Veteran dealer prepared for Chrysler crisis

Transcription

Volume 15
Issue 23
June 13, 2009
www.columbiabusinesstimes.com

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER KETTLER
Local automotive
market in turmoil
By David Reed
Car and truck sales at Columbia’s dealerships plummeted in the irst quarter of
this year. The 11 dealerships sold less than
4,000 new and used vehicles, according
to Missouri Department of Revenue data,
about 40 percent less than the irst three
months of 2008.
And that was before Chrysler and
General Motors declared bankruptcy, Larry
Estes lost his Dodge franchise, Pontiac
announced it will end production and Lou
Fusz was faced with the sale of Saturn.
Nevertheless, like most car salesmen,
Gary Drewing is relentlessly optimistic.
“I think we always approach things from
a positive aspect,” said Drewing, who owns
the city’s four Joe Machens dealerships.
CBT’s dealership rankings and
vehicle ownership data inside
“There are a lot of people struggling out
there,” he said, particularly those who have
lost jobs during this severe recession. The
Chrysler and GM turmoil, Drewing said, “is
just a tough deal right now. They may never
recover the market share they’ve lost."
But then he added, “It opens up opportunities for other brands out there.”
Drewing’s dealerships also had declining
sales in 2008 and in the irst quarter. But he
is going ahead with expansion plans.
(continued on Page 15)
5
6
19
General Assembly
Boone County
legislative delegation
gets along for a
change
Business Proile:
The Insurance Group
Longevity helps
company understand
Columbia commerce
New Business Update
Belle, a women's
clothing store
downtown, is one
of many recent local
business additions
1
$ 50
Dodge City Motors owner Larry Estes, right, and General Manager George Madison. Estes lost the Dodge franchise but will keep selling Hyundai cars.
Veteran dealer prepared for Chrysler crisis
By Mina Mineva
After moving from Moberly decades ago and going to
work for Joe Machens Ford, Larry Estes was driven by the
dream of owning a car dealership.
In the spring of 1986, Estes opened Dodge City Motors
on a 10-acre site between Vandiver Drive and Interstate 70 in
northeast Columbia and saw his vision become real: lines of
new cars and trucks glistening in the sun and relecting their
images in the windows of a dealership lanked by towering
Dodge signs with the distinctive red ram’s head logo.
“My family wasn’t in the car business; nothing was given
to me,” Estes said from behind a huge wooden desk in his
dealership ofice. “I had to work for it.”
Estes moved up from a salesman to general sales manager
at Machens Ford and went on to run University Chrysler.
He purchased that dealership, and two years later he split it,
opening Dodge City.
But his relationship with Chrysler was troublesome from
the beginning, and after quickly selling University Chrysler
he diversiied by adding a Hyundai dealership 14 years ago
on the same lot with Dodge.
SPECIAL SECTION
Automotive
See Page 12
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June 13, 2009 Columbia Business Times | ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com
11
17
State of the City
Bill Watkins
explains
Columbia's
budget dilemma
Tech Sessions
Jonathan takes
a Smart car for a
test drive
Acorn Books ................................................. 10
Albert Buick Honda GMC ............................. 13
Belle.............................................................. 19
Bob McCosh Chevrolet ........................... 12,13
Booche's ........................................................ 9
Boone County Family Resources ................. 10
Carpe Diem .................................................. 18
CC's City Boiler .............................................. 9
Central Missouri Humane Society ................ 10
Columbia Hyundai/Dodge
City Motors ........................................... 1,12,13
Columbia Missourian.................................... 10
Ellis Fischel Cancer Center ............................ 5
Elly's Couture ............................................... 19
Envy .............................................................. 19
Head Motor Company Kia
Motor Dealer............................................ 12,13
Joe Machens Automotive Group.................. 12
Joe Machens BMW ...................................... 12
Joe Machens Ford-Lincoln Mercury ....... 12,17
Joe Machens Toyota-Scion .......................... 12
Jones and Watkins, LLC................................. 9
Lakota Café .................................................. 10
Lou Fusz Saturn of Columbia ....................... 13
Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center ............... 5
Missouri Department of
Natural Resources ....................................... 21
Missouri Department of Revenue ............ 12,13
Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority ..... 5
Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts ............ 10
Optimus Health Care, Inc. .............................. 7
Perry Nissan ................................................. 13
Robert J. Trulaske Sr. College of Business .... 9
Swank ........................................................... 19
The Gillette Company ..................................... 9
The Insurance Group, Inc. ........................... 6,7
University Chrysler Center
Chrysler Jeep Subaru .............................. 13,15
Beckett & Taylor Agency ............................. 23
Boone County National Bank ...................... 24
Children's Hospital - University of MO .......... 4
City of Columbia Rolloff &
Commercial Waste Services.......................... 3
City of Columbia Water & Light ..................... 6
Columbia Regional Airport .......................... 16
Delta Systems ............................................. 15
General Printing .................................... Inserts
Huber and Associates ................................... 5
Jacobs & Kemper Auction and Realty Co. .. 14
Landmark Bank ............................................. 2
Moresource ................................................. 18
Rickman Center ........................................... 14
Sandler Training ........................................... 21
Shelter Ofice Plaza ..................................... 19
Socket Internet ............................................ 22
Tech 2 ............................................................ 7
Triangle Blueprints ......................................... 3
UMB .............................................................. 8
UMB TITAN Awards / 20 Under 40............... 20
United Country Missouri Land and Home ... 16
Visionworks ..................................... 14, 16, 17
Willie Smith's Magic Services ....................... 3
3
June 2009
15
City Council Meeting
7 p.m. at the Daniel Boone City Building,
701 E. Broadway
The council, according to a preliminary agenda,
plans to hold a public hearing on the voluntary
annexation of property located on the east side
of Rolling Hills Road extension, approximately
one mile north of Route WW and establish R-1
zoning. The council also will consider approval
of the Farmers Market development plan and
the Warren Funeral Chapel development plan.
18
Chamber of Commerce Member Roundtable
Luncheon
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walton Building, 300
S. Providence Road
The event provides information about the
opportunities and beneits accrued through
chamber membership.
How to Control Cash Flow
6 to 9 p.m., Osher Lifelong Learning Center
Training Room 1, Room 129,
3215B Lemone Industrial Blvd
This class for business owners and others
who need to know how to turn inancial
statements into useful management documents costs $89, and registration is required.
Contact the University Center for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship for more information,
882-7096.
Reception for Stephens College President
4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Walton Building
This Chamber of Commerce event welcomes
new Stephens College President Dianne
Lynch to Columbia. The event is free, but the
chamber requests that you register online at
columbiamochamber.com.
Building Construction Codes Commission
Meeting
4:30 p.m. at the Daniel Boone City Building
23
Emerging Professionals In Columbia (EPIC):
Civility Luncheon
11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walton Building
The EPIC group’s Lunching Outside the Box
series continues with “Mastering the Fine Art of
Civility,” presented by Melanie McClain Brown,
owner and director of Protocol Consulting of
Columbia. The cost is $13 at the door; contact
Emily Poore at 817-9115 or [email protected] for more information.
Columbia Vision Commission Meeting
4 to 6 p.m. at the Daniel Boone City Building
Environment and Energy
Commission Meeting
7 p.m. Daniel Boone City Building
24
Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
7 p.m. at the ARC
Columbia Vision Commission Meeting
5:30 p.m. at the Daniel Boone City Building
Community Development
Commission Meeting
7 p.m. at the Daniel Boone City Building
Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting
7 p.m. at the Daniel Boone City Building
19
25
Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walton Building
Women’s Network ATHENA Awards Banquet
5 to 8 p.m. at the University Club, University of
Missouri campus
The 2nd annual ATHENA Young Professional
Award and ATHENA Award will be presented
at the event, which costs $28. For more
information, contact Liz Glockoff, 874-1132,
[email protected].
22
Columbia Business Times Power Lunch
Noon to 1:30 p.m. Tiger Hotel
Guests will discuss the importance of arts
funding during tough economic times.
(573) 499-1830 | (573) 499-1831 fax
[email protected]
Chris Harrison | General Manager | Ext.1010
David Reed | Group Editor | Ext.1013
Cody Moore | Graphic Designer
Alisha Moreland | Graphic Designer
Betsy Bell | Creative Marketing Director
Jennifer Kettler | Photo Editor | 573-529-1789
Cindy Sheridan | Operations Manager
Becky Beul | Marketing Representative
Joe Schmitter | Marketing Representative
Writers in this issue: Mina Mineva, Jason Rosenbaum,
Jonathan Sessions, Sean Spence
Columnists in this issue: Al Germond, Mike Martin,
Bill Watkins
The Columbia Business Times is published every other Saturday by
The Business Times Co.
2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, Mo 65202.
(573) 499-1830.
Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express
written permission of the publisher is prohibited.
Third-class postage paid at Columbia, Mo.
The annual subscription rate is $39.95 for 26 issues.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
The Columbia Business Times strives to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business
community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among
Columbia’s business professionals.
CBT CALENDAR OF EVENTS
4
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Hirings
Mauller
Drew Hall has joined Arable Entertainment, a Pure Company, as
director of corporate media. Hall is an 11-year veteran of the ilm and
television production industry. He has worked with Fox Sports, ABC
Family, Geffen Records and Lions Gate.
Gina Mauller has joined Pure Marketing and Media as vice president
of business development. Mauller served as the MU director of corporate relations. Her main responsibility was to build relationships with
Fortune 500 companies.
Julie Sizemore has been hired as director of sales of the Fairield
Inn and Suites hotel by Marriott-Columbia. Previously Sizemore was
the director of sales for the Hampton Inn and Suites and for the Stoney
Creek Inn.
True Media has hired Chris Evans as associate media director. Before
joining True Media, Evans was a media supervisor at Starcom MediaVest
Group, where he developed media plans for national and regional
accounts including Hummer, Cadillac, Pontiac and Goodwrench.
Promotions , Appointments
Wagner
Thompson
Robert J. Wagner, chief executive oficer of the Columbia Insurance
Group, has become the board chairman. Wagner, who will continue to
be the CEO of the 135-year-old company, has served on the board since
1985. He began his career at Columbia Insurance Group in 1971 as an
administrative assistant. Wagner also is vice chair of the board of directors for REDI Inc. Joe Scallorns has retired as chairman of the board of
directors after nearly 24 years of service. Scallorns also was chairman,
president and CEO of Farmers & Traders Bank in California, Mo.
Gary Thompson, executive vice president and chief operating oficer
at the Columbia Insurance Group, has been promoted to president.
Thompson also has been appointed to the board of directors. He joined
Columbia Insurance Group in 1989 as a vice president of reinsurance
operations.
Gina Boone, vice president and general counsel, has been promoted
to corporate secretary of the Columbia Insurance Group. Before joining
the company, Boone served as assistant vice president and general
counsel for a regional property and casualty company in Texas.
Bob Gerding has been appointed as vice chair and lead independent
director for the Columbia Insurance Group board of directors. Gerding
is a partner of Gerding, Korte & Chitwood CPAs.
Citizen of the Year
The Columbia Chamber of Commerce presented its 2009 Outstanding
Citizen Award to Lynda Baumgartner, co-owner of Image Technologies
of Missouri. This award recognizes a resident who has made a signiicant contribution to the community. Baumgartner spent 20 years as a
special education teacher in Columbia Public Schools. She has co-owned
the ofice equipment company since 1994. She also served for 24 years in
the U.S. Army Reserves. This year, she went on a mission trip to a village
in Malawi, Africa, to assist women and teach children.
Certiications
Caroline Andriano became certiied as a senior professional in
human resources by the HR Certiication Institute. Andriano is a human
resources manager for Alliance Water Resources Inc.
Boyce and Bynum Pathology Laboratories received the
Commission on Laboratory Accreditation from the College of American
Pathologists.
The Association of Collegiate Conference and Event Directors presented the One-Stop Shop certiication to the MU Conference Ofice,
part of MU Extension. This certiication is held by 42 colleges and universities that provide an effective planning atmosphere to stage a collegiate conference or event.
Departures
David A. White III, resigned as the executive director of the Missouri
Theatre Center for the Arts effective June 1. Kanani May, director of
public relations and marketing for the theatre and the symphony, will be
the interim executive director during the search for a new director.
Pamela Benoit has been hired as the executive vice president and
provost for Ohio University in Athens. Since 2006, Benoit served as
the MU vice provost for advanced studies and dean of the Graduate
School.
Appointments
Samuel T. Bennett, a partner at the Harrison Agency, has joined the
national faculty of The Society of Certiied Insurance Counselors.
The Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation has added Lili Vianello
to the 2009 class representing the Greater Missouri Region-Central.
Vianello is the owner and president of Visionworks Marketing &
Communications. v
5
By Jason Rosenbaum
Rep. Chris Kelly could have saved a few
bucks on his phone bill if he’d just been prescient
enough to add several members of the Boone
County legislative delegation to his calling plan
before the session started.
Kelly, D-Columbia, said he had the numbers
of Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, and Sen. Kurt
Schaefer, R-Columbia, on speed dial during the
2009 legislative session. It wasn’t about friendship; it was about necessity as the three worked
together on a slew of bills favorable to Boone
County.
“We talked I bet a dozen times,” Kelly said.
“One of the three of us would call the other one
and say, ‘Oops, ‘X’ happened.
What do we do now?’ And then
we igured it out, and then we’d
do something.”
Legislators who represent
Boone County seemed to work
in concert this session and across
party lines. While they did not
pass everything on their agenda,
lawmakers say their close
working relationship played a
big role in nabbing funding for
building the Ellis Fischel Cancer
Center in Columbia.
It wasn’t always this way.
Local lawmakers, for instance,
were ultimately divided on
a plan to use assets from the
Missouri
Higher
Education
Loan Authority for capital
improvement projects. The plan
originally included money for a
Health Sciences Center but later
was altered to pay for the $31.2
million cancer center.
After the 2008 election cycle,
the delegation changed dramatically. Kelly and Schaefer
ousted two incumbent legislators. And Reps. Stephen Webber,
D-Columbia, and Mary Still,
D-Columbia, won primaries
to replace two lawmakers who
chose to run for statewide ofice.
Rep. Paul Quinn – a Democrat
from Monroe City who represents portions of northern Boone
County – said the inlux of new
members made a fresh start possible.
“I think we worked well together,” Quinn
said. “All of them came aboard and wanted to
work together. You’ve seen a lot of cooperation
between us. We talked together, reached out a lot
to make sure we were on the same page. And it
was a good year.”
Schaefer, Hobbs and Kelly ultimately struck
an alliance that ended up paying dividends as
the session went forward.
One example of this working relationship
could be seen in the handling of a bonding bill
aimed at creating capital improvement projects
at colleges and universities. After Kelly introduced the bill, Hobbs quickly passed it out of a
committee that he chaired. When it passed out
of the House, Schaefer handled the measure on
the Senate loor.
That reciprocity extended to other issues.
Kelly and Schaefer both sponsored legislation
that would allow the city of Ashland to establish
a tax to build a hotel, as well as a bill to hand
over the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center to
the University of Missouri.
The mental health center bill ultimately was
sent to the governor, but the other two bills failed
to pass. Kelly said work throughout the session
made a big difference when an appropriations
bill funding myriad projects with federal stimulus money came up for the debate.
“It’s like an inield,” Kelly said in May. “When
that shortstop knows where he’s throwing
the ball, he knows the other guy is going to be
there.”
The appropriations bill allocated hundreds
of millions of dollars in stimulus money to the
state for a variety of projects, including a statewide police communications system, St. Louis’
METRO transportation system
and the state’s public defender
system. With MOHELA suffering
from inancial woes, lawmakers
decided to infuse stimulus cash
to fund remaining projects –
including the Ellis Fischel Cancer
Center.
While the bill navigated a
somewhat treacherous legislative path, it managed to pass a
day before a mandatory deadline
to pass legislation dealing with
the budget. Kelly said Hobbs,
Webber and Still all worked hard
to keep the stimulus bill alive
Schaefer after some bumps in the legislative road.
Schaefer credited an open line
of communication among Boone
County lawmakers with keeping
the University of Missourirelated programs on track.
“When things come together
in this building, it tends to happen
very fast,” Schaefer said in May.
“And if you don’t have everything lined up and everybody’s
not communicating, you’ve
missed that opportunity. The
opportunity usually comes and
goes very quickly. And I think
it’s a testament to the fact that in
addition to working very hard,
we all kept in communication.”
Several other factors conKelly
tributed to Boone County lawmakers’ achievements.
It helped, for instance, that all three lawmakers are members of a budget-writing committee. Kelly – who served as budget chair
during a prior legislative stint – served as the
ranking Democratic member of the House
Budget Committee.
In addition to being a member of the Budget
Committee, Hobbs is close to House Speaker
Ron Richard – a Joplin Republican who has a
powerful inluence over legislation. Freshman
Still previously served as an aide to Gov. Jay
Nixon when he was attorney general and to
former Gov. Bob Holden.
Many of the candidates – such as Kelly and
Schaefer – campaigned last year on working
with the opposition to get things done. Kelly
even drew lak from his Democratic colleagues
for voting with Republicans on some issues.
The lack of political competition also could
have played a role, especially in a legislature
where House members eye a jump to a Senate
seat. Kelly has said repeatedly he has no interest
in running against Schaefer. Quinn and Hobbs
Boone County delegation makes nice
6
BUSINESS PROFILE | THE INSURANCE GROUP
From left, Charlie Digges Jr. and Charlie Digges Sr.
Insurance Group a Columbia mainstay
By Sean Spence
The Insurance Group traces its business back
more than 100 years, and partner Charlie Digges
Jr. said one key to the company’s longevity is its
ability to keep up with the changes in Columbia’s
commerce.
“As a result of that, we’ve got to be more
aware of exactly what kinds of businesses are
here and what they do,” Digges said.
The lineage of The Insurance Group is easy to
trace. The company has had a Charlie Digges in
leadership, either father or son, since 1946.
The insurance company started in 1922 as
Rollins & Rollins, a family that included James S.
Rollins, commonly referred to as the “Father of
the University of Missouri.” The company also
bought the Columbia Insurance Co., an agency
founded in 1898.
Charlie Digges Sr. would join Rollins &
Rollins two decades after its formation.
“I got out of the University in 1940, and, for
a short time, I went with a life insurance company,” Digges said. “Then World War II came
along, and so I went and served.”
Digges returned to Columbia in 1946, a
27-year-old ighter pilot looking to build his
post-war future. The company, then Rollins &
Vandiver, hired Digges to help with its growing
insurance practice. With Digges joining the team,
the company had just three employees.
In 1950, Digges was called back into action
in the Korean War. Upon his return in 1952, the
Charlie Digges Sr.
Charlie Digges Jr.
company was rechristened Rollins, Vandiver &
Digges. Digges stayed with the company until
his retirement in 1992.
Another major change came in 1971, with the
addition of partner Skip Grossnickle, who leads
the irm today with Charlie Digges Jr.
The junior Digges entered the picture when
he was still in high school, working part time
in the irm for spending money. Then there was
college at MU, six years of service as a ighter
pilot in the Air Force (following in his father’s
footsteps) and several years as an airline pilot.
In 1979, Digges was visiting Columbia for
Christmas when he got a life-changing phone
call: “Interestingly, not my father, but Mr.
Vandiver and Skip Grossnickle asked me if I
would come to the ofice one day,” Digges said.
“They asked me if I would consider coming back
to Columbia and being a partner in the insurance
agency. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I
took advantage of it.”
In 1981, Grossnickle and Charlie Digges Jr.
and Sr. partnered with Dudley and Hall Trice,
purchasing a third agency, combining all of their
operations and forming The Insurance Group.
Today, with the previous partners all retired,
Charlie Digges Jr. and Skip Grossnickle run the
company.
Charlie Digges Jr. explained The Insurance
Group as it exists today: “We are an independent
insurance agency, which means we represent a
whole lot of different companies. The idea is
that we match the company with the client to
costs, 20 percent comes from administration, and
80 percent comes from claims. The center is one
way we can work with clients to make claims
less likely or less expensive.”
Looking back, Digges Sr. said that a big part
of the company’s success relates to the partners’
commitment to getting involved in the community. Even in this, the Digges family could be seen
following in each others’ footsteps. The very irst
Charlie Digges was Digges Sr.’s father; he was
the sixth president of the city's oldest Rotary
Club, the Rotary Club of Columbia, serving from
1926 through 1927. Digges Sr. followed behind
him, as president of the same club, in 1956-1957;
and Digges Jr. likewise served in 1984-1985.
“This is important to us across the board,”
Digges Jr. said. “I think everybody in this ofice
is involved in some way or another.”
Today, The Insurance Group includes the
main ofice in Columbia and ofices in St. Louis
and Lake Ozark. The company has about 40
employees and plans to continue expanding. v
The Insurance Group
200 East Southampton Drive,
Columbia, Missouri 65203
573-875-4800
www.theinsurancegrp.com
Audrey Harned, right, works with her Personal Trainer Holly
Delgman. Trainers work with clients of The Insurance Group
to help make lifestyle adjustments to reduce claims. "Eighty
percent of insurance costs are claims, so if we can make her
claim less likely or less expensive, then we've helped her,"
said Charlie Digges Jr.
The Insurance Group Vice President Rich Miller helps a client in his ofice.
provide them with the best coverage at the most
competitive price.”
The company provides insurance products
for individual and business clients. In addition
– and this is one of the largest changes the company has seen since its inception – it manages
employee beneit programs for the businesses it
serves.
“Back in 1922, nobody did beneits,” Digges
Jr. said. “Back then, everybody just paid their
doctor with money or chickens or eggs or whatever. Since ’65, the employee beneits side has
become pretty important to employers.”
The year 1965 marked the passage of the
federal Medicare program. “That’s when it all
started,” Charlie Jr. said.
The Digges said they consider their success
to hinge on personal service and their ability to
understand the nuts and bolts of how their clients function, whether dealing with individuals
or businesses. This tends to be more complicated
with business clients.
“In order to properly manage the risk of a
business, we’ve got to be able to understand
what they do and how they work,” Digges Jr.
said.
This means staying on top of a wide array
of changes in many business sectors, and being
ready to address new issues all the time. One
that has arisen over the last few years is coverage for things related to the Internet, “Cyber
Insurance.”
“A great example is that I’ve got a client who
maintains a credit card base of his clients’ credit
card numbers,” Digges Jr. said. “His fear is that
some hacker will get in there and steal those
credit card numbers. He calls me and wants to
know how he can protect his business. That’s
the kind of thing that 50 years ago we just didn’t
have.”
Digges likes to show off the company’s twostory building at the corner of South Providence
and East Southampton, which was inished in
2007. One of the most unusual features of the
ofice building is a gym and wellness center that
serves employees and customers, and which is
open to the public. It’s staffed by four certiied
exercise physiology professionals
“The whole driving force behind this is
helping clients make lifestyle adjustments that
will reduce healthcare claims,” Digges Jr. said of
Optimus, The Center for Health. “Looking at our
7
BUSINESS PROFILE | THE INSURANCE GROUP
Director of Development, MU's
Robert J. Trulaske Sr. College of Business
JOB DESCRIPTION: As Director of Development, I work closely with our alumni and constituents to keep them engaged with MU and the
Trulaske College of Business. These relationships are the foundation that allows us to secure inancial support and address the needs of our
students and the institution.
AGE: 37 YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA: Five ORIGINAL HOMETOWN: Omaha, Neb. EDUCATION: 1994 B.A. Marketing – Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: President of Stonecrest Neighborhood Association. Member of Columbia Catholic School’s 2010 Committee.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: I was hired as an admissions representative at Clarke College after graduating in 1994 and was promoted to
development oficer and then director of development before leaving in 2004 to become director of development at Trulaske.
A COLUMBIA BUSINESSPERSON I ADMIRE AND WHY: Greg Jones of Jones & Watkins LLC. As a ’92 MU alumnus, Greg and his family were integral
to our family’s decision to move to Columbia and begin working for MU. His family and friends embraced us as we settled in
Columbia and provided a welcoming and supportive atmosphere. His entrepreneurial spirit to begin a law irm took great
courage and passion, which I admire most. His involvement with local groups keeps him very engaged with the Columbia
community. As a former colleague at MU, he was very professional and respected by his peers.
WHY I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MY JOB: It’s the students. Every day I am fortunate to walk through Cornell Hall and witness
the role MU and the Business School has in our students’ lives. When we are able to establish a new scholarship,
provide funding for a program, or share ideas to perpetuate our growth, it always comes down to how it will beneit
the students. It’s a tremendous feeling to be a part of change and progress and match our vision with our donors’
intentions.
IF I WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, I WOULD… be a public address announcer for the Boston
Red Sox. I have done emcee and public address work for the past 12 years and have enjoyed it
tremendously. Last year I participated in a national contest, sponsored by Gillette, to be an
on-the-ield reporter for the World Series. I ended up as the regional champion for the
New England market and made it to the inal eight in the country. It was a
tremendous experience and one that I would love to pursue again someday
(after I retire, per my wife’s request.)
BIGGEST CAREER OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME AND HOW: Learning MU. My alma
mater had 1,100 students and 9,000 alumni. We didn’t have a Greek system
or a football team. After spending 14 years of my life in Dubuque, I had to
learn a new institution all over again.
A FAVORITE RECENT PROJECT: Last year we began a program, the ‘Mizzou
Tigers on Wall St.’ Given the economic events that unfolded, these 14
students were witnesses to a snapshot of our economic history that will
be written about in textbooks. The experience was designed to take our
business students to New York for a week-long immersion into
what it takes to get to Wall Street and be successful. The week was
illed with meetings with high-level and prominent MU alums at
major irms. At the end of the week, we arranged for our students to
participate in half-day job shadow opportunities with our alumni. Two
of the students from the trip were hired as interns (at Goldman Sachs and
Guggenheim Partners). We began new engagements that have resulted in
new donors to MU. The event was so successful that we facilitated a similar
event in Dallas this past March and are planning to return to New York this
fall.
WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PROFESSION: I love what I do. I believe we are
entering a gilded age of philanthropy; particularly in education. Over the next
decade, new ideas will be explored to help bring the real world further into the
classroom. Conversely, ideas from inside the classroom need to make it to the
street. Philanthropy transforms a good idea into a great one. Philanthropy
will give institutions and individuals the courage to dream bigger dreams.
It will create platforms for great discoveries and prepare a workforce to be
successful. Although many people say, “no,” to our proposals and ideas, it
generally means “No. Not now.”
WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Anything with my kids. Lots of tee-ball and golf these days
as the kids are entering a great age and having a lot of fun. I enjoy my friends
and a good dinner party. If we’re not hosting them, we are attending them.
FAMILY: My wife, Jen, and I have been married for 12 years. We have two children,
Cecilia, 10, and Sammy, 6. I come from a family of six (ive boys and a girl). My wife comes
from a family of six (ive girls and a boy). When I irst found this out, I told her, “You have to go on a
date with me; that’s too much of a coincidence.” Fortunately, she said yes.
FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA: For dinner, CC’s City Broiler; for lunch, Booche’s; for recreation, Daniel Boone Little
League Fields and the MKT Trail; for relaxing with friends, our cul-de-sac around the ire pit.
ACCOMPLISHMENT I’M MOST PROUD OF: Other than being a dad, this year I won an MU Excellence in Education Award.
It was in recognition for outstanding contributions to student learning. I was honored to be nominated and selected
by our students and faculty to win this award. It reminded me once again that it’s all about the students.
MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT I: Just started playing the guitar and that I was born in Okinawa, Japan, while my dad
was in the service. v
PHOTO BY JENNIFER KETTLER
Mike Haggas
9
PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
10 June 13, 2009 Columbia Business Times | ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com
VOICES
From the Roundtable
True gains of HDTV conversion may take years to sort out
Al Germond
Al Germond is the
host of the “Columbia
Business Times Sunday
Morning Roundtable”
every Sunday at 8:15
a.m. on KFRU. He can
be reached at
[email protected].
Several hundred million analog television
transmitters are now little more than scrap
material.
Television station engineers hit the "plate off"
button last Friday, severing high voltage for the
last time to powerful vacuum tubes what were
part of the mysterious process bringing television into our homes.
Every TV station across the land is supposed
to be operating digitally, their analog transmitters extinguished for good.
Television has come a long way since June
29, 1936, when NBC's W2XBS atop the Empire
State Building signed on. Viewers watched TV's
greenish images on a mirror in the lid of these
handmade receivers. The quest for improvements in TV images, though, has been an international effort. Researchers on both sides of the
Atlantic have pressed for iner resolution and
higher deinition over the years.
In 1936, Britain's BBC beat us handily with
the world's irst regular service. In 1941, the
U.S. froze deinition at 525 lines of resolution
(a larger number of lines means a higher image
deinition) and an "aspect ratio" (vertical to
horizontal image size) of 4:3; both standards
were inally abandoned just a few days ago.
There's nothing new about HDTV. The 819
line HDTV that I irst saw in Paris almost 50
years ago was impressive. After Liberation in
1944, Edward R. Murrow panicked his superiors at CBS reporting that Frenchman René
Barthélemy was demonstrating 1,000-line
HDTV in his Montrouge laboratory. Frozen at
819 lines when the Eiffel Tower station opened
on October 1, 1950, anyone who saw French
television envied the movie-like image quality.
Meanwhile, our 525 line standard was considered both good enough and too entrenched, so
we stuck with it.
The conversion to all-HDTV brings sharper
pictures, but requiring the complete reconstruction of every TV station in the land has
cost the industry billions of dollars — and it
was an unfunded federal mandate. Spurred by
Japanese competition and the desire to retain
some TV set manufacturing in the United
States, the HDTV conversion process has gone
on for decades, and poor government administration resulted in confusion.
This country's conversion to digital television has been part of a wide-ranging industrial
exercise that has seen various deadlines come
and go. The transition was supposed to take
Citizen Journalist
place in February. It's been a messy process, and
it may take years to sort out the true gains.
Digital TV requires less bandwidth due to
digital video compression. By squeezing more
channels within the same frequency band, there
are frequencies made available for other uses,
such as cell telephone transmissions.
The federal government, as it goes through
a beleaguering budgeting process, has been
deriving inancial gains by dividing up and
auctioning certain parts of the frequency
spectrum.
Most television set owners hardly noticed
the switch from analog to digital because cable
or satellite providers made the conversion.
But are we really watching HDTV? While
images look snappier on lat screens that are all
the rage and the aspect ratio goes from 4:3 to a
more theatrical 16:9, so called "high" deinition
may not be as elevated in some cases as it is in
others.
Then there is an environmental question:
How do we process the tens of millions of TV
sets headed for scrap heaps? There's lots of
nasty stuff lurking in a typical receiver, and
some municipalities charge a separate and
distinct fee to handle various curbside "gifts" of
electronics.
Columbia’s Music Men and their dysfunctional directors
Mike Martin
Martin, a Columbia
resident and science
journalist, can be
reached at Mike.
martin@weeklyscientist.
com
Missouri Theatre executive director David
White’s resignation this month under a cloud
of contractor disputes reminded me of former
superintendent Phyllis Chase’s retirement last
year from the Columbia Public Schools.
Both departures were the culmination of
controversies that might have been avoided if a
board of directors had mustered the courage to
take charge and say "No."
No, David: Given what we owe our contractors, Tony Bennett — unless he can sell out
1,200 seats at $100 a seat — is too expensive for
our opening gala. No, Phyllis: Given budget
shortfalls, we can’t afford $10 million in new
expenses.
Many local organizations — from non-proits
to government agencies — hire paid executives
who answer to unpaid directors who tend to
rubber stamp the executive for reasons that
range from expedience to keeping the peace.
The result is almost always the same: longterm dysfunction that ultimately erupts in
a high-proile departure and a storm of bad
publicity.
Secrecy and sunshine
Board dysfunction manifests in many ways.
School board observer and Acorn Books owner
Ken Green sees it in something as simple as a
seating arrangement.
“The superintendent’s central position at
the school board’s legislative table raises an
important question: Is the school board a step
up in the chain of command, in charge of the
superintendent, or not?” Green asked in a
recent editorial.
There were only three superintendents in the
50 years prior to 1993, but “six or seven” superintendents since then. Dysfunction manifests
in executive turnover, as Missourian columnist
George Kennedy noted in a January column
about the search for Chase’s successor.
Kennedy laid the blame for at least three
disastrous departures — Chase; Russell Mayo,
who left after a similar no-conidence levy
defeat; and Joel Denney, ired over allegations
of on-the-job drinking and sexual harassment
— at the doorstep of another common board
dysfunction: secrecy.
“Secrecy is a bad idea,” Kennedy noted.
“The unhappy outcomes I've recounted all
began behind closed doors.”
Speak Up, Shoot Down
Executive turnover has long vexed the
Central Missouri Humane Society, and insiders
tell me that a paralyzing fear of confrontation
is partly to blame for the society’s well-known
inancial problems.
For instance, “The board hasn’t had the guts
to stand up and insist that government agencies pay their way when they use the shelter for
animal control,” said a source close to CMHS.
“Anyone who speaks up gets shot down.
They’re too afraid to make waves.”
Getting shot down is partly what prompted
board members Steve Tatlow and Alison Martin
(my wife) to resign from the Boone County
Family Resources (BCFR) all-volunteer board
last year.
Financial and management irregularities
— including an unusually large reserve fund
and an unduly long term for board chairman
Bob Bailey — churned up a perfect public relations storm that had Bailey literally yelling at
dissident board members. “Who talked to the
papers? Don’t talk to the papers!”
News accounts had Bailey and BCFR’s
six-igure-salaried director Les Wagner telling
Tatlow that his questions about their taxpayerfunded operation were “a waste of time.”
Fear of personal liability for board malfeasance drove Tatlow to the Missouri attorney
general’s ofice, which sent a letter to BCFR on
Oct. 11, 2007, that “expressed concern about the
legality of the board’s operations and raised
the possibility of a formal investigation,” the
Columbia Missourian reported.
Speaking in Tatlow’s defense during one
grueling board meeting, “Alison Martin said
she felt uncomfortable with the board,” the
Missourian reported. “I feel very intimidated,
and it really bothers me,” Martin said.
Saying it was “vital that a board member
ask critical questions,” Tatlow resigned rather
than ight an effort to dismiss him.
Karl and the King
The most high-proile example of this volunteer board-paid staffer arrangement, the
Columbia City Council, would have dissolved
in disarray years ago if not for the iron-clad
control of a nearly monarchical city manager.
The city manager doesn’t answer to the citizens, at least not directly, and with Columbia’s
extraordinary growth over the past decade,
council control is more critical than ever.
But council members are reluctant to take
charge, and it’s no wonder why. Asking questions about a staff hiring process earned Third
Ward councilman Karl Skala a threat of dismissal á la Steve Tatlow. “Not exactly what I
expect from a democracy,” Skala quipped.
True to the prevailing form, council members’ hands are tied. They aren’t paid; they
don’t have dedicated staff or ofice space; and,
with the exception of retirees or the independently wealthy, they don’t have adequate time
to scour the budget, answer staff arguments,
or grill the city manager when he oversteps
as Bill Watkins did during the Missouri State
Historical Society’s disastrous foray into eminent domain.
City View
Budget balancing act: saving money, sustaining services and planning
Adapted from the "State of the City" address
Bill Watkins
Bill Watkins is
Columbia’s city
manager.
It’s no secret that the current economy
makes it dificult for businesses to forecast
revenues and budget accordingly. Planning the
city’s 2010 budget is no different. For the irst
time since the 1980s, we must prepare a budget
based on no real growth in revenue.
I believe “sustainability” is about more than
climate control and energy. It’s about using
all of our resources more wisely and making
choices that support our future while scaling
back on those that relect our past.
I propose we sustain resources by:
• Crafting an “S.O.S.” strategy - one that
“Seeks Opportunities to Save” city resources
and use them more eficiently. Our challenge is
to ind a way to afford a new position, set eficiency benchmarks, be accountable for savings
and get a return on our investment.
• Creating an advisory task force to revise
our stormwater utility funding structure. The
current stormwater revenue system, set by
voters almost 20 years ago, is not adequate for
what we must do today and tomorrow.
• Modifying our land disturbance ordinances, based on the City Council’s speciic
guidance. The Council has been discussing
policy options for about four months. For better
or worse, I think that the unintended consequences associated with the Crosscreek Center
development at Stadium and U.S. Highway
63 will dictate our planning and development
future for many years. We’ve talked with the
Council about ways to avoid scenarios like
Crosscreek and have prepared several options.
Each option has its own set of “pros” and
“cons.”
• Continuing to update Columbia’s comprehensive development plans. The Council
has directed staff and the Planning and Zoning
Commission to make this planning very thorough and inclusive, and has decided by resolution to appoint an advisory task force.
• Implementing the demand-side management measures described in the city’s energy
integrated resources plan, or “IRP.” On its face,
this is a reasonable step. If customers use less
energy, there is less demand that our utility
has to supply. This requires up-front spending,
however, and the key is making sure that citizens and ratepayers get a return on their investment. In my book, we should not be spending
electric utility funds without expecting a return
on investment for the utility.
We are fortunate to have secured a little
more than $1 million in start-up funds available through the federal Energy Eficiency
and Conservation Block Grant. I believe we
should target four areas, including: an Energy
Star assessment of all city buildings; energyeficiency retroits for city buildings, places
where I think we should lead by
example;
a pilot project to create codes and incentives for
energy-eficient building design; and partial
funding for an “S.O.S.” coordinator, the position that will seek opportunities for savings in
city government
As we seek to maximize and conserve our
resources a little further, we need to remember
our human resources. While across-the-board
For the first time since the
1980s, we must prepare a
budget based on no real
growth in revenue.
raises probably are not in the cards this year,
one of my most important goals has been
to recruit, hire and retain the best possible
employees with the funds available. With each
retirement, however, we lose experience and
knowledge.
With that in mind, I propose the following
ideas:
• Fund a three-year talent strategy to identify up-and-coming supervisors and assure
they have the skills and attitudes needed to
make the transition;
• ask an employee committee to identify core
skills needed in our organization, and when
appropriate, help teach the next generation;
• invest, to the best of our ability, in a wide
range of training; and
• pull as much knowledge as possible from
our current workforce and preserve it as a reference for those coming up.
This is my workforce capital improvement
plan, or “talent strategy,” the guide for building
a human infrastructure for years to come. Every
year we spend considerable resources looking
at long-term capital needs. We should do likewise for our “Human Capital.”
The Council and staff must develop
stronger and more effective connections with
the community and provide new opportunities
for citizen engagement. Here are a few of my
recommendations:
• Merge functions associated with neighborhood relations and property code compliance
into a single, more eficient unit. These neighborhood-focused employees now are housed in
six departments. They do their work well but
need a stronger, continuous unity of purpose.
I’d like to provide some new organizational
and enforcement tools for them to work more
effectively with citizens and property owners.
• Support Police Chief Ken Burton in his
efforts to improve communication with citizens, strengthen neighborhood connections,
provide greater accountability and form community partnerships.
While the city’s fiscal condition
is sound, but not comfortable,
it is fair to ask why we
Columbians still prefer progress
to retrenching, as many other
communities are discussing.
• Appoint, as outlined in the community
vision plan and discussed by the Council, a
Transit Advisory Committee, modeled after
our Airport Advisory Board, to focus on bus
transportation.
By September 30, the end of our current iscal
year, we will have over $100 million in local
infrastructure projects under ongoing internal
management. This represents a commitment to
voters who approved ballot issue inancing for
roads, sewers, local streets and sidewalks, ire
and police stations, water system and ire low
upgrades, electric system improvements and
wastewater projects.
It is one of our biggest challenges to keep
these assets current and in working order.
They must be maintained if we’re going to continue to provide safe, reliable and reasonably
priced services to citizens. Council members
have consistently supported and exerted their
leadership to maintain public infrastructure,
and I can’t remember a time in my 22 years
of service when infrastructure was not on the
retreat agenda.
I recently announced the appointment of
Mike Brooks as our new Economic Development
Director and President of REDI, our regional
economic development partnership. I want
to thank Bernie Andrews, who managed REDI
throughout the organization’s restructuring. I
am pleased that Bernie will continue working to
bring projects to Columbia and Boone County
as REDI’s Executive Vice President. The REDI
team is a tremendous asset to our community,
and I appreciate all they do.
Like other communities, Columbia is
well into the shift toward a technology- and
knowledge-based economy. With our local and
regional partners, we will continue to make
long-term investments that sustain this area
for years to come. By the same token, we can’t
afford to leave behind those who are not yet
technologically prepared. Our children and
grandchildren should have the same career
opportunities here as they might ind in other
places. For that to happen, we need a diverse
economic base.
While the city’s iscal condition is sound,
but not comfortable, it is fair to ask why we
Columbians still prefer progress to retrenching,
as many other communities are discussing. On
this point, I refer to former President Harry
S Truman, who said, “I don't believe in little
plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet
a situation which we can't possibly foresee
now.”
We are very fortunate to have the community vision guiding our future, and that is
a very big plan. We’re already implementing
many of the strategies in that plan, and the
actions I have proposed to the Council take us
even further.
Why think “small” if it puts Columbia
at risk of missing opportunities? As City
Manager, it is my duty to look at the horizon,
and beyond, to advise Council members and
then implement their decisions. I will continue
to work with Council and City staff to keep you
informed as our budget process develops over
the coming months.
Send your letters and comments to CBT via our Web site, www.columbiabusinesstimes.com, by mail to
2001 Corporate Place, Columbia, MO 65202 or by e-mail to [email protected]
VOICES
Ranking Columbia’s dealeRs
#1. Joe Machens FordLincoln Mercury
1911 West Worley
www.joemachensford.com
Gary Drewing, owner
Gary Drewing, owner
New vehicle sales
Used sales
Total sales
2006: 4,428
5,065
9,493
2007: 4,054
5,048
9,102
2008: 3,539
5,282
8,821
Percent change
New sales Used sales Total sales
From 2007:
-12.7%
+4.6%
-3.1%
From 2006:
-20.1%
+4.3%
-7.1%
First Quarter total vehicle sales
2009: 1,286
2008: 2,284
First Quarter percent change from 2008: -43.7%
#3. Bob McCosh Chevrolet
1 Business Loop 70, www.bobmccoshchevrolet
New vehicle sales
Used sales
Tota
2006: 1,341
1,361
2,70
2007: 1,393
1,291
2,68
2008: 972
1,182
2,15
Percent change
New sales Used sales Tot
From 2007:
-30.2%
-8.4%
-19
From 2006:
-27.5%
-13.2%
-20
2009: 316
2008: 660
Total salesColumbia
2006: 9,493
Hyundai/Dodge
City Motors
2007: 9,102
1300 Vandiver Dr.
2008: 8,821www.columbiahyundaimo.com
Larry Estes, owners
#5 in sales
New vehicle sales 2007: 822
#2. Joe Machens Toyota-Scion
Change from 2006: +8% 63
900 Bernadette Drive, www.joemachenstoyota.com, Gary Drewing
Total vehicle sales 2007: 1,556
Change from 2006: +6%Steven
+87and Stuart Head, owners
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2006: 1,696
1,797
3,493
1st quarter 2008 total sales: 324
2007: 3,023
2,038
5,061
1st quarter change: -12% New vehicle sales
2008: 2,503
1,991
4,494
Percent change
New sales
Used sales Total sales
From 2007:
-17.2%
-2.3%
-11.2%
From 2006:
+47.6%
+10.8%
+28.7%
2009: 632
2008: 1,297
Total sales 2006: 3,493
2007: 5,061
2008: 4,494
#8. Joe Machens Automotive Group
500 Vandiver Drive, www.joemachensgm.com, Gary Drewing
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2006: 390
831
1,221
2007: 325
991
1,316
2008: 300
770
1,070
Percent change
From 2007:
-7.7%
-22.3%
-18.7%
From 2006:
-23.1%
-7.3%
-12.4%
2007: 1,316
2008: 1,070
2009: 356
2008: 280
First Quarter percent change from 2008: +27.1%
#10. Joe Machens BMW*
1510 I-70 Drive SW, www.joemachensbmw.com, Gary Drewing
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2007: 224
442
666
2008: 191
455
646
Percent change
Total sales 2007: 666
From 2007:
-14.7%
+2.9%
-3.0%
2008: 646
2009: 115
2008: 194
*missing data for 2006
Used vehicle sales
Tota
2006: 378
1,040
1,41
2007: 639
1,108
1,74
2008: 509
973
1,48
Percent change New sales Used sales Total
From 2007:
-20.3%
-12.2%
-15.2
From 2006:
+34.7%
-6.4%
+4.5%
2009: 258
2008: 430
#5. Columbia Hyundai/Dodge City Motors
1300 Vandiver Drive
www.columbiahyundaimo.com
Larry Estes, owner
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Tota
2006: 759
710
1,46
2007: 822
734
1,55
2008: 629
568
1,19
Percent change
New sales Used sales Tot
From 2007:
-23.5%
-22.6%
-23
From 2006:
-17.1%
-20.0%
-18
2009: 172
2008: 324
ships
t.com, Bob McCosh, owner
al sales
02
84
54
tal sales
9.7%
0.3%
*Joe Machens BMW data unavailable
2007: 2,684
2008: 2,154
%
#4. Head Motor Company
Kia Motor Dealer
710 Business Loop 70 W.
www.headmotorcompany.com
Steven and Stuart Head, owners
#6. University Chrysler Center Chrysler Jeep Subaru
1200 I-70 Drive, www.universitychrysler.com, Dan Burks and Dave Drane, owners
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2006: 396
609
1,005
2007: 433
716
1,149
2008: 418
708
1,126
Percent change
From 2007:
-3.5%
-1.1%
-2.0%
From 2006:
+5.6%
+16.3%
+12.0%
2009: 195
2008: 314
2007: 1,149
2008: 1,126
#7. Perry Nissan
201 Nebraska Ave., www.perrynissan.com, Justin Perry, owner
al vehicle sales
18
47
82
l sales
2%
2007: 1,747
%
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2006: 284
365
649
2007: 606
585
1,191
2008: 614
504
1,118
Percent change
From 2007:
+1.3%
-13.8%
-6.1%
From 2006:
+116.2%
+38.1%
+72.3%
2009: 114
2008: 297
2007: 1,191
2008: 1,118
2008: 1,482
#9. Albert Buick Honda GMC
1717 N. Providence, www.albertmotors.com, Don Albert, owner
%
2007: 1,556
2008: 1,197
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2006: 913
563
1,476
2007: 774
423
1,197
2008: 660
350
1,010
Percent change
From 2007:
-14.7%
-17.3%
-15.6%
From 2006:
-27.7%
-37.8%
-31.6%
2009: 200
2008: 244
2007: 1,197
2008: 1,010
#11. Lou Fusz Saturn of Columbia
1310 Vandiver Drive, saturnc.fusz.com, Lou Fusz, owner
al vehicle sales
69
56
97
tal sales
3.1%
8.5%
%
Columbia
Dealerships
Total Sales
First Quarter 2008: 6,428
First Quarter 2009: 3,678
First Quarter change: -42.8%
2008: 23,545
2007: 26,150
One year change: -9.96%
2006*: 23,423
Larry Estes, owner
New vehicle sales
Used vehicle sales
Total vehicle sales
2006: 188
309
497
2007: 223
258
481
2008: 161
266
427
Percent change
From 2007:
-27.8%
+3.1%
-11.2%
From 2006:
-14.4%
-13.9%
-14.1%
2009: 34
2008: 104
2007: 481
2008: 427
Source: Missouri Department of Revenue
SPECIAL SECTION | AUTOMOTIVE
Chrysler ... continued from Page 1
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www.rickman.info
Then, on May 14, exactly 20 years from the
day that Dodge City Motors opened, Estes got
The Call.
A Chrysler representative informed him that
the Big Three automaker was taking away his
Dodge franchise. He was one of 27 dealers in
Missouri and 789 dealers in the United States
whose contracts were terminated as of June 9.
“They told me, since I hadn’t done what they
wanted me to do and the other folks had agreed
to everything, they had decided to take away the
Dodge vehicles,” Estes said.
Despite objections from several hundred
dealers, not including Estes, a U.S. Bankruptcy
Court judge in New York on June 1 approved
the government’s plan for reorganizing Chrysler
and selling 20 percent of its assets to the Italian
carmaker Fiat. The Supreme court declined to
hear the appeal. With this last obstacle resolved,
Chrysler signed the documents with Fiat on June
10 and exited from bankruptcy.
Following the Chrysler developments closely,
Estes knew that he should prepare for the worst.
About a year ago, he took out his business account money from Chrysler and started to cut
down expenses such as advertising purchases.
“I used to be a real heavy player with Chrysler
credit,” he said. “I believe in participating in the
factory and programs, in its capital and inance.
I quit doing that over a year ago, and that saved
me a lot of money.”
In October 2008, not long after Estes sold his
stock, a proposed merger with General Motors
failed, and Chrysler announced a 25 percent cut
in its work force. The next month came the news
that Chrysler sales in the U.S. market had plum-
Rick Brogan, right, shares a laugh with Patricia Vanatter
who just bought a Dodge Charger.
meted 35 percent in only 12 months, and its CEO
said the company could only remain viable by
forming an alliance with another automaker and
receiving government assistance.
“What I really feel sorry for,” Estes said, “is
the moms and dads who have invested years
and years of their money in Chrysler stock and
General Motors stock, and now it’s worthless.
But, the big guys got taken care of. The little
guys were out millions and millions of retirement, savings accounts.”
At the beginning of the year, Estes predicted the total sales for 2009 would be about 850
Dodge and Hyundai vehicles, but without the
Dodge cars and trucks, he said the total sales
will probably end up around 700 vehicles.
In the irst quarter of this year, Dodge City
Motors sold 172 vehicles compared with 324 in
the irst quarter of 2008, a decrease of 46.9 percent, according to state Department of Revenue
data. The national Chrysler sales for May
showed a similar change, a 49.6 percent sales
drop compared to May 2008, according to Motor
Intelligence.
Estes said he was expecting Chrysler’s downfall, and signed an agreement with the Indian
manufacturer Mahindra to start selling its diesel
pickup trucks.
“It’s like the grocery store,” Estes said. “If
you lose a certain type of bread, you replace it
with another type. But, you are still in business.
That is exactly what I did.”
“Unlike Chrysler, I know how to cut back expenses,” Estes added. “You don’t have to have a
seven-course meal every evening. You may want
to get a sandwich. That’s cutting expenses.”
Estes said there’s no question he’ll continue
selling Hyundai vehicles, which usually account
for about half of the total car sales. When gas
prices increased this past year, Hyundai car sales
outnumbered the Dodge car sales.
“Last summer, when gas prices were $3 to $4,
I couldn’t keep Hyundais on the lot. I could keep
Dodges on the lot, though,” he said.
The Dodge City Motors sign and the Dodge
signs with the ram’s head logo signs will have to
come down, and the name of the dealership will
soon be changing on everything from the Web
site to the invoices.
“It would most likely be Estes Motors, but
a name change is nothing,” he said. “You don’t
change the corporation. You don’t change the
people. You don’t change anything.”
After the closing notiication, Estes had about
100 Dodge vehicles left to sell in less than a
month. In two weeks, he managed to sell 50 of
them to customers and the rest to other dealers
in Missouri.
Estes, who has 45 employees, said that, because he cut expenses, he didn’t have to lay
off any staff or service department workers.
However, he usually has about 15 sales people,
and that number is down to nine.
“Some people, who don’t make enough sales
to make a living, choose to ind a different job,”
he said.
Overall, Estes said he will be ine without
Chrysler. “The factory wanted me to sign papers stating they were going to redistribute the
vehicles, but I did not need their help.”
In fact, Estes said Chrysler tended to cause
problems rather than solve them.
In December 1986, Chrysler asked Estes to
build a new Dodge franchise and take on a partner at University Chrysler. He ended up selling
University Chrysler and taking on the Hyundai
franchise.
Three years ago, Chrysler approached Estes
again, asking him to remove his Hyundai franchise and to negotiate a merger with University
Chrysler. He refused.
As a result of closing Estes’ Dodge franchise,
no Dodge vehicles will be sold in Columbia.
University Chrysler owners Dan Burks and
Dave Drane said they would not be surprised
if Chrysler asks them to start selling Dodge vehicles in Columbia. They already own a Dodge
franchise, Capitol City Chrysler, in Jefferson
City.
Estes was supposed to get the irst shipment of 20 to 30 Mahindra trucks in April, but
Mahindra delayed its distribution until the end
of the year so it could do more durability testing.
The company decided to test-drive 25 trucks for
3.2 million miles on U.S. roads.
Mahindra’s diesel pick-up trucks can carry
1.5 tons and pull up to three tons while getting 30
to 40 miles a gallon. The price range is between
$18,000 and $24,000, which is less than the Dodge trucks’ price
range of $25,000 to $55,000, Estes said.
The trucks are built to meet the speciications for the 2015 environmental requirements, but they are yet to be approved by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
As of now, Estes is the only dealer in Columbia planning to
offer the pick-up trucks.
Dodge City Motors’ service department will also be undergoing a change. It will soon become a diesel-certiied service center
for all types of vehicle makes. Dodge owners, too, can come in
for oil changes and other vehicle maintenance. But, for Chrysler
warranty repairs the dealership will only be allowed to arrange
transport to the nearest Dodge dealership or auto shop. v
Car market ... continued from Page 1
Joe Machens Ford-Lincoln Mercury had double-digit irstquarter decline, although its sales fell only 3 percent in 2008 compared with 2007, and Joe Machens BMW had similar statistics. Joe
Machens Toyota-Scion had a steep irst quarter decline, but sales
in 2008 were 29 percent higher than in 2006.
One bright spot was at Joe Machens Automotive Group, the
Legend dealership Drewing bought last year from Richard Vairo
that sells the Mazda, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Pontiac brands.
The irst quarter sales were up 27 percent, and Drewing said the
dealership “had a good month in May.”
(The other recent ownership change was Bob McCosh’s purchase of the Chevrolet dealership from Justin Perry. McCosh, who
has run the dealership for years and previously had a minority
share, declined to be interviewed about his business and the impact of the GM bankruptcy.)
Drewing is nearly inished with the expansion of BMW to a lot
across the street where the Wilson’s landscaping and garden store
used to be located. The construction of the Toyota dealership at
the Crosscreek Center on U.S. Highway 63 and Stadium Blvd. has
been delayed, but Drewing said the civil engineering at the site is
under way and the groundbreaking will take place next year. He
still hopes to add a Lexus franchise there.
Drewing said 40 to 50 people will be hired when the new dealership opens.
“The landscape of the car market a year from now will be very
different,” Drewing said. “We’re very excited about it, although
there are challenges ahead.”
Don Brown, owner of Midwest Brokerage in St. Louis, said the
industry is “in uncharted waters.” He’s been involved with the
buying and selling of automotive dealerships for more than 20
years and was in the car business in Jefferson City and Columbia
for more than a decade.
“When all this shakes out, dealerships in larger markets will
be more valuable,” Brown said. “There will be fewer players to
divide up the pie and more opportunities for good operators.”
Nationally, hundreds of car dealerships have closed in the past
year. Chrysler trimmed its dealerships by about 800 in June, and
GM plans to reduce its dealerships from about 6,000 to 3,500 by
the end of 2010.
But Columbia’s dealerships are diversiied – most have a combination of U.S. and Asian brands -- and none have gone out of
business.
Columbia is a regional shopping center for car buyers, Brown
pointed out. “In my opinion, it’s the inest market in Columbia.”
Dealers who are doing well in this market are those with
strong used car sales and strong service and parts departments,
Brown said, naming Machens and Albert Buick Honda GMC as
two examples.
The recession caused a credit crunch, which meant that many
people who wanted to buy vehicles could not arrange inancing,
while dealerships had a tougher time inancing inventory and
getting rebates from manufacturers.
The big question is whether people will start buying cars in
numbers the dealers have been used to. Nationally, new vehicle
sales in May were down 34 percent from May 2008, which means
local sales in the second quarter could be anemic as well. v
Boone County’s favorite vehicles
MODEL
See commercial properties available throughout Missouri at
www.mo-commercial.com
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MAKE
Owned
in 2008
Owned
in 2006
Rank in
2006
1
F SERIES PICKUP
FORD
5119
4,658
1
2
CAMRY
TOYOTA
3533
3,180
2
3
ACCORD
HONDA
2648
2,525
3
4
TAURUS
FORD
2393
2,277
4
5
SILVERADO
CHEVY
2298
1,825
8
6
EXPLORER
FORD
2053
1,957
6
7
RANGER
FORD
2002
2,095
5
8
C/K SER. PICKUP
CHEVY
1877
1,941
7
9
CIVIC
HONDA
1829
1,578
9
10
COROLLA
TOYOTA
1825
1,555
10
11
RAM PICKUP
DODGE
1566
1,351
11
12
GRAND CARAVAN DODGE
1172
1,145
12
13
GRND CHEROKEE
JEEP
1077
1,017
16
14
ESCAPE
FORD
1045
672
30
15
MUSTANG
FORD
1021
920
17
16
S-10
CHEVY
1006
1,097
14
17
CAVALIER
CHEVY
1004
1,110
13
18
FOCUS
FORD
931
680
29
19
ALTIMA
NISSAN
920
735
26
20
DAKOTA PICKUP
DODGE
908
891
20
21
IMPALA
CHEVY
902
712
27
22
ESCORT
FORD
890
1,058
15
23
SUBURBAN
CHEVY
878
795
24
24
LESABRE
BUICK
877
896
19
25
TOWN&COUNTRY
CHRYSLER
843
739
25
26
GRAND AM
PONTIAC
829
862
22
27
BLAZER
CHEVY
827
865
21
28
WINDSTAR
FORD
786
912
18
29
ODYSSEY
HONDA
746
566
39
30
GALANT
MITSUBISHI
707
796
23
31
TAHOE
CHEVY
704
629
33
32
GRAND PRIX
PONTIAC
701
630
32
33
MAXIMA
NISSAN
690
696
28
34
MALIBU
CHEVY
673
599
37
35
S SERIES
SATURN
670
543
40
36
SIERRA
GMC
665
529
43
37
TACOMA
TOYOTA
654
519
45
38
SIENNA
TOYOTA
637
461
53
39
AVALON
TOYOTA
610
481
49
40
CENTURY
BUICK
592
601
36
41
CHEROKEE
JEEP
591
608
34
42
4RUNNER
TOYOTA
586
479
50
43
CR-V
HONDA
582
446
57
44
LUMINA
CHEVY
573
650
31
45
E SERIES VAN
FORD
563
606
35
46
LEGACY
SUBARU
562
505
47
47
DEVILLE
CADILLAC
543
596
38
48
SENTRA
NISSAN
539
533
42
49
MAZDA6
MAZDA
525
527
44
50
CARAVAN
DODGE
517
538
41
Vehicle ownership
trends
The CBT used Boone County
personal property tax records to
analyze vehicle ownership trends
from 2006 to 2008. Some highlights:
• The Ford F-Series pickup remains
the most popular vehicle. The
Toyota Camry, Honda Accord
and Ford Taurus held the second
through fourth spots. The most
popular SUV is the Ford Explorer,
and the most popular van is the
Dodge Grand Caravan.
• The Ford Escape (14), moved the
fastest up county rankings from
2006.
• The 10 most popular models in
2008, in order: Ford Escape,
Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry,
Ford F-Series pickup, Nissan
Altima, Chevy Silverado, Toyota
Highlander, Toyota Prius, Subaru
Legacy and Chevy Impala.
• Two Ford vans, Windstar and
E-Series, dropped 10 spots
in 2008 rankings. Ford had a
5-percent growth increase from
2006.
• Mitsubishi ownership dropped 5.6
percent, the biggest decrease
among the car companies.
• Although Kia and Hyundai have
the largest percentage growth
in ownership from 2006 to 2008
(47 percent and 38 percent
respectively), they did not make
the county’s top 50 vehicles. The
rest of the top 10 companies in
ownership growth are: Chrysler
(32 percent), BMW (26 percent),
Toyota (21 percent), Lexus (20
percent), Audi (20 percent), Honda
(16 percent), Suzuki (16 percent)
and Subaru (14 percent).
• Nationally Toyota in 2008 took
over General Motors’ No. 1 spot
in vehicle sales, but in Boone
County the top three in order are:
GM, Ford and Chrysler. Toyota is
fourth.
• American models make up 66
percent of all vehicles, a one
percent decrease from 2006.
• About 52 percent of Boone
County residents own cars while
22 percent of them own trucks.
Also, four out of the top 10
vehicles are trucks.
• Top 10 companies that
experienced the largest ownership
growth from 2001 to 2008, in
order: Kia (376 percent), Lexus
(235 percent), Hyundai (207
percent), Ininiti (142 percent),
Suzuki (140 percent), BMW (97
percent), Subaru (94 percent),
Saturn (92 percent), Chrysler (91
percent) and Toyota (53 percent). v
IN PRINT
Tech Sessions » Jonathan Sessions
Test driving a smart car
Last week, I noticed in the lot of Joe Machens Ford one of those Smart cars I keep seeing downtown. The bright yellow car parked on the corner was hard to miss. Being an eco-friendly city driver
and intrigued by new technology, I decided to check it out.
Eating sunlower seeds at the corner of the building was salesman Willis Robb. I asked Robb
about the little electric deal on the corner of the lot, and he surprised me: It’s gasoline-powered.
Instantly fascinated, I had to take a closer look.
The car, manufactured by a
subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz,
runs on unleaded gasoline —
nothing else. Under the hood is
a 1-liter, 3-cylinder engine (that
means John Deere has a lawn
mower with a larger engine).
But even with the small engine,
the car has a surprising 70 horsepower (the 2009 Corolla has 132)
and an EPA rating of 33 miles
per gallon in the city (41 on the
highway).
The smart Fortwo holds as
many passengers as its name in
surprising comfort. Each door
Fortwo
is almost the entire length of the
car, so getting in and out is easy. There’s a lot of leg room, and the seat its my six-foot frame with
room to spare. In fact, there’s so much space the cup holders at the front of the center console seem too
far away. I like my coffee close.
But how does it drive? The folks at Joe Machens Ford lent me the car for the afternoon so I could
run a couple errands.
Having never driven the Fortwo before, there was a moment at the beginning where I felt defeated. After a couple of minutes trying to ind the ignition around the steering column, I inally located
it clear-as-day on the top of the center console, between the seats (I’ll be honest; I actually got out of
the car and got back in before inding it).
After a smooth start, the windshield wipers took off full speed. It took me another few minutes
to igure out how to get those turned off. It turns out that off is the second position in the range of
motion. I understand that style is common in cars, but it was new to me.
Once I igured out where everything was and how it worked, I put the car in drive and took off.
Like many cars, the Fortwo has an automatic manual transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel. It’s like a manual without the risk of stalling. While starting out, I left the car in automatic as
I got a feel for it.
Shifting is more like a multiple-speed bicycle than a typical manual transmission in which you
use your feet to alternately push the clutch and the gas pedals and risk stalling. The computer can
handle shifting for you, or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel can be used to make the process
more manual, but the computer still handles the clutch. When starting out, I put the car in full shifting automation to get a feel for it.
Coming from a Camry (and a Park Avenue before that), the Fortwo felt a little jerky. It stops very
quickly, and I felt the road more than I’m used to. There is a lot of road noise, but with its small size,
that’s not surprising.
My biggest issue was with the automated shifting. In low gears the car would lay down. Until
the 3-4 transition, the car practically stopped accelerating at every shift. This became a concern
while trying to make a right turn into trafic on Stadium. It also made for an extra jerky ride. Putting
the car into manual shifting made a difference. Once I got a feel for the car and the two paddle shifters, shifting was easy, and the ride much smoother.
In general, the car was quite responsive and handled very well. I was able to pull out of a parallel parking space without backing up. In the 40-50 mph range, the car zipped along in trafic with
ease.
I drove it all the way out to Lemone Industrial Boulevard to pick up a package from FedEx
Ground. On the way out, Grindstone parkway was smooth and easy.
The storage is limited; the medium-size box I picked up from FedEx practically illed the trunk,
and I doubt I could it most of my tools in there.
On the way back, I took U.S. Highway 63 to Interstate 70. The Fortwo kept up and easily reached
a speed of 70 mph. But the car is light, so I was concerned about drafts from large trucks passing. In
the end, the worst problem was the wind as I drove over the bridge on Highway 63 at the Stadium
exit. It took a lot of energy to keep from being pushed around.
Overall, I enjoyed the car. It gets good gas mileage, is easy to park and very affordable (under
$17,000). Obviously, it’s not a family car, and it’s not designed for long distances. Its attraction is for
the city dweller who wants an in-city, supplemental vehicle that can be parked anywhere. v
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NEW BUSINESS UPDATE
Alex Inneco recently opened Carpe Diem. “I hope the space will act as an umbrella for art and artist,” Inneco said.
Carpe Diem
807 Locust St., Owner: Alex Inneco, 573-268-5989
Alex Inneco, the music director for the Missouri United Methodist Church, hopes the cultural
center he’s opened downtown called Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) will bring together artists and
develop the local cultural community.
Inneco, a Brazilian native, completed his master’s degree in conducting at the University of
Missouri. After running a similar cultural center in Brazil for ive years, he decided Columbia was
ready for a similar operation.
“Five or six years ago, I started the concert series at the church, and we outgrew the parlor space,”
he said. “All concerts were sold out, so I decided it was time to branch out.”
Inneco is teaching music and opera history classes in the tiny three-room building. There are
voice, string and piano teachers available as well. Students can sign up on Carpe Diem’s Web site,
www.carpediemcolumbia.com, and walk-ins are welcome. The cost for a class is $59 a month.
“I want to make sure that people understand that classical music is as fun as any other kind of
entertainment,” Inneco said. “You just need to understand a little about it, so I’m trying to bridge
that gap. I want people see this space as a mini concert hall, a very intimate space where people can
get close to the artist.”
Inneco will exhibit art and also will host an evening Sunday Soiree with live music. v
NEWLy opENEd BUSINESSES
Sweetooth Bakery, LLC
Grand opening: June 15
Renae Nicholes
573-474-0781
5695 Clark Lane., Ste. A
Bakery
Taxi Terry’s
Date opened: April 21
(Grand opening June 16)
Angie Nickerson
573-441-1414
275 E Daniel St.
Taxi, transportation
Parkside Skateshop
Date opened: March 1
(grand opening June 20)
Chris Bailey
573-447-5283
1614 Business Loop 70
Retail, skateboards
NEW BUSINESS LICENSES
Amy Cafer Physical
Therapy LLC
Amy Rebecca Cafer
573-447-0212
2011 Chapel Plaza Court,
Ste. 107
Physical therapy
Boone County National
Bank
Boone County National
573-817-8100
205 S. Keene St.
Bank
Clear Mobile Media Inc.
Tim Worstell
800-778-3570
3610 Buttonwood Drive
Mobile marketing
company
Dress 4 Success
Pamela Lynn Dampier
573-449-6796
1205 Range Line St., Ste. A
Retail clothing
Hardee’s #423
Rising Stars LLC
573-442-3198
200 S. Providence Road
Fast food restaurant
Gallaher Insurance Group
Gallaher Insurance Group
LLC
573-449-7283
300 E. Broadway
Insurance agency
Harmony’s Treasure Box
Julean Evans
573-881-4889
601 W. Business Loop 70,
Ste. 262
Retail clothing
Girl Boutique
Danelle Enterprises LLC
573-442-7003
1100 Club Village Drive,
Ste. 106
Women’s retail clothing,
jewelry, bags, accessories
Hulett House Gym
Robert Lee Hulett
573-424-5744
128 E. Nifong Blvd, Apt. A
MMA ight club training
NEW BUSINESS PAGE SPONSORED BY:
Kabuki Japanese Steak
House
WF International LLC
573-442-9996
1000 I-70 Drive Southwest
Japanese steak house
KC Insurance
KCII Insure Services LLC
573-817-2242
206 Austin Ave., Ste. B
Insurance agency
Midwest Environmental
Lindsey R Henry
573-636-9454
1123 Wilkes Blvd., Ste. 220
Environmental consulting
engineer
NEW BUSINESS UPDATE
Natasha Hongsuwan
Belle
22 S. Ninth St., Owner: Natasha Hongsuwan, 573-442-5656
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
While getting her degree in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri, Natasha
Hongsuwan felt frustrated by having to travel outside Columbia to shop for the clothes she likes to
wear.
In her junior year, the California native decided to follow her passion for fashion, and on May 24
she opened a boutique downtown called “Belle.”
“In California they already have stores like this,” Hongsuwan. Most of my store has a West Coast
inluence, and Columbia didn’t have anything like this—so I thought it would be great,” reports
Hongsuwan.
The women’s clothing store is located at 22 S. Ninth St. next to Lakota café.
“Business has been really well,” Hongsuwan said. “I thought it would be quiet in the summer
with the students not being here, but we always have people coming in and out.”
The boutique is located near several clothing stores primarily geared toward young women, including Britches down the street and Elly’s Couture, Envy and Swank on Broadway. “Even though
there are other boutiques downtown, I feel like we are working together to keep shoppers downtown by providing multiple places to go instead of going to the mall,” Hongsuwan said. “We all sell
different brands, so I don’t feel like we’re competing.”
“We don’t have a high mark-up because we want to make it affordable so more girls can wear
what we have,” Hongsuwan said. “I love to go out and see a lot of girls who are wearing the clothes.
It just makes me happy.”
When she graduates next year, Hongsuwan said she plans to look for a job and keep the boutique.
“I cannot pick one; I love both.” v
NEW BUSINESS LICENSES
Millard Family Funeral
Home
Reid A. Millard
573-442-1712
12 E. Ash St.
Funeral home
Tucker’s Fine Jewelry
Sonya Shellene Addison
573-817-1310
100 N. Providence Road,
Ste. 103
Retail jewelry sales, jewelry
repair, appraisal
Moser’s Supermarket
Show Me Oil Company
Inc.
573-443-5480
4840 Range Line St.
Supermarket
Home Based
Business Licenses
Rainy Day Payday Loans
Big & Little LLC
573-886-9425
2716 Paris Road, Ste. 5
Installment loans
.
Tower Loan of Columbia
Tower Loan of Missouri
Inc.
573-886-2112
3200 Penn Terrace, Ste. 107
Small loan-inance
Brown and Bigelow
Promo
Edwin L. Maynard
573-443-7717
5413 Dalcross Drive
Advertising, promotional
products
H and J Service
Jack Benny Rivera-Munoz
573-447-1769
5304 Olivia Ray Drive
Lawn and building
maintenance
Hecht’s
Sandra Hecht
240-498-4860
3109 Crestwood Lane
Fashion, retail
Nichols Lawncare
Justin M. Nichols
573-489-0885
5207 Wood Shire Drive
Mowing, Landscaping
Juan Felipe Calle
Juan Felipe Calle
573-814-5429
4109 North Phoenix Road
Landscaping
SG Grass Cutting
and Snow
Stephon L Guyton
573-474-5553
2805 Skyview Road
Lawn maintenance
Lenity Lawn Care
Andrew Thomas Daro
573-301-2695
4020 Snowy Owl Drive
Lawn mowing
Matt’s Handbooks and
Kids Books
Matthew Williams
336-772-0149
1715 Rose Drive
Retail educational books
Studley Remote Computer
Management
Jeffrey Dean Studley
573-228-0035
2012 W. Ash St., Apt. J-08
Computer maintenance,
repair
Vida Graphics and
Marketing
David R Contreras
573-234-4738
3645 Evergreen Lane
Computer graphic design,
sale paper and cards
TITAN
AWARDS
2009
presented by
20 Under Forty
Winners:
The 2009
Titan Awards
Will honor local
business and civic
leaders who have
made significant
contributions to our
community in the
following categories:
EDUCATION
PHILANTHROPY
Class of 2009
Jay Alexander
Jason Becking
Brent Beshore
Clay Bethune
unveils Columbia’s first ever
TITAN Awards along with
honoring our
2009 class of 20 under 40
at the biggest event of the summer.
Jerry Dowell
Cameron Dunafon
Benjamin Gakinya
Alex George
Mike Grellner
Michelle Kemp
Todd McCubbin
Mike Messer
FINANCE
Jack Miller
David Nivens
EMPLOYMENT
DEAL MAKING
Josh Oxenhandler
Event Date: 8/6/2009
Location: The Reynolds Alumni Center
Time: 6:00-8:30 PM
Deadline to purchase tickets: 8/1/2009
Ticket Price: $30/person, $250/table of 10
Contact: Cindy Sheridan, (573-499-1830 ext. 1003) or
[email protected]
Jennifer Perlow
Kate Pitzer
David Tyson Smith
David Townsend
Lindsay Young Lopez
Sue Yun
live outside Schaefer’s senatorial district, and Webber can’t run
for the Senate in 2012 because he’ll be under 30 years old. Still
would have to give up two more terms in a Democratic-leaning
House seat to run against Schaefer.
But the good working relationship may come down to the fact
that the legislative contingent is personally close.
“You know, Chris beat my friend Ed Robb,” Hobbs said in
May, referring to the former Republican state representative from
Columbia. “And we talked when we irst got down here. And I
thought to myself, ‘Yeah, I kind of like Chris.’ And then we started
working together, and found out… when we team up, we really
get things done.”
Hobbs said he worked closely with Schaefer when the freshman senator worked for the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources.
“We’re not Republicans or Democrats. We represent Boone
County,” Hobbs added. “If we work together, we just might be
able to do something special.” v
Construction permits:
Applications issued in May for
valuations above $90,000
Alive in Christ Lutheran Church
201 W. Southampton
$888,337
Commercial addition
nonresidential
Curtiss-Manes-Schulte Inc.
2201 W. Nifong
$808,348
New commercial churches and
others
Professional Contractors & EN
901 E. Broadway
$698,295
Commercial alteration
nonresidential
Skyline Custom Homes Corp.
6503 Rippling Water
$425,000
New single family detached
Citizen Journalist ... continued from Page 10
Music Man
Speaking off the record, Missouri Theatre insiders say board
dysfunction helped build the tsunami that toppled David White.
Through force of will and a hyperactive salesmanship that
could be charming or as off-putting as the Music Man’s chicanery,
White brought the community together and pulled off a miracle:
the theater’s total restoration.
But failing to recognize that a great salesman isn’t necessarily a
great manager, his board didn’t say “no” when he needed to hear
it or “yes” when it came time to pay the bills and face the music
they all helped to create. v
Mexico Heating Co.
1104 N. Providence
$383,998
Mechanical
Pate-Jones Construction Inc.
406 Stallworth
$325,000
Pate-Jones Construction Inc.
302 Reedsport
$225,000
John Hansman Construction
6707 Chelan
$200,000
Roush Construction
4112 Doe Creek
$140,000
Advanced Millennium Builders
3203 Granite Creek
$197,000
Singleton Builders LLC
5809 Neptune
$130,000
Wilcoxson Custom Homes LLC
3409 Snow Leopard
$180,000
Home Modiication Specialists
600 Westmount
$125,000
Residential alteration repair
CDR Construction LLC
4106 Doe Creek
$169,000
JQB Construction
308 Reedsport
$120,000
Septagon Construction Co.
1600 E. Broadway
$155,127
nonresidential
JQB Construction
300 Reedsport
$110,000
Glidewell Construction Co.
901 Edgewood
$150,000
Residential addition
Missouri Farmhouse
Association Inc.
507 Kentucky
$150,000
nonresidential
File Construction LLC
4402 Orrine
$140,000
Koirtyohann Construction LLC
808 Cherry
$109,161
nonresidential
JQB Construction
212 Reedsport
$100,000
Horizon Retail Construction
2300 Bernadette
$91,826
nonresidential
CoNSTrUCTIoN PERMITS
Boone County delegation ... continued from Page 5
PUBLIC RECORD
Deeds of Trust more than $272,000
$7,400,000
BETHEL RIDGE II L P
MISSOURI HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
LT 2A BETHEL RIDGE PLAT 2
$2,000,000
THE BETA THETA PI CLUB OF
COLUMBIA MISSOURI
BOONE COUNTY NATIONAL BANK
LT 12 PT GENTRYS SUB FF PRATT’S
SUB
$1,642,115
ZUMALT PROPERTIES LLC
REGIONS BANK
LT 1 MAPLE MEADOWS SUB PLAT 1
$1,550,000
MUTUAL HOLDINGS LLC
PROVIDENCE BANK
LT 31 JOHNSON SUB
$1,200,000
COLUMBIA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
INC
LANDMARK BANK
LT 1 SCHEULEN ACRES
$348,000
SCOTT, TODD D
MID AMERICA MORTGAGE
SERVICES INC
LT 354 THORNBROOK PLAT NO 11
$323,135
SRINIVASAN, BHARATH &
MANJULA
THE CALLAWAY BANK
LT 506 SMITHTON RIDGE PLAT 5
$317,000
KITE, SANDRA A & TROY D
MID AMERICA MORTGAGE
SERVICES INC
$313,920
PETERSON, JAMES & SERENE
HAWTHORN BANK
LT 128 SPRING CREEK PLAT 1
$313,850
SMITH, DEBORAH & DEREK
WELLS FARGO BANK
LT 100 VINEYARDS PLAT NO 1
$309,700
MILBACH, NATHAN & HAWKIINS,
LAUREN
MISSOURI CREDIT UNION
LT 47 WOODRAIL SUB PLAT 4
$1,125,000
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
BUILDINGS LLC
LT 57 ROCKBRIDGE SUB REPLAT LT
34,35,52,54,55
$302,023
PETERSON, BARBARA S & ERIC J
THE CALLAWAY BANK
STR 5-48-11 /E/NE SUR BK/PG:
453/28
$641,000
D&N ENTERPRISES LLC
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
LT 9 PT FF BARKWELL’S SUB
$300,000
HECHT, BRIAN & JENNIFER
MISSOURI CREDIT UNION
$502,000
COLUMBIA INTERNAL MEDICINE
INC
LT 305 KEENE MEDICAL BUILDING
CONDOS
$300,000
MCEWAN, THOMAS W & ABIGAIL C
LANDMARK BANK
LT 62 MILL CREEK MANOR PLAT
NO 1
$500,000
JCMJ LLC
PREMIER BANK
LT 1A SUMMERFIELD SUBDIVISION
LTS 1&2
$417,000
SNIDER, DEARLD O & AMBER L
ALLIED MORTGAGE GROUP INC
LT 25 HERITAGE WOODS PLAT NO 1
$416,000
HOFFERBER, SCOTT & MARY
THE BANK OF MISSOURI
LT 178 OLD HAWTHORNE PLAT
NO 2
$300,000
WILCOXSON, DARRIN P & KARLA M
STR 30-50-13 //SW SUR BK/PG:
2613/33 AC 36.370
$295,600
LUCAS, JONATHAN A & CARRIE A
U S BANK
LT 344 CASCADES PLAT NO 3
$288,700
HANSMAN, JONATHAN G &
MONICA R
LANDMARK BANK
LT 110 BELLWOOD PLAT NO 1
$398,696
HALL, LESLIE W & ROSE ANN
U S BANK
LT 13 STRATFORD CHASE
$286,600
MEYER, GARY B & CYNTHIA L
PROVIDENT FUNDING ASSOCIATES
LP
LT 834 HIGHLANDS PLAT 8-B
$394,700
BAIRD, WILLIAM R & JEAN M
BUSEY BANK
LT 126B VILLAS AT OLD
HAWTHORNE PLAT 1
$278,400
HOOD, BRAD & DEANA
HAWTHORN BANK
STR 16-47-12 /SE/NE SUR BK/PG:
823/211 FF TRACT 1
$372,200
GABRIELSON, JONATHAN P &
ANDREA L
STIFEL BANK & TRUST
LT 7A PL 1 Plt Bk/Pg: 2753/81 FF
BROOKFIELD ESTATE
$276,720
ZWEIFEL, CHARLES CLINTON &
SMITH, JANICE MARIE
PULASKI BANK
LT 20 CIMARRON ESTATES
$359,910
POWERS, RICHARD B & JULIE A
UMB BANK
LT 315 CASCADES PLAT NO 3
$351,000
GRAHAM, RICHARD F & SALLY RAE
JEFFERSON BANK OF MISSOURI
LT 21 CHAMPETRA LAKE NORTH
SHORE #2
$272,000
SEDA, MICHAEL J & JULIE S
U S BANK
LT 137 BELLWOOD PLAT NO 1
$272,000
HAMMANN, KENNETH R & CAROL
SUE
HAWTHORN BANK
LT 113B VILLAS AT OLD
HAWTHORNE PLAT 1
Previews and reviews of mid-Missouri events
By the staff of Event Solutions, www.eventsolutionsllc.com
Event Marketing Myths
Using events as marketing and promotional tools is undoubtedly one of the more effective ways to create brand awareness and maintain brand loyalty. Unfortunately, when the
economy took a downturn, the irst item in marketing budgets to get the ax often was eventmarketing. However, corporate and promotional events do not have to break the bank to
make the impact your company needs. Let’s dispel some of the myths surrounding event
marketing in the current economy.
Myth #1: Events have to be extravagant. Promotional events do not have to be the epitome
of pomp and circumstance to make an impact on the target audience. Events that fulill a speciic community or individual need are memorable and can be inexpensive.
Myth #2: Marketing is important, but not a necessity. Many companies are trying to cut
costs, and, in their efforts to do so, they think marketing can be put on hold. Brand position is
constantly luctuating, and removing your company from the running can be devastating.
Myth #3: What is important to my company will draw my target audience. We are all
guilty of thinking our interests are the most important, but, frankly, in a consumer driven
economy, that just isn’t the case. Be sure that the draw to your event is focused on your target
audience, but still within your company’s mission.
Myth #4: Once the event is over, the work is over. One of the biggest mistakes a company
can make is failing to follow up. Quantifying and measuring the success of an event is dificult, but far from impossible. Incorporating measurement opportunities into your event takes
creativity and inesse.
Cherry Hill Summerfest and Art Show 2008
PREVIEW
Cherry Hill Summerfest and Art Show
When: June 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Village of Cherry Hill in Columbia, MO- Corner of Scott Blvd. and Chapel Hill Road
Details: A great way to experience the Village of Cherry Hill! This family-friendly event will include face painting, festival games and clowns to entertain the kids. While the kids are busy having fun, adults can browse the many artist booths or embrace their inner child by participating in
a scavenger hunt. There will be live music performances by Lisa Rose and Hot House from 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m., and, for late afternoon enjoyment, the Ironweed Bluegrass Band will take the stage from
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. It’s guaranteed to be a fun way to enjoy your Saturday.
More Info: www.villageofcherryhill.com/Summerfest09.pdf
HIT LIST
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Columbia Pridefest: Stephens Lake Park-June 13
Juneteenth Celebration: Douglas Park-June 13
Shelter Gardens Summer Concert Series-June 21, June 28, July 12, July 19
Go Skateboarding Day: Cosmo Park-June 20
Fire in the Sky: Memorial Stadium-July 4
Off Track Events presents The 80s Run: Downtown Columbia-July 11
Time Well Spent

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