In
last month’s focus on Metro Jackson, it was apparent
that those professionals surveyed were confident in their
local market. At a time when national indicators are nothing
to write home about, Jackson’s relative insulation
from major economic woes coupled with its abundance of
business talent and opportunities have kept it competitive
and growing.
New
construction is up in the Metro market, especially north
of the city in Madison County and to the east in Brandon.
While a great deal of this is the result of Nissan, not
all of it is; in fact, the Nissan project is spurring
on other unrelated sectors of the local economy merely
by its presence. The promise of things to come is an enticing
one and many Metro businesses and entrepreneurs see reason
to count on them.
The
housing market is also up in the Metro area, intriguing
many economists. One local financial advisor says he is
“baffled” about where all the new residents
are coming from. Yet coming they are as more and more
residential areas are being built, particularly in southern
Madison county.
As
mentioned in last month’s focus, federal and local
monies are also now into play in favor of the Metro economy
as projects authorized years ago are finally coming to
fruition. Firms involved in these projects are able now
to reap the benefits of work promised some time ago. One
such firm is Waggoner Engineering in Jackson.
“Projects
that have been ongoing since the early ‘90’s
are starting to become reality,” company president
Joe Waggoner says, echoing the point. He mentions the
Jackson State University Parkway as one example, a project
originally funded in 1995.
“This
is a raised median divided roadway running from Mill Street
to the northern side of JSU’s campus,” Waggoner
says, “that will eventually extend out to I-20 and
Highway 18. It will be a tremendous project,” he
enthuses, noting that city, county, state and federal
monies were all involved.
“The
Airport Parkway connection is a companion project to the
JSU Parkway,” Waggoner mentions as another major
portion of his firm’s current work. “This
involves the extension of High Street to the north and
south entrances of the Jackson International Airport.
It was conceptualized in the early ‘90’s and
is now in the final design stage.” Waggoner adds
that the $280 million project will soon be entering its
right-of-way acquisition stage.
Reporting
that business has been very good for his firm, Waggoner
says that recent Nissan utility and transportation work,
as well as the activity of the company’s Spatial
Group has accounted for a large portion of its recent
success.
“In
fact, our Spatial Group, which is the remote sensing and
geographical information system accounts for some 25 to
35 percent of our business,” Waggoner says. “Our
firm does work all over the North American continent,
including the Panama Canal, Quebec, the Pacific Northwest
and many other locations.”
Fresh
off of the success of his firm’s annual Economic
and Market Forecast luncheons, Stacey Wall of Pinnacle
Trust says that, while the economy is uncertain, positive
signs are still evident. He noted those signs in his addresses
which took place in Jackson, Hattiesburg, Meridian and
the Gulf Coast.
The
Economic luncheon, which Community Bank sponsors along
with Pinnacle Trust, was better attended this year than
in the previous five years, Wall reports. “A lot
of research goes into my speech,” Wall chuckles,
“but it’s worth it based on the enormous response
I get. My goal is always to provide useful and accessible
information to an audience that may or may not be investment-savvy.”
Of
the current economy, Wall says, “Everybody was optimistic
not long ago. We were all in the grip of Greenspan’s
‘irrational exuberance’ and there was no end
in sight.
Now,
though,” he continues, “the cycle is back
at work, as I’ve always preached. We are seeing
slight growth nationally, but nothing like we saw just
a few years ago. The uncertainty of war and economic instability
is causing a great of caution. Of course, in times like
these, Pinnacle Trust thrives because it becomes more
apparent that a professional advisor is needed.”
Pinnacle
Trust is Mississippi’s only private trust company,
chartered under the laws of the State, and provides management
services for clients in the areas of investment management,
retirement plans, estate planning and trust administration.
Tony
Huffman, owner of the accounting firm Huffman and Company
in Jackson, says that his niche market is individual and
small business accounting work. “Last year, I added
over 150 new clients, a large portion of whom are small
businesses,” Huffman says. “That tells me
that, while the large companies are laying people off
and seeing diminished returns, new entrepreneurs are coming
to the front.”
Huffman
says this fact is a very impressive one and bears on the
local economy. “I’m just one accounting firm
in this market,” he continues. “If I’m
seeing this type of phenomena, extrapolate that out to
all of the CPAs in the Metro area and you can get a feel
for just how much we depend on the small business.”
Moreover,
Huffman adds, 95% of these new businesses will succeed
if history is any indication. “I can honestly count
on one hand the number of clients I have lost because
they went out of business,” he says. “And
I expect my client base to grow this year as much as it
did last.”
An
entrepreneur himself, Huffman also owns Financial Solutions,
Inc., an out source bookkeeping company in Jackson which
was started four years ago. “We provide a service
which is obviously needed,” Huffman says, “and
the business is doing very well. The type of service we
provide is a reflection of the success of the businesses
that use us, so, here again, our growth is a reflection
of the strong economy here.”
Huffman
also puts his money where his mouth is as an active and
highly visible young community-minded volunteer and advocate.
He recently stepped down as President of the city’s
Metro Crime Commission and is involved in a plethora of
other civic and cultural groups.
Another
one of the new young leaders who is out to change Jackson
for the better is Jackson State University President,
Dr. Ronald Mason. Now in his third year at the head of
the institution, Mason has overseen several new programs
and projects which he thinks will take JSU to a higher
level.
“We’ve
initiated the Millennium Agenda, which is strategic plan
for the school,” Mason reports, “as well as
undergo a major reorganization of our academic side. In
addition, we got the Institute for Higher Learning to
pass a policy which will close the salary gap between
JSU and the other research institutes in the state.”
A
major of the Millennium Agenda’s goal is to raise
more money. “Obviously, that’s an important
component of our mission,” Mason says. “To
help us accomplish that goal, we’ve assembled a
very strong Foundation Board which includes people like
Haley Barbour, Leland Speed and Sally Barksdale. We also
hired a consulting firm to assist us in better facilitating
our fund raising efforts.”
Through
such goals, Mason hopes to receive endowed chairs and
professorships, of which none exist now at Jackson State.
“I’m also working to make us more visible
to the Metro business community,’ Mason adds. “I
would guess that 80% of our business leaders have never
even set foot on our campus, and I want to change that.
We are changing that,” he says.
Mason
is proud of Jackson State’s new School of Engineering
as well as the new College of Business.
“We
are one of only a few historically black universities
to offer a Ph.D. in business, “ Mason says. “This
College of Business is quite impressive,” he adds.
“It’s housed in a new 95,000 square-foot facility
and will be much more accommodating to the Jackson business
community. One such way it will be so is through the weekend
Executive MBA program we will be offering.”
Concerning
the aforementioned Jackson State Parkway, Mason says this:
“It should enhance the area, if it turns out to
be a true parkway. My hope is that it doesn’t become
just a highway whereby people can quickly pass through
without stopping to enjoy the campus.”
The
stage is obviously set for Metro Jackson to take that
next big step. What that step may be is still out for
questioning. However, the players seem to be in place
and the atmosphere is conducive for growth. The outlining
areas of the city will be the topic of the next focus
on the Metro Jackson area. DBJ
