. Andrew DeStadler, Barbie Miller and Kenzie Staloch 8. Ann Merrifield, Jay Sowash and Heidi Buxton

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PHOTOS BY NANCY SILVER

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ADVERTISING INDEX Accounting Plus..................................................17 Babbo’s Spaghetteria........................................60 Back Space Therapeutic Massage................29 Bluestem Missouri Crafts.................................15 Boone Medical Group...................................... 26 Caledon Virtual.................................................... 9 Central Missouri Auto Body........................... 37 Central Trust....................................................... 35 CenturyLink......................................................... 67 Cevet Tree Care..................................................43 City of Columbia Water & Light..................... 13 Coil Construction..............................................58 Coley’s American Bistro..................................60 Columbia Landcare..............................................3 Commerce Bank...................................................5 Como Christian Men’s Conference............... 33 Creative Surroundings........................................ 8 Dents Unlimited................................................. 39 Downtown Appliance..........................................2 Focus on Health....................................................7 Hawthorn Bank..................................................68 ICM Custom Publishing Solutions................45 Image Technologies.......................................... 25 Inside Columbia’s E-Newsletters .....................41 Inside Columbia’s Instagram ............................15 Inside Columbia Subscriptions ........................17 Insurance Adjusters Group LLC.....................29 Johnston Paint.................................................... 23 Las Margaritas...................................................60 Linkside at Old Hawthorne.............................64 Moresource.........................................................62 Piano Distributors.............................................45 Postal Sign Express...........................................43 PWArchitects, Inc..............................................19 Randy Adams Construction........................... 35 Riback/DKB.........................................................15 Starr Properties.................................................. 23 Tech Electronics..................................................41 The Broadway...................................................... 13 The Callaway Bank.............................................21 UMB Bank.............................................................11 Watkins Roofing.................................................17 Williams-Keepers ................................................7 Winter-Dent & Company.................................. 4

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Collateral Damage

T

he student protests that took place by some as a backwoods, racist, inbred, on the University of Missouri scary little town in the middle of nowhere. campus in November put Columbia Unfortunately, the state’s flagship in the national spotlight for the better university campus has fared no better. part of two weeks. While some might Mizzou is now the place where rednecks argue that Columbia will end up as a in pickup trucks taunt black college better place because of this experience, students and hillbillies draw swastikas the collateral damage from the protests on the walls with their own poop. It’s the and subsequent events is likely to be felt place where disgruntled football players for many years to come. Some speculate can leverage one of the SEC’s worst win/ that this was the original loss records into the intent of Concerned resignation of a university Student 1950. If that was president. For most indeed the case, mission national commentators, accomplished.

Columbia, Mo., became The turmoil on the the laughingstock of MU campus was born the nation … an unfair in a “perfect storm” characterization we won’t of unrelated events soon shake. unfolding at essentially Like many of you who the same time. The unrest attended the university 30 on campus began when years ago or even earlier, the university abruptly I was caught off guard by “We can’t let the cut health benefits the notion that racism actions of a select few and tuition waivers for is as rampant as it was define who we are.” graduate students, and reported to be on the MU — Fred Parry then suddenly reinstated campus. If you accept the them. In the background, there was protestors’ claims, the implication is that growing tension among at least nine of the vast amount of resources invested the 12 deans on campus. The sudden over the years in promoting diversity, departure or dismissal of at least two sensitivity and cultural competence deans added fuel to a fire that was on the campus was a colossal waste already burning out of control. Amid all of time and money. Was the work of these troubles, campus administrators Arvarh Strickland, Walter Daniel and — bowing to pressure from Republican Michael Middleton completely lost on lawmakers — severed MU Health Care’s the generations of students who attended ties to Planned Parenthood.

MU? I think not.

In the rubble of a story that led the Inside Columbia conducted a poll of nightly newscast on nearly every major university students the week following television network lies our peaceful, Tim Wolfe’s resignation as university little college town. Once known as a president. Of the more than 2,000 progressive haven for liberals of all students who participated in the poll, stripes, Columbia, Mo., is now perceived more than 70 percent said they believed

that racism exists on the University of Missouri campus. Interestingly, an equal number of students said they had never personally experienced racism nor did they know of anyone who had. I’m told that racism exists in some form or fashion in almost every environment. While we may find this assertion shocking, we also have no valid reason to doubt it.

Hindsight is always 20/20, so it’s easy to look back and discuss how this situation might have been avoided in the first place. To avoid future disruptions, university officials must enact immediately a zero-tolerance policy for racism. Beyond that, there needs to be more transparency in the ivory towers with regard to how decisions are made.

The process should be more inclusive and administrators must be more proactive in responding to grievances from both faculty and students. Disparate, minority populations must also understand that very little is gained by open hostility and aggression. We have to find a way to talk to each other in a civil manner.

In spite of how the national media portrayed Columbia this fall, we must remain true to ourselves. This is a progressive, open-minded community that genuinely accepts and embraces diversity. We can’t let the actions of a select few define who we are.

In the final analysis, nothing will change until we learn to trust one another. Trust cannot be earned until all parties have demonstrated an unyielding level of integrity and competence in how we relate to one another. The absence of trust will always lead to conflict.

Columbia has had more than its fair share of conflict in recent weeks. Let’s move forward as a united community and learn from the mistakes of our past.

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CLOSING QUOTES

What Columbia’s Business People And Community Leaders Are Saying “This is not the way change should come about. Change comes from listening, learning, caring and conversation. We have to respect each other enough to stop yelling at each other … and quit intimidating each other.”

— Former University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe after submitting his resignation to the Board of Curators

“We ask questions to request information, as distinct from using it as a tool to articulate some issue we have … because that happened so much in the Temple of Doom down south.”

— Infrastructure task force chairman Chris Kelly remembering his political days in Jefferson City 66

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“I’ve learned that I can’t do everything.

Finding the right people to work with, who are passionate and great at what they do, is essential in business.”

— Bluescentric owner Matt Marshall

“If an organization has $2 million in its budget, it’s going to spend $2 million. There’s no incentive to save.”

— Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid on KFRU, discussing government budget practices while touting the city’s new incentive-based budget that borrows some ideas from private business

“A lot of disabled vets have a tough time fitting back in their community.

They’ve been a part of something that’s bigger than themselves, and entrepreneurship is another way to get them involved and make them feel part of that economic engine.”

— Greg Bier, director of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities at the University of Missouri

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