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STAY WITH US: (L-R) Dinesh and Dr. V.K. Chawla. The Chawla family has built a large hotel business in the Delta. By the end of next year, the number of hotels the family operates will increase by 50 percent. |
The Chawlas know secret of hotel success
Enterprise successful because of family ties, consistent focus
by C. RICHARD COTTON
DBJ Contributing Writer
Don’t talk to Dr. V.K. Chawla about poverty. He lived it at an early age and the experience left its indelible mark.
The 68-year-old CEO of Chawla Enterprises, the leading hotel ownership and development company in the Mississippi Delta, learned by the age of ten that poverty was not for him. Or anyone else for that matter.
“After the fourth grade was a very dark part of my life,” Chawla says recalling his life in India. In 1947, predominantly Muslim East and West Pakistan were carved out of opposite sides of the Indian sub-continent.
Chawla's family lived in the western state of Punjab, near West Pakistan and the scene of carnage between Muslims and Hindus, which is Chawla's heritage.
FULL STORY
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Mississippi taps two
as Farmers of the Year
Coghlan and Taylor receive prestigious award
by EVA ANN DORRIS
DBJ Contributing Writer
Charles Coghlan of Benoit and Sledge Taylor III of Como are the 2004 Farmers of the Year in the annual recognition program sponsored by TeleSouth Communications and the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.
The award is named the Louis N. Wise Award in honor and memory of Louis N. Wise, former vice president of the Division of Agriculture at Mississippi State University.
Coghlan, the winner in the row crops category, and Taylor, the winner in the livestock division, were recognized at the annual Farmer of the Year Banquet April 29 at MSU.
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FARMERS OF THE YEAR: Charles Coghlan, left, and Sledge Taylor III, center, are presented the 2004 Farmer of the Year Awards by John Winfield, far right, Vice President of Operations with TeleSouth Communications and Farm Director of the Mississippi Network.
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Coghlan farms about 5,000 acres of cotton and soybeans near Scott, MS. He farms land with a thick sand cap left after the Mississippi River levee break in 1927. Coghlan has been forced to find and develop farming practices specific to his unique soils. Land forming, drainage, irrigation, fertility, row spacing and planting date management have helped him maximize efficiency and production. He adds he really depends on the early-planted strategy with his soybeans to capture August delivery premiums.
FULL STORY
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BankPlus endorsement
deal features Mannings
Mississippi football legends will boost BankPlus’ image
by CHIP MABRY
DBJ Contributing Writer
By now the commercials are familiar. Eli and Archie are sitting at what appears to be a press conference covering Eli’s selection as the NFL’s first overall pick. A reporter asks Eli what his next plans are. After consulting with Archie, Eli responds, “I’m going to the bank,” referring to BankPlus.
The commercial comes on the heels of the much covered standoff between Eli, Archie and the San Diego Chargers who owned the NFL’s first overall pick. In the debut spot Eli leans heavily on his father’s advice, forcing many to recall Archie’s role in keeping his son out of San Diego. “That was not planned,” stated Gary Gusick, Creative Director for the Ramey Agency “We wanted the spot to resemble a draft day press conference. We had no idea that other factors would make Eli a much bigger story.”
FULL STORY
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Delta Council brings Delta family together
by JOE MEEK
DBJ Managing Editor
Clear, bright skies and an abundance of sunshine welcomed members and friends to the 69th Delta Council Annual Meeting which was held May 7, 2004, at the Delta and Pine Land Theater of the Bologna Performing Arts Center on the campus of Delta State University. As Council President Dan Branton expressed it, “The Bologna Center is just a beautiful place for the annual meeting, and Dr. Hilpert gave us the weather we needed for a nice gathering of the Delta family.”
Truly this organization, which has served the eighteen county Delta region since 1935, is as much a family as any business entity can be. The members annually gather on the Delta State campus for serious discussions but also for an old-fashioned “dinner on the grounds” catfish picnic among friends. It’s debatable as to whether more substantive matters are decided in the official council sessions or around the luncheon tables loaded with food.
FULL STORY |
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