One of the main aspects of the Mississippi Delta (in my view) is that
the Delta is almost a state within a state. By that, I mean that the Delta
looks different, feels different, thinks and acts differently, and because
of our “flatness” looks different. Even from 20,000 feet above
the Delta one can see the “difference”. Our accents are also
different than accents in Tupelo, Jackson, Columbus.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast is the other “state within a state”
in Mississippi. There are no other regions like the Delta and the Coast
in our state that are so clearly identifiable.
The real scandal is not a
corporate one
BY JACK CRISS
DBJ Executive Editor
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are wailing about giant corporations
right now. It’s quite fashionable. Of course, because of the Enron
and WorldCom fiascos, it’s bordering on hysteria and nutty hyperbole.
There has always been an undeniable bias against big business in this
country. From the incredibly burdensome regulations placed on it by
the government (such as anti-trust) to the outlandish caricatures of
it promulgated by Hollywood (“Wall Street” or any movie
that needs a villain), big business is always the bad guy. Never mind
the fact that government exists because it is financed by taxation (the
majority of which comes from corporations), or that Joe Public goes
to the movies with money earned at a business. The very notion of commerce
is deemed dirty.
BY ALLEN ROARK
DBJ Contributing Writer
Colonel Reb may be the symbol for the University of Mississippi, but
certainly no other person has been more synonymous with the school’s
image than Robert Khayat. And for good reason.
One cannot talk with the man who has been chancellor at Ole Miss at
Oxford since 1995 for long without the university coming up in the conversation.
Preferring to shy away from personal stories and accolades, Khayat becomes
animated when discussing what’s taking place on campus, or what
students he’s recently visited with.
The first Ole Miss graduate to hold the position of chancellor in the
school’s history, Khayat obviously loves the school with the passion
and pride of a father. It shows in his words and it shows in his actions.
Delta Regional welcomes new Chief Operating
Officer
Bost’s addition is hailed as a major plus to hospital
BY ALAN ROARK
DBJ Contributing Writer
Delta Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer, L. Ray Humphreys
recently announced the addition of Cecelia D. Bost, M.S., B.S.N., as
the hospital’s new Chief Operating Officer. According to Humphreys,
Ms. Bost, who officially joined the staff July 1, 2002, brings a wealth
of health care experience to Delta Regional in both clinical services
and hospital administration.
“We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Cecelia Bost to Delta Regional
Medical Center,” Humphreys says. “As we work to fulfill
our mission and vision for the tri-state Delta region and as our patient
satisfaction and quality of patient care continues to improve, it is
vital that we bring aboard highly experienced and qualified leaders
like Ms. Bost,” he continues. “Her diverse background in
both administration and clinical areas will complement our Senior Leadership
Team and her presence will further propel us forward towards our goals,”
Humphreys concludes.
Governor Ronnie Musgrove has announced the availability of $4.1 million
public projects through the Delta Regional Authority (DRA). The DRA is a
federal-state partnership covering eight states. 45 counties in Mississippi
are covered under the DRA.
“The Delta Regional Authority, as an organization, is relatively new–but
the issues before it are as deeply rooted as the history and culture of
the region it serves,” Musgrove says. “By investing in this
region, we will make a difference for generations to come.”
Priority will be given to four types of projects: Basic public infrastructure,
transportation infrastructure, business development and job training and
employment-related education. Projects may be construction or non-construction.
Completed applications should be mailed to the Office of the Governor, P.O.
Box 139, Jackson, MS, 39205, or delivered to the 15th floor of the Woolfolk
Office Building located at 501 North West Street in Jackson.
Four new physicians have recently joined the Medical Staff at Bolivar Medical
Center in Cleveland: Dr. Derek Miles, Urologist; Dr. Peter McArthur, Otolarygologist
(Ear, Nose and Throat); Dr. Reese “Bo” Lindsey, Family Practice;
and Dr. Kimberly Lindsey, Family Practice.
According to the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Lowell “Bo”
Benton, this is part of the Medical Center’s long range plan to bring
new physicians and specialties to Bolivar Medical Center.
“We are pleased to welcome our new physicians and their families to
Cleveland…of course for the Lindseys it’s a homecoming,”
says Benton. “It’s gratifying to see that our recruitment efforts
are really paying off.” “We have targeted a number of medical
specialties that are needed in Bolivar County and the surrounding region
and otolarygology, urology, and additional family practice physicians were
at the top of the list,” he adds.
Other medical specialties the hospital is actively recruiting include orthopedics
and neurology.
“Our new physicians, all of whom are well-trained and very dedicated
to providing the highest quality of care, are one more piece of the puzzle
that is falling into place for Bolivar Medical Center,” says Benton.
“Our mission is to provide comprehensive care for our patients so
they don’t have to go somewhere else for the services and medical
specialties they need.”
Dr. Derek Miles, who specializes in urologic care for both adult and pediatric
patients, is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. He received his Doctor of
Medicine degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Medicine.
His Residency in general surgery was completed at Washington University
in St. Louis, Missouri, with Residency training in urology at the University
of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He is Board Eligible in urology.
BY Allen Roark
DBJ Contributing Writer
This past October, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, located primarily
on the Pearl River Reservation just outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi,
purchased an 856-acre site in Carroll County just outside of Greenwood.
The Tribe purchased the land from Memphian Ann Shook Canale, after being
contacted by Greenwood attorney Lee Abraham, who had an option to purchase
the property.
According to accounts in published news reports, current Chief Phillip Martin
has said that the Tribe’s motivation in making the $1.7 million purchase
of nineteenth century Choctaw Chief Greenwood Leflore’s lands was
to recapture a significant part of their history and heritage.
The son of a French trader and Choctaw maiden, Leflore rose to prominence
in the 1820’s when he replaced Pushmataha as the principal chief of
the Mississippi Choctaws. After losing favor with the tribe for ceding all
remaining tribal lands to the U.S. in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit
Creek, Leflore became a leading citizen of Carroll County, where he owned
15,000 acres of farmland and 400 slaves to work them.
Delta native takes burgers from back yard
to big city
BY MARK J. ARMSTRONG
DBJ Contributing Writer
Starting with a single burger joint in Cleveland, Miss., Lattimore “Lattie”
Michael has turned Back Yard Burgers into a chain of more than 100 restaurants
poised to take on the national scene. Memphis-based Back Yard Burgers Inc.,
announced a deal on May 22 with Black Angus Burgers Inc., to open 40 new
franchises over the next 10 years in Florida and South Carolina. Earlier
this year, Back Yard Burgers struck a deal with Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza
Hut brands of YUM! Brands Inc., formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, to test
10 multibrand stores. The deal with YUM! has an option for an additional
500 restaurants.
“We’re excited about where we are,” says Delta native
Michael. “We’re very excited.” Michael, founder, chairman
and chief executive officer of Back Yard Burgers, opened the first restaurant
in Cleveland on March 21, 1987. A second followed a year later in Clarksdale,
Miss. The former grocery store owner said he started the first restaurant
out of boredom.
“My original plan was to just open three or four stores in the Delta
area,” Michael says. But, with a little luck and a lot of hard work,
things began to change. In 1990, the company headquarters moved from Cleveland
to Memphis for more exposure. Three years later, the chain that started
as a double drive-thru restaurant opened its first dining room in Boone,
N.C., and Back Yard Burgers went public on the stock market.
Today, Back Yard Burgers operates 105 restaurants in 17 states including
eight in Mississippi. And with the two deals in place, Michael expects the
company to grow even more. “We felt like those were very significant
events,” Michael says.
DRA’s Highway Transportation
Summit hailed as major success
Federal Co-Chair Johnson calls for policy shift in
nation’s policy
BY ALLEN ROARK
DBJ Contributing Writer
The first Delta Regional Authority Highway Transportation Summit was held
June 27-28 in Helena, Arkansas at the Delta Cultural Center. Approximately
130 people from the eight-state DRA area attended the event, including local,
regional and federal transportation planning and development experts and
personnel. The purpose of the event was to discuss and strategize a regional
plan for highway transportation improvements in the DRA-covered area.
Federal DRA Co-Chairman, Pete Johnson, kicked off the event along with State
Co-Chairman, Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Mississippi Governor
Ronnie Musgrove. The three all spoke to the crowd about a unified vision
of an improved highway infrastructure throughout the region.
Johnson began his remarks by stating DRA’s mission “to help
remedy and alleviate the chronic and severe economic distress found in our
region.” He stated that the DRA would be a major catalyst in the economic
development of the region by serving as the coordinating vehicle for already
established federal, state and private efforts. Johnson indicated that this
development would be accomplished through infrastructure and business development,
job training services and highway transportation.
Governor Ronnie Musgrove has been elected as chairman of the Southern Regional
Education Board. Musgrove will replace Governor Roy Barnes of Georgia.
“Education is the cornerstone for a successful foundation, in Mississippi
and across the South,” Musgrove says. “I am honored by this
opportunity to promote the tremendous advances we are making in our educational
systems and to encourage creative approaches in our schools.”
The Southern Regional Education Board is comprised of representatives from
16 member states. Founded in 1948, the SREB conducts research and helps
shape long-term policies regarding education.
The DeSoto Council has announced that USUI International Corp. will open
a manufacturing plant in Olive Branch. The completely air-conditioned facility
will be located in a 53,000 square foot building on Deerfield Drive in Metro
Industrial Park. USUI, which was incorporated in the United States in 1986,
is the North American operations of Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha company,
a major automotive supplier in Japan since the early 1950s. USUI’s
products include fuel tubes, fuel rails, brake tubes, plastic-cooling fans,
fan drives bundle tubes, power steering tubes, fuel injection tubes and
oil tubes. The Olive Branch facility will manufacture brake and capabilities
in North America. The company currently has three facilities, located in
Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan.
Desi Granrose, Operations Manager for the Olive Branch facility, says that
the company chose to located operations in DeSoto County because of the
area’s proximity to the Memphis airport, as well as the favorable
business climate in the State of Mississippi. “We felt that as a state,
Mississippi is a growing opportunity for the industry,” Granrose says.
He went on to say that the DeSoto County community matches the profile of
the communities where the other facilities are located.
Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove expressed his happiness with USUI’s
decision to make Mississippi its new home. “This announcement is great
news for Olive Branch and the entire state of Mississippi. Whether it’s
40 jobs or 400 jobs, we are committed to building our state through strong
partnerships with companies like USUI International.”
Olive Branch Mayor Sam Rikard is also pleased USUI chose Olive Branch as
its new home.
Customer service is Guaranty Bank & Trust Company’s forte.
“That’s what we’re about,” says bank president
Mickey Naaman. “All banks are basically selling the same products
and services. What we have to offer is our team made up of very experienced
people who joined us after lengthy careers at other financial institutions.
They bring a lot of different backgrounds and many areas of expertise
to the bank. Since our Greenville team was put together in early 1999,
we have been very successful in the commercial lending and depository
markets. We are now expanding our focus on growing our market share in
the consumer and small business area.” This is evidenced by the
new location the bank just opened in Greenville.
Most of the twenty professionals making up the Greenville “team”
are from the Delta, says Naaman. “The quality of service and personal
relationships with our customers are the primary reasons Guaranty Bank
has been so successful in the Delta. For four generations, the Townsend
family has been focused on a common goal of growing and serving our communities
and giving friendly, hometown service. Like our slogan, ‘We respond!’,
we’re committed to giving good, responsive service,” says
Naaman.