Volume 16Issue 24

June 26, 2010

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10Business ProileRost Landscaping expands vertically, adds new garden center location to its integrated landscape contracting business

CBT Q&ABob Wagner, chairman and CEO of Columbia Insurance Group, appointed to Boone Hospital Center’s board of trustees13

31Tech SessionsPatrick Hanson is off and running with new race-timing service, Ready Set Results!

See Page 21

SPECIAL SECTION

Banking/Financial Services

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From Haden Opera House to Hollywood Theaters, the city has a rich history of movie venues. Some marquees are long gone: the Airdome, Hippodrome, Elite and Star, the M Theatre and the Bijo Dream, to name a few. Several burned to the ground. The oldest survivor, the Missouri Theatre, is a itting site for a local historian’s display of downtown movie venues going back 113 years and recalling a time when businessmen often spent their lunch breaks in Columbia’s “movie palaces.”

Capturing Columbia's

Coverage begins on Page 16

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5Couples YouShould KnowBrent Beshore, Pure CEO; and Erica Beshore, Immunophotonics director of scientiic communications

Boone County National Bank .................................. 32Central Trust ............................................................ 22City Of Columbia Water & Light .............................. 13Columbia Integrated Technologies .......................... 19Columbia Reg Airport .............................................. 26Commerce Bank ...................................................... 29Delta Systems ......................................................... 21Dogwood Insurance Agency ..................................... 4GFI Digital ................................................................ 15Hawthorn Bank .......................................................... 3Integrity Home Care ................................................ 10Landmark Bank ......................................................... 2Naught Naught Insurance Agency .......................... 10Providence Bank ..................................................... 27Savant Business Development Systems ................. 24Shelter Insurance Agents .......................................... 7SOCKET .................................................................. 25Superior Garden Center/ Rost Landscape .............. 20The Callaway Bank .................................................. 11The Frame Shop ...................................................... 23The Insurance Group ................................................. 4The Vault .................................................................. 26Triangle Blueprinting ................................................ 26UMB ........................................................................ 14Vault ......................................................................... 26West Bend Mutual Insurance .................................. 12Whiskey Wild ............................................................ .6Wilkerson & Reynolds Wealth Management ........... 28

Agents National Title Insurance Company ................ 4Arable Entertainment ................................................. 5Auxiliary of the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri ......6Bank of Missouri ................................................ 21, 23The Blue Note .................................. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20Boone County National Bank ............ 4, 21, 23, 24, 25Boone Hospital Center ........................................ 1, 13Boys and Girls Club............................................... 4, 5The Callaway Bank ............................................ 21, 23Centennial Investors .................................................. 5Central Trust and Investment Company .................... 4Columbia Area Career Center ................................... 4Columbia College ...................................................... 4Columbia Insurance Group ................................. 1, 13Columbia Orthopaedic Group ................................... 6Commerce Bank ........................................................ 4D&H Drugstore .......................................................... 6The Findability Group ........................................ 26, 27First State Community Bank ................................... 22Forum ............................................ 8 16, 17, 18, 19 20Hawthorn Bank .......................................................... 4Hollywood Theaters Stadium ........ 1,14 16, 17, 18, 20Horton Animal Hospital ........................................... 15IBM ............................................................................ 6Immunophotonics.................................................. 2, 5Insight ........................................................................ 5KMOS-TV .................................................................. 4KOMU ........................................................................ 6Landmark Bank ............................................. 4, 24, 25Law Ofice of Lori J. Neidel LLC................................ 6The Learning Resources Network ............................. 4Linen King .................................................................. 6MediaCross ............................................................... 5Missouri Symphony Society ........................ 16, 17, 18Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts .... 1,16, 17, 18, 19Netlix ...................................................................... 18Noumenon Print Studio and Gallery .................... 2, 12Old Hawthorne .......................................................... 5Panera Bread Company ....................................... 1,16Peckham and Wright Architects Inc. ......................... 6Premier Bank .......................................................... 22Pure ................................................................... 2, 4, 5Ragtag Cinema ............................ 5, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19Ready Set Results! .............................................. 1, 31Rost Landscaping and Design ...................... 1, 10, 11Salt Creek Tree Farm ............................................... 10Sandler Training ....................................................... 28Simon Oswald Architects .......................................... 6Slackers ................................................................ 1,18TimeLine Recruiting ................................................... 4Tryathletics .............................................................. 31UMB Bank ................................................................. 4United Way ................................................................ 5US Bank .................................................................... 4Verity Interactive ........................................................ 5Visionworks Marketing & Communications ............. 15Voluntary Action Center ............................................ 4Walmar .................................................................... 21 Wilson’s Fitness ......................................................... 5Woodrail Bank ........................................................... 4

New Business UpdateNoumenon Print Studio and Gallery displays artists’ work and ills Columbia’s need for high-quality printing

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The Columbia Business Times is published every other Saturday by The Business Times Co. 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, Mo 65202.

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.

Writers in this issue: Dianna Borsi O'Brien, Jeremy Essig, Paul Weber Columnists in this issue: Cathy Atkins, Chris Belcher, Al Germond, Heather Lutze, Blaine Luetkemeyer,Ken Pearson, Jonathan Sessions, Lili Vianello

Chris Harrison | General Manager | Ext.1010David Reed | Group Editor | Ext.1013Alisha Moreland | Art DirectorKristin Branscom | Graphic DesignerBetsy Bell | Creative Marketing DirectorJennifer Kettler | Photo Editor | 573-529-1789Cindy Sheridan | Operations ManagerAnnie Jarrett | Marketing RepresentativeJoe Schmitter | Marketing RepresentativeAshley Meyer | Creative Services

(573) 499-1830 | (573) 499-1831 faxeditor@businesstimescompany.comAdvertising information: info@businesstimescompany.com

CBt BUSINESS CALENDAR — JUNE 26-JULY 10

28Columbia Vision Commission Meeting5:30-7:30 p.m. Daniel Boone Building Addition, Conference Room 1B, 701 E. BroadwayThe commission serves as an advisory board to the City Council as it relates to the tracking, monitoring and assisting with the implementation of the visioning process.

29Comprehensive Plan Task Force Executive Committee Meeting9-11 a.m. Boone Building Addition, Planning Conference Room, Fourth Floor, 701 E. BroadwayThe task force advises and assists the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council on all phases in the development of a new Comprehensive Plan, including citizen involvement, public education and outreach, recruitment of volunteers and the review of interim products.

East Area Plan Public Input Session5:30-7:30 p.m. Elk’s Lodge, 4747 Park Drive East. The city of Columbia and Boone County planning and zoning commissions will review what steps have been taken in the planning process since a May 25 public meeting and will gather more input from stakeholders. At the last meeting, about 60 residents drew on maps of the area to show how they would like the East Area Plan to look. The city and county employees intend to examine

the maps to incorporate their ideas into plans for future growth and present them at this meeting.

Highlights of the East Area PlanThe East Area is comprised of about 13,500

acres covering 21 square miles in the city and the county. The general boundaries are US Highway 63 to the west, Interstate 70 to the north, a half mile past Rangeline Road to the east and just past New Haven Road to the south.

The study area covers six watersheds, and the majority of the area is undeveloped and used for agriculture. It is currently made up of 69 percent agricultural zoning, 23 percent residential zoning, and the remaining 8 percent is a mixture of industrial, commercial and ofice zoning.

Because of the sewer infrastructure, most of the growth is predicted to take place in the Hominy and Grindstone watersheds. There are an estimated 8,049 people living in the area, a 21 percent increase from the year 2000, and an estimated 3,500 houses, up 23 percent from 2000.

Major infrastructure changes are underway. The Maguire Boulevard Extension connecting Lemone industrial park to Stadium Boulevard is expected to be inished in August. The Rolling Hills Road extension connecting Grace Lane to Richland Road will begin next year. The county and city plan to extend Stadium Boulevard to Interstate 70 and to build an overpass for Ballenger Lane over Interstate 70. They also plan to extend Ballenger Lane to connect Clark Lane and St. Charles Road.

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We want to hear from you. Please e-mail your submissions to editor@businesstimescompany.com

HiringsGreg Williams has been hired as the director of

University of Missouri System research parks, a state-wide network of parks, research centers and incuba-tors that fosters technology-related business growth in close partnership with the research programs of the university. Discovery Ridge along U.S. Highway 63 is one of the research parks. Williams will report to Mike Nichols, vice president of research and economic development at the system, and live in Columbia. Since 1995 he has served as senior vice president of economic development for the Springield, Mo., area Chamber of Commerce.

Strategic communications irm Pure announced six new hirings: Mike Amelung, systems developer; Rachel McNeal, account coordinator; Laversa Siebuhr, account coordinator; Elizabeth Weishar, account coordinator; Justin Scott, manager of digital strategy; Jen Tolle, motion media producer.

Todd Hoien joined Hawthorn Bank as vice presi-dent and commercial lender. Hoien comes to the bank with 13 years of experience in commercial real estate loans, SBA loans and treasury management services. He was most recently with US Bank.

Columbia College has named Michael Grissom assistant dean for Adult Higher Education and the Online Campus. Prior to joining the college, Grissom served as associate vice president for information tech-nology at Fontbonne University in St. Louis.

Linda Rawlings has been named director of the Columbia Area Career Center. Rawlings, who previ-ously served as assistant director, began working at the career center in 1995. She will replace Arden Boyer-Stephens, who will retire on June 30 after three decades of service in various roles at the career center.

Heather Dimitt has been hired as director of mem-bership for The Learning Resources Network and is leaving her position as professional and community education coordinator at the Columbia Area Career Center. Jim Sharrock has joined the Columbia Area Career Center as the Professional and Community Education program’s lead supervisor; Barbie Banks will be the coordinator of open enrollment business, computer and enrichment classes; and Amy Parris has accepted the position of marketing coordinator.

US Bank Home Mortgage hired Melanie Weable as a mortgage loan oficer at its Columbia Business Loop ofice. Weable has worked in mortgage lending the past 30 years, most recently as a mortgage loan oficer at Bank of America.

Maria Lopez-Mendez was hired by TimeLine Recruiting as a marketer. Prior to joining TimeLine, Lopez-Mendez was a senior inancial services repre-sentative at Commerce Bank.

PromotionsUMB Bank appointed Tony Mayield as the central

Missouri region president. Mayield is now respon-sible for the Columbia, Jefferson City, Warrensburg, Whiteman-Windsor and Warsaw-Clinton markets. Mayield joined UMB in 2005 as a commercial lender and was most recently community bank president of Columbia.

Dave Stepanek, the western region manager of the Central Trust and Investment Company, was pro-moted to executive vice president. The company also announced Chief Fiduciary Oficer Trish Coriden has been promoted to senior vice president.

Boone County National Bank announced sev-eral promotions. Aaron Henry, Charity Mesik and Hannah Copron were promoted to advanced teller. Allison Keathley and Maggie Hultman were named advanced customer service representatives. Ali Reese was promoted to senior customer service representa-tive, and Grant Glabe was named senior teller for the Woodrail Bank.

US Bank announced two promotions. Rick Crites was promoted to mid-Missouri regional sales manager at US Bank Home Mortgage, and Pattie Faber became a mortgage loan oficer for US Bank’s Broadway ofice.

Landmark Bank announced the following promo-tions: Lisa Evans, vice president; Kristi Story, vice president; Leslie Storm, assistant vice president; Greg Reed, assistant vice president; Andrew Seibert, senior loan review oficer.

AppointmentsBoys and Girls Club of Columbia announced new

oficers to its board of directors: President Bryan Maggard, Vice President Meredith Imler and Treasurer Heidi Chick. The Boys and Girls Club also announced several new members to its board: Mary DiBlasi, Elda Kurzjeski, Matt Schondelmeyer, Dr. Manny Rodriguez, Carolyn Hawks and Kate Edwards.

Agents National Title Insurance Company announced the addition of Robert J. Buchheit to its board of directors. Buchheit is the owner of All Star Automotive Inc.

KMOS-TV announced the appointment of Leigh Britt, Lyle Johnson and Dan Scotten to its com-munity advisory board. Britt works for the city of Columbia, Johnson works for Commerce Bank, and Scotten is retired.

Alex George was elected president of the Voluntary Action Center board. The board also announced the addition of six new members: Billy Borgmeyer, Bob Fisher, Shatenita Horton, Dianne Orton, Scott Sutherland and Llona C. Weiss.

Continued on Page 6

Story

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COuPLES YOu SHOULD KNOW

Brent BeshoreCEO of Pure, MediaCross, Insight, Verity Interactive, Arable Entertainment

Erica BeshoreDirector of Scientiic Communications of Immunophotonics; Fitness Instructor at Wilson’s Fitness

AGE, LIVED IN COLUMBIA, HOMETOWN: BB: 27, ive, Joplin EB: 28, six, St. Louis

JOB DESCRIPTION: BB: Half my time is spent on what I would consider typical duties: development, HR, legal, account service and problem solving. The other half is creating opportunity through innovation by utilizing Pure’s resources as an incubator for new start-ups. By the end of this year, we should launch two to four new start-ups. EB: I’m responsible for understanding, interpreting and communicating scientiic information for the development and promotion of a new cancer therapy.

EDUCATION: BB: B.A. in politics with an emphasis in poverty studies from Washington and Lee University (Lexington, Va.); J.D./MBA at MU EB: B.A. in biology pre-med from Covenant College;

Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology from MU

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: BB: Columbia Chamber of Commerce board of directors, Centennial Investors, United Way board of directors, University Club board of directors, co-founder

and board member of Good Hope Educational Initiative, trustee of The Center (Missouri Business Week) EB: Boys and Girls Club board of directors, 2009 co-chair of Diamond

Night (Boys and Girls Town)

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: BB: I started an event marketing company in late 2006 while attending the law/MBA program at MU and quickly saw an opportunity to expand the business. Pure, a multi-perspective strategic communications irm, launched in 2007 with Arable Entertainment. Verity Interactive and Insight followed shortly thereafter. EB: After graduating from college, I moved to Columbia to attend graduate school. After completing the

six-year program, I joined Immunophotonics.

A COLUMBIA COUPLE WE ADMIRE AND WHY: Rod and Marsha Uphoff: What’s not to like? Both were/are highly successful professionals who are not only known in our

community but also internationally for their expertise. Oh, and they love to drink wine, have fun and dress up for Halloween.

WHY I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MY JOB: EB: Both of my jobs are about helping people live a better life. One is highly technical and could literally change the way we view cancer. The other is

about inspiring individuals to live a healthier and more energetic life. BB: I get to work alongside incredibly brilliant people who are constantly creating innovative and impactful ways to serve our

clients. Sometimes in meetings I just sit back and am in awe of the magic.

IF I WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, I WOULD BE: EB: Cardiothoracic surgeon or Supermom BB: Professional golfer (this is fantasyland, right?)

BIGGEST CAREER OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME AND HOW: EB: Finishing my Ph.D. It’s a rough process. BB: Managing growth. It sounds stupid, but I never understood how a company could grow itself to death until my companies went from 10 to 60 employees in the span of about a year. Lots of sleepless nights.

WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PROFESSION: EB: In the medical start-up world, groundbreaking ideas don’t usually make it to market. The ones that make it found a way to match inancing with expertise and make it through the gauntlet. BB: Although most people are recognized only for their successes, entrepreneurship is all about trying and failing. The goal is to innovate, fail small and win big.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: We love traveling, drinking wine (and beer), playing golf and pretending to be chefs.

FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA: EB: Ragtag: It’s unique and a great date spot. BB: No. 18 tee at Old Hawthorne (when I’m playing well)

ACCOMPLISHMENT I’M MOST PROUD OF: EB: Somehow managing to inish my Ph.D., become a itness instructor and marry my wonderful husband all in the past two years. BB: Assembling an absolutely amazing team that is creative and innovative, as well as being wonderful people. It

shocks me what we have/can accomplish.

MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT I: EB: Have performed cardiothoracic surgeries on animals. Oh, and I have to wear a mask to sleep. BB: Was attacked by a lion in Africa and came very close to being mauled 100 miles from the closest hospital. Makes you appreciate life and realize your place in the food chain. v

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ECONOMIC INDEX | SuMMARY

The Auxiliary of the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri (Professional Leaders Auxiliary) has elected oficers for the 2010-11 year: Phyllis Moore, chair; Lindsay Butcher, vice-chair; Christy Kruse and Pam Nichols, co-secretaries; Cricket Dunn and Katie Bradley, co-vice presidents member-ship; Cindy Mustard and Tonya Keith, co-vice presidents philanthropic; Sue Ann Schaefer and Jill Cox, co-vice presidents resource development; Maureen Koppelman, chair-communication; Glenda Kelly and Brenda Baker, liaisons to chapter.

AwardsDr. Mark A. Adams and Dr. Pat Smith have

been inducted into the Missouri Sports Medicine Hall of Fame. Both physicians have worked for the Columbia Orthopaedic Group for more than 20 years. Smith has served as the head team physician for the University of Missouri athletic department since 1991, and Adams, also a physician for the university's athletic department, was a member of the US Olympic Team as a team physician during the 1996 Atlanta Games and 2000 Sydney Games.

Nicholas Peckham was elevated to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. Peckham, of Peckham and Wright Architects Inc., received the appointment during a ceremony in Miami, Fla. Peckham was elected to receive the honor due to his contributions in the ield of sustainability and for the impact he has made on academia, government and the community.

The University of Missouri System announced the following awards on June 10: Steve Weinberg received the Curator's Award for Scholarly Excellence; Richard K. Brow received the Presidential Award for Research and Creativity; Frances “Dee” Haemmerlie Montgomery was given the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching; Peter Sutovsky was presented the Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year Award; and A. Curtis Elmore received the C. Brice Ratchford Memorial Fellowship Award. UM also presented the Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Michael Orlando Jr., Colby Hall and RJ Miller.

Northwest Missouri State University College of Education presented Russell Thompson with its Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished contributions to the ield of education. Thompson started teaching at Hickman High School in 1957, became superintendent of the Columbia Public

Schools in 1976 and held that post for 18 years until his retirement.

KOMU received multiple individual awards during the Society of Professional Journalists ban-quet on June 5 in addition to being named televi-sion station of the year. Sarah Hill, Scott Schaefer, Scott Schmidt and Eric Blumberg each won several gold awards. The Missouri Broadcasters association honored KOMU’s Michelle Bogowith with an award for best weathercast for mid-Mis-souri and all other medium-sized television sta-tions across the state and Sarah Hill with best fea-ture reporting overall for Sarah’s Stories “Honor Flight.”

Maureen Koppelman was presented the 2009-2010 Jackie Dennis Award from the Auxiliary of Assistance League of Mid-Missouri for giving and going above and beyond the required hours of ser-vice at Upscale Resale.

Erica Hopkins-Wadlow, pharmacist at D&H Drugstore's Paris Road location, received the Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award at the Missouri Pharmacy Association Annual Convention and Trade Show in Branson.

Retirements

Detective Jeff Westbrook will retire from the Columbia Police Department on July 23 after 22 years of service. He was hired by the department on February 8, 1988. Westbrook is a life-long resi-dent of Columbia. During his career at CPD, he has served as a DARE oficer, downtown foot patrol oficer and a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team.

Business DevelopmentsLori Neidel opened her own law irm, Law

Ofice of Lori J. Neidel LLC. The irm will focus on compliance and regulatory affairs counsel for broker-dealers and investment advisors. Previously, Neidel was the chief enforcement counsel for the Missouri Securities Division.

Architect Shelley Simon, co-founder of Columbia- and St. Louis-based architecture and interior design irm Simon Oswald Architecture, announced the sale of her interest in the irm to principals Bill Oswald and Jennifer Hedrick. Although no longer active in day-to-day manage-ment of the irm, Simon will still consult on proj-ects with the irm.

Smart Business Products has been appointed a Herman Miller for Healthcare Dealer. v

On the move ... continued from Page 4

Check out all of the “up” arrows in the Economic Indicators on the next page.

Sales tax receipts were nearly 9 percent higher in March than in the same month the previous year. It’s the best March since 2007 for the business barometer. Halfway through the iscal year, the city is getting 2 percent more revenue from the sales tax than it was in the irst half of the last iscal year.

Nationally, sales of new homes collapsed in May and sank 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shop-ping for homes once they could no longer get government incentives. The Commerce Department said new home sales fell in May to the slowest sales pace on records dating back to 1963.

Locally, new home sales increased slightly, while sales of new and existing homes in Boone County rose from 202 in April to 271 in May, which is up 27 percent from May 2009.

The pace of construction is also picking up, with permits issued for single-family home construction up from 18 in May 2009 to 32, and for commercial construction the number of per-mits is 50 percent higher.

The rate of foreclosures is still high for Columbia and increased from 14 in May 2009 to 26 last month. And the unemployment rate remains greater than 5 percent. Of course, IBM will begin hiring in the coming months, as will another tenant moving into the Lemone indus-trial area, Linen King.

Another economic development announce-ment is expected soon. The city and private developers are on the verge of landing a deal for a data center in northeast Columbia, and though the project would not create many jobs, less than a dozen probably, it would give a big boost in local tax revenue. v

Local economy continues upswing

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ECONOMIC INDEX | COLuMBIA'S ECONOMIC INDICAtORS

1% Sales Tax Receipts March 2010: $1,754,350March 2009: $1,613,688Change (#): $140,662Change (%): 8.7%

Fiscal Year-to-Date 2010: $9,751,939Fiscal Year-to-Date 2009: $9,690,860Change (#): $61,079Change (%): 0.6%

LABOR Columbia Labor Force April 2010: 92,882 April 2009: 93,506Change (#): -624Change (%): -0.7%

Missouri Labor Force April 2010: 2,991,129April 2009: 3,039,207Change (#): -48,078Change (%): -1.6%

Columbia Unemployment April 2010: 5,029April 2009: 4,933Change (#): 96Change (%): 1.9%

Missouri Unemployment April 2010: 262,739April 2009: 252,376Change (#): 10,363Change (%): 4.1%

Columbia Unemployment RateApril 2010: 5.4%April 2009: 5.3%Change (#): 0.1%*lowest unemployment rate in a Missouri metropolitan area

Missouri Unemployment Rate April 2010: 8.8%April 2009: 8.3%Change (#): 0.5%

CONSTRUCTION Building Permits – Residential May 2010: 76May 2009: 59Change (#): 17Change (%): 28.8%

Value of Building Permits – Residential May 2010: $7,232,322May 2009: $3,599,938Change (#): $3,632,384Change (%): 100.9%

Building Permits – Detached Single-Family Homes May 2010: 32May 2009: 18Change (#): 14Change (%): 77.8%

Value of Building Permits – Detached Single-Family HomesMay 2010: $6,606,644May 2009: $2,891,000Change (#): $3,715,644Change (%): 128.5%

Building Permits – CommercialMay 2010: 28May 2009: 19Change (#): 9Change (%): 47.4%

Value of Building Permits – Commercial May 2010: $1,228,090May 2009: $6,541,928Change (#): -$5,313,838Change (%): -81.2%

Building Permits – Commercial Additions/Alterations May 2010: 25May 2009: 16Change (#): 9Change (%): 56.3%

Value of Building Permits – Commercial Additions/Alterations May 2010: $1,080,590May 2009: $4,758,428Change (#): -$3,677,838Change (%): -77.3%

HOUSINGBoone County Detached Single-Family Homes

Units Sold May 2010: 271May 2009: 213Change (#): 58Change (%): 27.2%

Volume of Sales May 2010: $40,242,157May 2009: $28,557,000Change (#): $11,685,157Change (%): 40.9%

Median Price of Home Sales May 2010: $146,400May 2009: $150,000Change (#): -$3,600Change (%): -2.4%

Months of InventoryMay 2010: 5.4May 2009: 7.4Change (#): -2.0Change (%): -27.0%

Foreclosures in Boone County May 2010: 26May 2009: 14Change (#): 12Change (%): 54 %

COLUMBIA REGIONAL AIRPORTPassengers on Arriving PlanesMay 2010: 3,174May 2009: 2,037Change (#): 1,137Change (%): 55.8%

Passengers on Departing PlanesMay 2010: 3,210May 2009: 2,124Change (#): 1,086Change (%): 51.1%

UTILITIES Water Customers May 2010: 44,807May 2009: 44,384Change (#): 423Change (%): 1.0%

Electric Customers May 2010: 45,322May 2009: 44,952Change (#): 370Change (%): 0.8%

Sewer Customers – ResidentialMay 2010: 40,413May 2009: 40,034Change (#): 379Change (%): 0.9%

Sewer Customers – CommercialMay 2010: 3,597May 2009: 3,562Change (#): 35Change (%): 1.0%

Contributors include: Lori Fleming, Karen Johnson, Sean Moore, Linda Rootes, Sarah Talbert and Carol Van Gorp

Compiled by David Walle

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Al Germond

Al Germond is the host of the "Sunday

Morning Roundtable" every Sunday at 8:15

a.m. on KFRu. Algermond@gmail.com

From the Roundtable

MU, and local economy, dodges realignment bullet

VOICES

The college athletic conference realignment scenario that almost cascaded this month proved to be a close call for the Columbia area business community.

Although the media generally ignored possible economic consequences of an upheaval, business and government leaders were sweating bullets over the future of the region's economy if MU was left out of a major conference.

The conventional wisdom was that there would be four 16-member “super conferences” that could operate independent of the NCAA. Then MU was snubbed by the Big 10, which picked Nebraska instead and then looked to eastern schools. Five of the six Texas colleges in the Big 12 South were invited to join a Pac 10 super conference. MU faced the prospect of having to join the Mountain West, far from a super conference.

Talk about dampening the recent illip of devel-opment success with the announcement, “IBM is coming!”

But as it turned out, the Big 10 held pat, and the Texans decided to stay.

We who ply our trade in business, and this includes the business of government, burst forth with a big sigh of relief when we learned that the Big 12 Conference — sans Colorado and Nebraska — would remain intact and that MU would see a bump in its revenues from television.

The major driver of the realignment strategy was television revenue for football programs. That's a far cry from 60 years ago when television, just emerging from the chrysalis, was frequently banned from the sidelines because claims were made that it was hurting the box ofice gate. Today, video distribution rights and fees are really all that

matters as FOX, ESPN and others offer packages to university athletic programs worth multiple mil-lions of dollars.

The athletic program at MU, the state's premier public university, has generally held its own nation-ally among an elite group of, say, 60 institutions competitive in football, the principal proit center. It

dwarfs basketball revenue, and the rest of the sports generally lose money.

The consequences go beyond economic if the University of Missouri had been grafted into a lesser conference. We would have been worrying about reduced prestige, diminished enrollment and how we might feel overall about the institution. For now, we are spared.

The University of Missouri's birthright going back to 1839, enhanced some 25 years later under the Morrell Act, as the state's only Land Grant uni-versity must never be trampled upon.

Now, we should focus on how the nickname "Mizzou" has been blown out of proportion and frequently supplants what should proudly be dis-played on all fronts: The University of Missouri, or Missouri for short.

With this recent close shave behind them, the now somewhat chastened athletic department needs to replace Mizzou with Missouri on all jerseys and other articles of team clothing lest we lose this important matter of our birthright and heritage to another institution. (Missouri State has reduced the size of the word State on its jerseys, which adds to the confusion.)

The University of Missouri Board of Curators in 2007 voted unanimously to recognize the historic status of MU and the lagship campus by drop-ping the hyphen and the word Columbia in written communications.

But then a few years ago the Missouri Alumni Association changed its name to the Mizzou Alumni Association because a survey showed it was the favorite nickname.

Nicknames are ine, but this is the University of Missouri we're talking about, and that goes back 171 years.

There must be no confusion about what the University of Missouri is and the fact that its original founding campus is located here in the city of Columbia. "Mizzou" is a great nickname, and there are plenty of applications for it. Licensed team clothing and other products is where the use of Mizzou needs to end. v

The consequences go beyond

economic if the University of

Missouri had been grafted into a

lesser conference.

Guest Column

First step in Gulf oil crisis: Stop the leak, not advance legislation

Luetkemeyer is the representative for Missouri's 9th

Congressional District.

US Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer

The BP oil spill is an ongoing tragedy for the Gulf Coast region, its economy and the environ-ment. Our irst priority must be to stop the leak and do everything possible to preserve the livelihoods of those in the area. I feel strongly that BP must bear the inancial burden for this disaster because hardworking people like you shouldn't have to pay a dime.

Next, the federal government must work more closely with the state governments to minimize the effects of this disaster and allow local entities to do what is necessary to protect their wetlands and shorelines. Then we need to ind out what went wrong, and it is my hope that BP, the administra-tion and Congress can work together in an open and transparent process on responsible, bipartisan solutions.

So far this administration has been slow to respond to this disaster. The government's response has been disorganized and distracted from the beginning, and it hasn't provided the effective,

energetic, hands-on leadership that the American people expect during a crisis and that the law requires.

Congress must resist the urge to legislate out of panic during this crisis, and the administra-tion should not exploit this catastrophe to stop all drilling and advance its disastrous cap-and-trade energy policy, which won't stop the well from leaking and will only raise the cost of energy for American families.

It has always been my position that we con-tinue to support an all-of-the-above energy policy that offers increased energy independence, good

jobs and a cleaner environment through greater eficiency and increased development of nuclear, renewable and alternative energies, along with the expanded, environmentally responsible develop-ment of America's own natural energy resources. We must continue to seek energy independence for our nation while implementing appropriate safeguards to ensure that there isn't a second BP disaster in the future.

It is my hope that hardworking Americans up and down the Gulf Coast get the answers they deserve from BP and the federal government as soon as possible. As long as this crisis continues, and as long as the moratorium on offshore drilling is in place, the people of the Gulf Coast will continue to face economic hardship and job loss. The last thing the president should be focused on is trying to revive and pass a costly, job-killing national energy tax.

We need to ix this problem, assess what hap-pened and go from there. v

Congress must resist the urge to

legislate out of panic during this

crisis...

VS.

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VOICES

County View

Boone County’s modiied food code shares burden

Pearson is Boone County’s presiding

commissioner.

Ken Pearson

I once worked for a professor who grew up in Europe. He constantly complained about the pedestrian nature of American food. He said that the only good thing about American restaurants was that a person could go into almost any place and, though the food might be plain, “at least you don’t have to worry about food poisoning.”

Why? The answer is that state and local gov-ernments have food inspection codes — and the public expects a level of safety.

The city of Columbia has had a food inspec-tion ordinance since the early 1960s and a fee structure to help offset the cost of food inspection and permitting since 1990. In 2001, Columbia modiied its food code to align with the state law that had been changed to conform to FDA model legislation adopted in 1999. The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department has been inspecting food establishments outside Columbia corporate limits since June 1980 and uses state law as the basis for that inspection.

In December 2008, the Boone County Commission adopted a modiied version of the Columbia Food Code. Those modiications exclude training and certiication of food service workers and establish the criteria for permits and reasonable fees that may be charged to food establishments.

The commission had extensive work sessions with Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services staff, the county collector and county counselor and held hearings to receive public input.

As the discussion progressed, the commis-sion determined that the food establishment as well as the public, both of which beneit from food inspections, should share the cost of inspec-

tion, which had previously been paid entirely by general revenue. This need to share the burden became even more apparent as costs of the inspection program remained relatively constant and general revenues declined.

The question then became: How can we fairly apportion the cost? The commission rec-ognized the variability among food providers. Some mom-and-pop businesses make very little income and make sales of low-risk prepared items. Others prepare a variety of foods that are held during lunch and are higher risk. We also recognized that some establishments have high volume sales but sell items that place them in the low category. The commission developed a matrix that combined level of risk and income to determine the fee structure.

The risk categories are based on the FDA model code:

A low-risk business prepares a limited amount of food that is not potentially hazardous and does not prepare but offers for sale only prepackaged food that is potentially hazardous. The business does not meet criteria for medium or high priority category.

A medium-risk business prepares, offers for sale or serves potentially hazardous food only to order upon a consumer’s request. It holds food for less than four hours and discards all food that has been in hot holding.

A high-risk business prepares potentially hazardous food in advance and uses methods that involve two or more steps: cooking, cooling, reheating, hot or cold storage, freezing or thawing. It holds quantities of hot food for four or more hours and/or serves to highly susceptible populations (schools, child day care, nursing homes and hospitals). A business can

be designated high-risk if previous inspections indicate consecutive critical violations.

During the permit application process, busi-nesses are asked to provide information related to their risk and gross receipts. Based on testi-mony received during the public hearings, the commission determined that only those receipts related to food sales should be used to determine gross receipts for food inspection. Businesses may deduct non-food sales from their gross receipts.

Although fees will be charged to businesses that regularly provide food for sale, commu-nity festivals and not-for-proit entities such as churches that provide food on a temporary basis for less than 14 consecutive days will not be charged the fee. They are, however, subject to inspection.

The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Social Services Department Division of Environmental Health has determined that there are 154 active food establishments outside the city of Columbia. The division has contacted those businesses, explained the new fee struc-ture and asked them to complete and return the application. The division will use the applica-tion information to construct a database that the county collector will use to bill the establishment, collect the fee and issue the operating permit. Businesses will have to complete only one appli-cation; the fee and permit will be billed, collected and issued annually by the county collector.

Questions regarding the food inspections and the application process should be directed to the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental Health at GRW@GoColumbiaMo.com or 573-886-4285. v

Chris Belcher is super-intendent of Columbia

Public Schools. cbelcher@columbia.

k12.mo.us

Chris Belcher

Imagine preparing a grocery list for 1.9 million lunches and 620,000 breakfast meals.

Columbia Public Schools does this every year. An average of 10,323 students and adults eat school lunch each day. Because more than 36 percent of Columbia’s students receive a free or reduced-priced lunch based on family income, the school district is the main provider of nutritious meals to many students. This is a responsibility we take very seriously.

Like many businesses, we are challenged with improving the quality of our product while staying cost-effective for our consumers. Decreasing the quantity of processed foods and making more room for fresh produce and high iber whole grain items are desired. The district also understands the importance of modeling and teaching good nutri-tional habits.

Columbia Public Schools is working with local farmers to bring seasonal produce to each school’s door. The irst year of this program has worked well and will be expanded appropriately. In addi-tion, $30,000 of grant money was used to fund a pilot program at Benton and West Boulevard ele-mentary schools for a Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Program. Whole grain breads are used even though they have the appearance of white bread.

Laina Fullum, director of nutrition services, and I recently attended the Farm to Table Festival hosted by the University Club and Catering. This was an impressive event that brought farmers, nutritionists, chefs, consumers and educators

together to discuss and share ideas related to nutrition. We were excited about the conversation and the collaborative spirit and took away some workable ideas about what we can do differently for children and how to do it with a tight budget.

Local vendors can provide the freshest food, but they often compete with the large vendors that can offer a lower cost. Usually, the large vendor does not contract with the small local producer due to lack of insurance and certiication. The chal-lenge is to create pathways and opportunities for local involvement without signiicantly raising the price of our lunches. This is the same battle that occurs every day in businesses across Columbia. Also, presenting a meal that is attractive and appealing to the student is vital. In short, they will not eat what they don’t like.

Much has been written about the obesity epi-demic in America. Current CDC estimates indicate that 67 percent of adults are obese or overweight and 18 percent of children are considered over-weight, numbers that have been rising steadily

during the past two decades. Obesity contributes to disease cycles that result in lost productivity to businesses and increased costs for health care management.

It is time for all of us to consider our role in dealing with the obesity problem. First, the federal government needs to examine its use of commodi-ties and school lunch regulations. Schools are often limited in their ability to implement progressive change based on current regulations and resources. Secondly, schools and local producers need to form partnerships to establish pathways for local foods into the schools. Thirdly, adults need to model nutritional habits at home and with lunches sent to school. Parent modeling has the most inlu-ential impact on students. Students consume only 15 percent of their meals through the school pro-gram. Fourthly, celebratory school events should offer nutritional options for students and adults. Finally, we all need to quit trying to assign blame and push personal responsibility instead. Fast foods and other vendors usually provide nutri-tional options for consideration, yet the consumer tends to purchase the less nutritious meal.

Food is an important part of any culture. Meals are used to bring family and friends together. It is up to all of us to use food as it is intended and to adopt and model healthy, active lifestyles for our children. Just as we teach manners, English and mathematics to our children, so, too, we must teach, encourage and provide opportunities for our children to eat well more often than not. v

Superintendent’s View

The business side of the lunch table

Current CDC estimates indicate

that 67 percent of adults are obese

or overweight...

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By Paul Weber

In 1985, Tim Rost told his mother he’d be taking a semester off from MU’s agriculture college to work full time as a landscaper in Columbia.

Rost, who had been working a summer job landscaping, found one day that his boss had left town, so he and his coworkers began to inish the projects themselves. That semester “off” turned into a decades-long career as he helped build a multimillion dollar landscaping company.

Rost turned the company into a vertically-integrated landscape contracting business with a tree farm, irrigation service, wholesale service, maintenance division and retail store, with com-bined annual gross revenue of more than $7 mil-lion and 100 employees during the busiest months. His wife, Toby, is the co-owner and ofice manager. They married in 1989.

The company’s growth in the 1990s mirrored Columbia’s swift expansion, as the owners of new homes and commercial buildings needed landscaping. Rost said that other mom-and-pop subcontractors weren’t able to keep up with the volume of business his company wanted to do, so he started integrating the business vertically.

“Columbia was growing faster than the compa-nies, and they couldn’t ramp up,” Rost said. “We just illed the niche.”

Rost also found that homebuilders were dis-inclined to design and build pools, patios and outdoor rooms and moved to provide that service.

“The more pools we do, the more requests we get,” Rost added.

In 1991, Rost opened Superior Garden Center, which specialized in customer service for hom-eowners planning to landscape their yards. Clients at the store were asking Rost to help maintain their home landscaping jobs, so the business set up a maintenance division.

Salt Creek Tree Farm, a 600-acre enterprise, started about the same time and supplies Rost and other landscapers with trees.

Due to the volume of Rost’s orders for products such as mulch, they were able to use their shipping power to supply smaller landscapers with a whole-sale division.

Rost recently bought Superior Irrigation Company, which includes a fence and lighting installation service. The company will do business with Rost clients and other projects such as golf courses.

The land on which Superior Garden Center sat on Old Highway 63 South was sold several years ago as the area developed and nearby big box stores began carrying the same garden products for less, which caused business to shrink.

“I think they really did a good job of lowering people’s expectations of service to where people don’t expect it anymore,” Rost said.

Superior Garden Center closed on May 20. Rost said Superior was a great tool for the overall busi-ness, but they didn’t need the garden center to the degree they used to.

BUSINESS PROFILE | ROSt

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From Ground Up: Landscaper expands verticallyRost’s new garden center location opening in fall

Tim Rost prunes a tree for a residential client.

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BUSINESS PROFILE | ROSt

“The energy that it took to be in a retail center was better spent on the other aspects of the business,” Rost said.

This fall, Rost will open a new garden center in Midway next to its headquarters. The new garden center will be what Rost calls a “destination point” for homeowners. Rost said they will be adding a variety and quantity of plant inventory that’s about ive to six times the size of the old garden center.

Although the recession has brought a drop in tree prices due to market saturation, the overall business is not hurting this year because of its diversity, Rost said. Business in 2009 was down 35 percent from 2008, but Rost said proits were up.

“We were able to do that by being extremely over-the-top in management,” Rost said. He also credits longtime employees and a faithful customer base that has remained stable. This year, Rost estimated that sales are almost up to 2008 levels.

“We like to see ourselves as big enough to do big jobs but small enough that we still know what goes on,” Rost said. He added that high-level managers still directly oversee 99 percent of the jobs. .

Rost’s big projects on the horizon include the new Boone Hospital patient tower and IBM’s Lemone Industrial Boulevard data center.

In the future, the company is “probably going to be more and more jobs where we’re a general contractor,” Rost said. That would include more work in land planning and with civil engineers. v

ABOVE: Rost Inc. completed all of the landscaping as well as a pool project for this residential home in Columbia.

LEFT: Since the mid-'90s, Rost Inc. has made a niche for itself by specializing in large pool, patio and outdoor liv-ing spaces. "We do more than just plant scrubs," Rost said.

Rost looks over plans with Josh Randolph for a residental landscape project in southwest Columbia.

Crews work on a residential landscape installation in Columbia. The company completes hundreds of landscape projects in Missouri every year.

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NEW BUSINESS UPDATE | NOuMENON

A photographer and a graphic artist have transformed the original Ragtag Cinema into an art gallery and print shop.

Noumenon Print Studio and Gallery opened this month on 10th Street after workers spent four months renovating the space, which includes 1,200 square feet of wall space for artists to display their work.

"We really want to help local artists get their foot in the door with the gallery space and provide the community with great quality printing,” Creative Manager Kendra Baxter said.

Baxter said she has a graphic design business based in her home, and Scott Hellebusch has a photography business. They decided to "incorporate the two."

They perceived a need for high-quality printing in Columbia, she said. Hellebusch "looked into getting a nice printer, but it wouldn’t it in his house, so that’s when we started getting serious about opening a print shop and gallery," she said. "We started brainstorming ideas on how we could beneit the art community and decided that a print shop would be best."

Noumenon Studio offers archival quality prints made on canvas, glossy surfaces, wood and museum-quality photo paper using large-format printers.

“We print large format on Hahnemuhle paper and also do mounting to foam core board, face mounting to plexiglass and laminating,” Baxter said. “The laminating gives us the ability to offer different types of mounting capabilities, which is new technology that’s being used in gal-leries in New York, California and Europe.”

The studio also offers portfolio consultation, art reproduction, graphic design, website design and print media design services.

The studio will maintain a gallery of artists’ works both in the store and online. (The website, www.noumenonstudio.com, is still under construction.) Customers can purchase the artwork or order prints. The studio will also have a database of local artists available for hire as independent contractors.

“We have certiied Adobe specialists to do all the retouching and editing and experienced photographers and designers on staff to help answer questions anyone has,” Baxter said.

"Our goal is to become a central hub for local artists to print, digitize and pro-mote their works,” Baxter said. “It’s not just for artists; we want people to come in and bring their vacation photos to print off and have nice quality prints for their walls at home as well.” v

Editor's Note: CBT staff photographer Jennifer Kettler works part-time at Noumenon Studio.

Noumenon Print Studio and Gallery Owners: Kendra Baxter and Scott Hellebusch

23 N. 10th St. • 441-0300, 819-9886 kendra@noumenonstudio.com

Scott Hellebusch and Kendra Baxter opened Noumenon Print Studio and Gallery on June 19.

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CBT Q&A: Bob Wagner Insurance executive joins BHC board, plans to retire in 2011

The Boone County Commission appointed Bob Wagner, chairman and CEO of Columbia Insurance Group, to an open seat on the Boone Hospital Center board of trustees. The seat, formerly held by Bob McDavid, became open in April when McDavid was elected mayor.

Wagner graduated from MU with a degree in risk management in 1973 and began working with Columbia Insurance Group as an administrative assistant 39 years ago. His rise to the top has been marked with numerous industry awards.

Wagner, 68, is a father of two and a grandfather of three. Following his appointment to the hospital board, Wagner answered a few questions for the Business Times about his past experience and his plans for the future of the hospital and himself.

What compelled you to seek the Boone Hospital Center seat?

Wagner: Timing. The Columbia Insurance Group has commenced a succession plan that will prepare for my retirement as CEO at the end of 2011. As I transition my duties to my successor, I will have some additional time for community involvement. I wanted something meaningful, and I feel this position will give me the opportunity to utilize my education and management experience in a positive endeavor. (Gary W. Thompson replaced Wagner as president of the insurance company in 2009.)

How will your experience in the insurance industry help you in your new role as hospital trustee?

I fully understand the relationships between boards and CEOs. I have substantial experience in inance, contract negotiations and management.

The dynamics of health care are changing rapidly because of the new health care act and improvements in technology such as electronic records and tele-medicine. What are some of the challenges you expect the Boone Hospital Center will face while you are on the board?

Health care is rapidly evolving, like most busi-nesses in today's world. Customer/patient expecta-tions are changing. Ease of doing business is a major consideration for everyone, including those with health issues. Boone Hospital Center will be faced with many new challenges such as illing the beds in the new wing, providing state of the art care and oper-ating in a budgeted environment.

The 128-bed patient tower is opening in 10 months, but this spring there was a downturn in the number of inpatients compared with the previous year. Hospital President Dan Rothery told employees recently that the drop in patient volume is a short-term develop-ment and said the economic downturn played a role. But is the potential for an oversupply of beds at Boone Hospital Center after the expansion a cause for concern?

Currently, the hospital has vacant beds with more coming on line. The current economy has much to do with this, combined with the uncertainty of our new health care laws. These are really not related problems. The hospital expansion is designed to meet health care needs of Boone Countians for the next 30 to 40 years. The current economic downturn is a short-term issue.

Your appointment to the Boone Hospital Center expires next April. Do you plan on running for the seat in next April's elections?

I do intend to seek a new term on this board next April provided I feel I am making a positive contribution. v

I fully understand the relationships

between boards and CEOs. I have

substantial experience in inance,

contract negotiations and management.

Wagner

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Getting the Word Out » Lili Vianello

Miracles come in small packagesDo you believe in miracles? I do. I notice them

every day in flowers blooming and acts of friend-ship. Of course, it’s easier to see them when you are looking, but a few months ago, my husband, John, and I encountered two miracles of a more unusual nature.

For me, love comes in furry packages. My dogs and cats are my passion. John isn’t quite as pas-sionate about my little ones, but he’s accepted my “Love me, love my dog (and cat),” attitude and occasionally even lets me refer to him as their daddy. That is why we were both devastated one morning to discover our little dog Fisher, a lov-able terrier mix with a cock-eyed stride and 15 years under his belt, had suffered a stroke. It was obvious. The right side of his face drooped, he couldn’t lift his lower jaw to close his mouth, and he could barely walk. We rushed him to the vet.

Our doctor is Michelle Marshall at Horton Animal Northeast. If I’ve discussed animal care with you, you’ve heard me sing her praises. She not only delivers excellent patient care but also amazing customer service. She does things such as e-mailing me after a visit to ask how a particular pet is recovering. She does house calls and has even accepted my panicked call at home. Actually, I’m usually just amazed she remembers everyone’s name. After all, I’ve got a lot of four-legged kids.

Fisher’s prognosis wasn’t promising. We took my little boy home, where we began carrying him around and feeding him by hand. It’s absolutely heart wrenching to sit beside an animal you love and feed him one kibble at a time. I’d put a kernel

on the back of his tongue, lift his lower jaw, rub his throat and pray he’d swallow. Hydrating him was even worse — squirting water in the back of his mouth, watching most of it fill my hand instead of his belly. Fish lost five or six pounds in one week, a huge 25 percent of his total body weight.

That brings me to miracle No. 1. A few days after our visit to her office, Dr. Marshall contacted me. Not only is she our trusted family vet, but her daughter is also my Girl Scout cookie source. I was so relieved when she offered to deliver the cookies to our house so she could also check on her tiny patient. Don’t miss the miracle here. Great cus-tomer service is rare these days. Finding a service provider who genuinely cares about the outcome enough to follow up and is motivated by her own initiative … hallelujah!

Unfortunately, Dr. Marshall’s assessment of Fisher’s condition was grim. Despite our efforts,

he was malnourished and severely dehydrated. She rushed him back to her hospital. When we picked him up later that day, we learned better methods for delivering his basic needs, but we left her office knowing we should prepare ourselves for the end.

Later that evening as I was in the kitchen pre-paring Fisher’s dinner, John started yelling from the other room. Anticipating the worst, I rushed into the living room, only to find out Fisher had jumped of his own volition from his cozy sofa perch, walked to the water bowl and had begun lapping up water. Tongue working, mouth closing! Definitely a miracle. We put his food bowl in front of him, and he went to town. I’m not ashamed to say, my husband and I turned off the TV and said a prayer of thanksgiving for his amazing recovery.

A couple months later, Fish is better than ever: no droopy eye, his weight is back to normal. In fact, he’s scampering around me as I write this. And I’m as thankful as ever to Dr. Marshall. Delivering great customer service is a small thing that produces huge rewards. Superior service builds customer loyalty that can’t be bought any other way.

Enough writing, I’m off to appreciate the mira-cles around me. v

Lili Vianello is President of Visionworks Marketing & Communications, a Columbia-based, full-service adver-tising, marketing and public relations irm. Contributions to this article were made by Visionworks staff members. Visit them online at www.visionworks.com.

Don’t miss the miracle here. Great

customer service is rare these days.

Finding a service provider who

genuinely cares about the outcome

enough to follow up and is motivated

by her own initiative … hallelujah!

Venues come and go,

movie magic endures

By Dianna Borsi O’Brien

“It was wonderful.”That’s how Marian Ohman, 83, describes the days when there were a hand-

ful of “movie palaces,” in downtown Columbia.Not cinemas. Not just places to see movies. These were ornate, whimsical,

exotic gems of architecture with seating for 1,000 or more, and their popularity compelled one early movie theater mogul, Marcus Loew, to declare, “We sell tickets to theaters, not movies.”

These beauties — the three remaining and those that have been lost — will be celebrated in an exhibit to be unveiled next week at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts.

The display outlines the history of downtown theaters in Columbia and his-torical highlights of the vaudeville and ilm industry in the US. The project has been a longtime labor of love by Marge Berchek and the history committee of the Missouri Symphony Society. The society bought the theater in 1988, 60 years after it was built, and restored the structure in 2008.

The exhibit will be on display in the theater’s history lounge in an alcove at the rear of the lobby area, where other artifacts from the theater’s renovation are on display.

Haden to Hollywood In her research, Berchek came up with a long list of theaters established in

Columbia since the turn of the last century and amazing tidbits about movie-going habits.

A few examples: • The irst ilm shown in Columbia was at the Haden Opera House in 1897,

and the irst ilm to use a sound projector was The Jazz Singer, shown at the

1

1884-1901Haden Opera House. Destroyed by ire; it showed Columbia’s irst ilm in 1897.

1906Airdome, at 10th and Walnut, then 609-611 Broadway, then 10th across from Wabash.

1929Missouri, Hall and Varsity begin to show movies on Sundays, despite protests at Methodist Church.

1928-PresentThe Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth St. In 1953, leased to Commonwealth Theatre. Operated as a movie theater until 1987, then purchased by the Missouri Symphony Society and renovated in 2008.

1927-PresentThe Varsity, 17 N. Ninth St. Opened as the Varsity, it then became the Film Arts Theatre, then the Comic Book Club, now The Blue Note. Operated as a movie theater until 1988.

1915-1973-Present Hall Theatre, 1,291 seats. Built in 1915 by Tom C. Hall. In 1928, The Jazz Singer was shown there using a Vitaphone sound projector. Now Panera Bread Co

1913-1919 — The Hippodrome theater showed movies at the site of the old Airdome at 10th and Walnut. A wood-frame building with 1,455 seats, it was the city's largest theater. It burned to the ground in 1919.

1907-1927, 1935-1985-present Today, the location houses Slackers, but from 1907-1927, it was the Bijo Dream, Broadway Odeon, Cozy, Uptown. It was then used as retail space until 1935-1985, when it was a movie theater.

1907-1929Columbia Theatre. Built in 1907, the top two loors were destroyed by ire in 1929. Today, the remaining portion of the building at 1103 E. Broadway is a law ofice.

1909-1916The Star, 17 N. Ninth, 640 seats. The Varsity, which later becomes The Blue Note, is built on this lot.1909-1914The M Theater, 8-10 N. Ninth St., 400 seats.

1908-1909The Elite, 13 N. Ninth St.

(continued on Page 18)

1. Long Gone: The M Theater operated from 1909 to 1914 at 8-10 N. Ninth St. and had 400 seats. Across the street was The Elite, which opened in 1908 a few doors from The Star. Photo courtesy Historical Society.

2. The Originals: The irst motion picture shown in Columbia was screened in 1897 at the Haden Opera House, which was built three years previously and was destroyed by ire in 1901. The former manager of the opera house salvaged scenery and equipment and in 1906 opened the Airdome Theater, a canvas structure just south of Wabash Station on the northeast corner of 10th and Walnut, according to the book Historic Downtown Columbia. After a brief move to the 600 block of Broadway downtown in a building with a moveable steel roof, the Airdome returned to the original site in 1909, expanded and was named The Hippodrome. The structure, the city’s largest theater with 1,455 seats, was destroyed by ire in 1919. Photo courtesy Historical Society.

3. Columbia Theater, with 1,100 seats, opened at 1103 E. Broadway in 1907 and was ruined by ire in 1929. The irst loor remains and houses the Van Matre, Harrison and Hollis law ofice. Another former movie house is now occupied by Slackers. From 1907 to 1927, and again from 1935 to 1985, it operated as a movie house under various names: Bijo Dream, Broadway Odeon, Cozy and Uptown.

4. The Varsity, on 17 N. Ninth, was built in 1927 on the site of the razed Star theater and had 640 seats. The name was later changed to the Film Arts Theater, and the building operated as a theater until 1988. The yellow-brick structure later became The Blue Note, a concert hall that occasionally shows movies and is a venue for the True/False Film Festival. Photos By: Todd Berchek.

5. Hall Theatre: Tom C. Hall closed the Star theater, which had 640 seats, razed the building on 17 N. Ninth St. and built the Hall Theatre a block south at 102 S. Ninth St. The Hall Theatre, with 1,291 seats in 1915, was used to screen The Jazz Singer in 1928. Hall used a Vitaphone projector, the only sound projector in Missouri outside of St. Louis and Kansas City. The building is now occupied by Panera Bread Co. Photos courtesy Historical Society.

6. The Missouri Theatre opened in 1928 at 203 S. Ninth St. In 1953, the building was leased to Commonwealth Theatre and operated as a movie theater until 1987, when it was purchased by the Missouri Symphony Society. The structure was renovated in 2008. Photos courtesy Historical Society.

7. Modern Venues: Forum and Hollywood: The Forum was built in the 1960s and originally was a one-screen theater. In 1992, the Forum 8 behind the Forum Shopping Center was built, and Goodrich bought the business in 1998. Hollywood Theater's Stadium 14 at the eastern end of Stadium Boulevard opened in 1997 with 2,700 seats. Photo by Jennifer Kettler.

8. The Arthouse: Ragtag Cinema: The Ragtag Film Society started showing ilms at The Blue Note in 1997, became the Ragtag Cinema in 2000, located at the Oddfellows building, 23 N. 10th St. The nonproit independent movie theater moved in 2008 moved to 10 Hitt St., an historic building that had been a Coke bottling plant. There is a 130-seat screening room and a lounge theater with 75 seats. Photo by Jennifer Kettler.

The irst motion picture shown in Columbia was screened in 1897 at the Haden Opera

House, which was built three years previously and was destroyed by ire in 1901.

7

4 5 6

3

8

2

1973$7.1 billion: the amount people spent going to movie theaters in 2005 dollars, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce.

1973The Hall stops showing movies.

1966 The Varsity, now The Blue Note, becomes Film Arts Theatre.

1966-1998The Cinema, at 1729 W. Broadway, next to drive-in. Its 50-foot widescreen is the city's largest. It had 800 seats.

1962The number of indoor screens bottoms out at 9,150, down from 14,716 in 1954, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.

1960sThe Forum one-screen theater is built in the 1960s. In 1992, the Forum 8 at 1209 Katy Parkway is build and purchased by Goodrich in 1998.

1959$10.9 billion: the amount of money spent by people on going to movie theaters (in 2005 dollars), according to Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce.This is the irst year for which igures are available about expenditures on attending movies.

1954The number of screens hits 14,716, a loss of more than 3,000 screens in six years, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.

1953Missouri Theatre leased to Commonwealth Theatre.

1949-? The Columbia Broadway Drive-in Theater, at site of today's Gerbes on Broadway.

194817,811: the number of indoor screens, according to National Association of Theatre Owners. This is the irst year for which igures are available.

1929Missouri, Hall and Varsity begin to show movies on Sundays, despite protests at Methodist Church.

1. Long Gone: The M Theater operated from 1909 to 1914 at 8-10 N. Ninth St. and had 400 seats. Across the street was The Elite, which opened in 1908 a few doors from The Star. Photo courtesy Historical Society.

2. The Originals: The irst motion picture shown in Columbia was screened in 1897 at the Haden Opera House, which was built three years previously and was destroyed by ire in 1901. The former manager of the opera house salvaged scenery and equipment and in 1906 opened the Airdome Theater, a canvas structure just south of Wabash Station on the northeast corner of 10th and Walnut, according to the book Historic Downtown Columbia. After a brief move to the 600 block of Broadway downtown in a building with a moveable steel roof, the Airdome returned to the original site in 1909, expanded and was named The Hippodrome. The structure, the city’s largest theater with 1,455 seats, was destroyed by ire in 1919. Photo courtesy Historical Society.

3. Columbia Theater, with 1,100 seats, opened at 1103 E. Broadway in 1907 and was ruined by ire in 1929. The irst loor remains and houses the Van Matre, Harrison and Hollis law ofice. Another former movie house is now occupied by Slackers. From 1907 to 1927, and again from 1935 to 1985, it operated as a movie house under various names: Bijo Dream, Broadway Odeon, Cozy and Uptown.

4. The Varsity, on 17 N. Ninth, was built in 1927 on the site of the razed Star theater and had 640 seats. The name was later changed to the Film Arts Theater, and the building operated as a theater until 1988. The yellow-brick structure later became The Blue Note, a concert hall that occasionally shows movies and is a venue for the True/False Film Festival. Photos By: Todd Berchek.

5. Hall Theatre: Tom C. Hall closed the Star theater, which had 640 seats, razed the building on 17 N. Ninth St. and built the Hall Theatre a block south at 102 S. Ninth St. The Hall Theatre, with 1,291 seats in 1915, was used to screen The Jazz Singer in 1928. Hall used a Vitaphone projector, the only sound projector in Missouri outside of St. Louis and Kansas City. The building is now occupied by Panera Bread Co. Photos courtesy Historical Society.

6. The Missouri Theatre opened in 1928 at 203 S. Ninth St. In 1953, the building was leased to Commonwealth Theatre and operated as a movie theater until 1987, when it was purchased by the Missouri Symphony Society. The structure was renovated in 2008. Photos courtesy Historical Society.

7. Modern Venues: Forum and Hollywood: The Forum was built in the 1960s and originally was a one-screen theater. In 1992, the Forum 8 behind the Forum Shopping Center was built, and Goodrich bought the business in 1998. Hollywood Theater's Stadium 14 at the eastern end of Stadium Boulevard opened in 1997 with 2,700 seats. Photo by Jennifer Kettler.

8. The Arthouse: Ragtag Cinema: The Ragtag Film Society started showing ilms at The Blue Note in 1997, became the Ragtag Cinema in 2000, located at the Oddfellows building, 23 N. 10th St. The nonproit independent movie theater moved in 2008 moved to 10 Hitt St., an historic building that had been a Coke bottling plant. There is a 130-seat screening room and a lounge theater with 75 seats. Photo by Jennifer Kettler.

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Hall Theatre in 1928. Businessmen often attended the movies on their lunch hour because movies were shorter in the early years.

• Berchek, during her voluminous research, came up with a local newspaper article from 1909 that quoted a theater manager saying he could count on his ingers the number of businessmen who didn’t drop in during the week.

Berchek also found that in 1922, the ilm industry was the fourth-largest industry in the nation. By the mid-1920s, 50 million people attended the movies each week — at a time when the nation’s population was only 115 million.

Columbia residents shared the national pastime. In 1909, there were approximately 3,300 theater seats for Columbia’s population of more than

12,000. These included the Airdome, the Columbia Theater, the Broadway Odeon, the Elite and the “M.” All of these are now gone or so transformed you wouldn’t know they’d been theaters unless it was pointed out to you.

Yet three remain in bricks and mortar in recognizable forms. These Ninth Street theaters truly relect the move in the 1920s toward movie palaces. The Missouri Theatre, the Hall Theatre and the Varsity totaled 3,591 seats by 1930, when Columbia’s population had edged up to nearly 15,000.

Today, with Columbia’s population hovering at 100,000, four venues, the Missouri Theatre, which shows movies periodically; the Forum 8; the Hollywood Theaters Stadium 14; and the Ragtag Theater, provide 4,227 movie seats.

People can now watch movies via DVD rentals, Netlix mailings, on-demand cable and satellite services and online streaming. They can watch them on TVs, computer screens and even mobile phones.

Nevertheless, the number of people buying movie tickets has been fairly steady in the past 15 years, according to BoxOficeMojo.com. Sales rose to 1.2 million in 1995 and, after reaching a high of 1.58 million in 2000, dropped to 1.39 million in 2008 before moving back up to 1.42 million last year. And ticket sales are ahead of the 2009 pace so far this year, according to industry tracking sites.

The local theater storylineFrom the construction of the Airdome in 1906 at 10th and Walnut streets to the opening of Ragtag

Cinema in 2008, the local theater scene has seen its ups and downs.

198418,327: the number of movie screens tops the 1948 igure of 17,811, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.

1997Campus 1&2, 1102 E. Broadway, closes.

1992The Forum 8 at 1209 Katy Parkway replaces the one-screen Forum and is bought by Goodrich in 1998.

1990The theater at 17 N. Ninth St. becomes The Blue Note, a live music venue.

1988Theater at The Blue Note location stops showing movies and becomes the Comic Book Club.

Jan. 7, 1988Last movie shown in the Missouri Theatre, which is sold a few days later to Missouri Symphony Society.

1987$7 billion, in 2005 dollars: a new low in the amount people spend attending movies since 1959, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce.

1987Commonwealth Theatre threatens to turn The Missouri Theatre into a triplex and stops showing ilms there.

1986-2000The Columbia Mall 4.

1985Uptown on Broadway stops showing movies. Today it houses Slackers.

1976-1998The Biscayne III in the Biscayne Mall, once a prime shopping area with 30 stores, now completely razed and replaced with a new shopping area.

1997-Present Hollywood Theater's Stadium 14, 2800 Goodwin Pointe, opens with a total of 2,700 seats.

Sources: US Consumer spending on movies, Personal Expenditures on movie theaters, billions of 2005 dollars/source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce; Number of indoor screens/source: National Association of Theatre Owners; Sources for history: Paul Sturtz of Ragtag, Marge Berchek of the Missouri Symphony Society Historic Committee

In 1909, when the Gem operated on the corner of Walnut and Ninth streets, an advertisement declared: “The Gem is already THE POPULAR AMUSEMENT PLACE.” It was the place to go for “pictures that talk and sing,” according to an item from Berchek’s display. New programs were unveiled on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. And you could get all this for 10 cents for adults, 5 cents for children. (So what is that worth today? According to measuringworth.com, 10 cents would be worth $2.43 in 2009 dollars.)

Movie theaters started as nickelodeons — a combination of the word odeon, which means theater in Greek, and a nickel, the price of watching anything from pictures accompanied by mu-sic and singing to short silent moving pictures. Some of the early theaters were simply stores illed with chairs or benches. By 1908, true short movies were being shown; the programs changed two or three times a week, according to a history developed by Paul Sturtz, co-owner of the Ragtag and co-founder of the True/False Film Festival.

Then in the Roaring ’20s, movie theater architecture centered on the idea that movie palaces should include luxury, whimsy and exoticism, which gave working people a peek at the trappings of the rich, according to the book Great American Movie Theaters by David Naylor. These movie palaces were a place to truly get away

Marge Berchek works on hanging her exhibit on historic vaudeville and moving picture theaters in Columbia. On display at the Missouri Theatre, the exhibit will open in July.

These movie palaces were a place to truly get away from it all — and people did. Some movie theaters

offered child care so mothers could go to the movies during the day.

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1998Ragtag Film Society shows its irst ilm at the Varsity, now The Blue Note.

2009 38,605: the number of indoor movie screens according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.

2008-presentThe Ragtag Film Society opens a two-screen cinema at 10 Hitt St.

2008$8.7 billion, in 2005 dollars: the amount of money spent on going to the movies, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce. It is still below the $10.9 billion (2005 dollars) spent in 1959.

2000Ragtag Film Society moves from the Varsity and opens storefront theater at 23 N. 10th St.

1998The Forum 8 is bought by Goodrich.

from it all — and people did. Some movie theaters offered child care so mothers could go to the movies during the day.

But moviegoers could not escape reality for long. The stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, and the Great Depression lingered on. By today’s prices, tickets back then sound cheap — 35 cents for adults in 1927. But that would be about $4.34 in 2009 dollars.

However, Bill Crawford said people found ways to economize. The president emeritus of the Boone County Historical Society, Crawford moved to Columbia in 1938 and recalls going to the Varsity.

“It was beautiful,” he said, noting that on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays you could go to the movies there and see an advertisement, a news reel, then double feature and vaudeville, all for 25 cents. To save money, people would bring sandwiches to eat, and he recalls bringing brown bags and sacks of stuff from home to save money. The entertainment, he said, would last two hours, and you needed something to eat.

Although they were tough times economically, Crawford said people still attended the movies. “It was the only thing to do in town; nobody had cars,” he said, so the cluster of theaters drew people downtown.

Marian Ohman, who was born in 1926, recalled how she and her friends rode their bikes down-town to take in a show in the afternoon. One day she and a friend slipped out of Hickman High School to see a movie at the Varsity, but her teacher tracked her down, escorted her out of the theater and returned her to school for afternoon classes.

As the economy rebounded after World War II, downtown theaters were hit by two new trends: television and the mass move to the suburbs. Families moved west of what had been the far end of town, West Boulevard, and kids could no longer walk or ride their bikes to downtown theaters like Ohman used to do.

Where are they now?Of the downtown movie palaces, only two retain their mission of entertainment: the Missouri

Theatre Center for the Arts and The Blue Note. The other glorious movie palace is now a restaurant.The Missouri Theatre shows movies periodically and is a venue for the True/False documentary

ilm festival but more typically is a venue for a multitude of musical events and some modern dance performances.

The theater is used for productions of live music and theater for about 50 days a year, which is not nearly enough, according to R. Eric Staley, MTCA chief executive oficer. The MTCA still needs to raise $2.5 million for the recent $10 million renovation of the building. About $400,000 remains in dispute and awaits a decision from an arbitration judge.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Missouri Theatre showed two or three movies each week, but Staley indicated there are no plans to revive those cinematic practices. His focus in the nine months he’s been on the job has been to streamline the MCTA’s business model and develop a schedule of productions to keep it in the black.

The other two movie palaces built in the 1920s still have the doors open, but one is offering sand-wiches while the other brings top-notch live music to Columbia.

The Blue Note began life as the Varsity in 1927. It was built for roughly $100,000, or $1.2 million in 2009 dollars, according to measuringworth.com. The site was previously the home of The Star, built in 1916 and razed to make way for the Varsity. (It had seating for roughly 1,000 people but no provi-sions for African-Americans to attend. In contrast, the Missouri Theatre offered African-Americans a side door and part of the balcony prior to the erasure of segregation.) (continued on Page 20)

Of the downtown movie palaces, only two retain their mission of entertainment: the Missouri Theatre Center

for the Arts and The Blue Note. The other glorious movie palace is now a restaurant.

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The Varsity became the Film Arts Theatre in 1966, the Comic Book Club in 1988 and then The Blue Note in 1990.

The Hall Theatre, with its name still emblazed in gold, still exists as the Panera Bread Company. Built in 1916 at a cost of $65,000 — $1.3 million in 2009 dollars — the Hall opened as a vaudeville and movie theater. It operated as a movie theater through 1973. It was the irst true theater in Columbia, rather than a nickelodeon, and only one of three in Missouri to install a sound system at that time, according to Sturtz. “On July 27, 1928, the Hall showed The Jazz Singer, the irst Vitaphone ‘talkie’ movie shown in Columbia,” Sturtz said via e-mail.

The downward slide In 1959, the irst year for which the Bureau of Economic

Analysis of the US Department of Commerce has comparable igures, people spent $11 billion (in 2005 dollars) going to the movies.

It would be more than 40 years before US consumers would spend near that much again.

As Great American Movie Theaters noted, the rise of legions of movie theaters in the 1920s led to a glut of demolition. In 1948, there were nearly 18,000 screens; in 1963, it had dropped to 9,150 screens. The number of screens has rebounded, until in 2008, there were 38,034 screens, according to the National Association of Theater Owners. Yet, each screen offers fewer seats.

As the nation went, Columbia followed.The Hall Theatre limped along until 1973. The Varsity strug-

gled on in different forms until Richard King took it over in 1990. The Uptown Theatre on Broadway stopped showing movies in 1985. The Columbia Theatre at 1103 E. Broadway burned in 1975 and lost its top two loors. Today the limestone irst loor houses the law ofices of Van Matre, Harrison and Hollis.

The Missouri Theatre continued to show movies, but it took public protest to prevent its then owner, Commonwealth, from turning it into a multiplex.

In 1992, The Forum 8 was built in the Forum Shopping Center. Owned by Michigan-based Goodrich Quality Theatres, the multiplex has 1,327 seats, with one screen offering 3-D projectors. The Forum plans to go all digital in the near future in addition to an upcoming renovation of its concession stand. The Hollywood Theaters Stadium 14, built in 1997 and owned by the Hollywood Theaters head-quartered in Portland, Ore, has 2,700 seats, with ive of its 14 screens featuring digital projectors and 3-D capabilities.

Success on the small screens“Don’t get too weepy mourning the ghosts of the Star and the

Elite and the Cozy — they are the composted humus that sprout-ed the new Ragtag,” Sturtz said.

In 1998, the Ragtag Film Society began showing ilms at the old Varsity Theater. In 2000, the Ragtag opened in a storefront theater at 23 N. 10th St. Then in 2008, exactly 100 years after Columbia opened its irst theater devoted to motion pictures, the Ragtag, Uprise Bakery and Ninth Street Video opened its two-screen cinema at 10 Hitt St.

“It is the irst theater built downtown in more than 60 years,” Sturtz said in an e-mail.

The Ragtag is a cozy place compared with the massive movie palaces. One screen provides seats for 70 on coaches and chairs. The other “big theater” offers 130 ixed theater seats. In 2008, the Ragtag showed 185 irst-run ilms to 55,000 patrons, according to its website. It focuses on new releases and art house titles.

The multiplex owners are equally upbeat about the future of movie theaters.

The National Association of Theatre Owners recently said in a news release that the downturn in the economy probably won’t hurt movie theaters. “During the last eight recession years since 1965, movie theaters’ box ofice and admissions increased during

six of them,” the association said. Perhaps, as Gene Kelly wrote in the forward of the book Great American Movie

Theaters, where you see the movies really is as important as the movie. v

Theater history ... continuedfromPage19

“Don’t get too weepy mourning

the ghosts of the Star and the

Elite and the Cozy — they are the composted

humus that sprouted the new Ragtag.”

-Sturtz

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Bankers critique federal billByJeremy Essig

Mid-Missouri bank executives believe some of the proposed federal banking regulations be-ing debated in Congress this month could harm community banks, though a provision on deposit insurance would help.

Overall, the ongoing debate in Washington is leaving local bankers with feelings of uncer-tainty and unfairness.

The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 is intended to rein in risky banking practices that led to the meltdown of the US inan-cial markets in 2008.

The legislation passed the Senate on May 20 and is being reconciled in a Congressional conference committee with similar legislation passed by the House. Although banking committee chairpersons pre-dicted the bill would be ready for President Obama’s signa-ture by July 4, at CBT’s press time Democrats were pushing for swifter action.

Three bankers interviewed by the CBT said they were still unsure of how the bill would im-pact their day-to-day operations.

"To sit here and say we know what's going to happen and how it's going to inluence us, no clue," said Boone County National Bank Vice President M a r y Wilkerson ear-ly in the week.

Wilkerson said she had part ic ipated in a confer-ence call with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis a week prior, and the federal agency representatives were not ready to advise local banks on compliance measures.

The creation of a consumer protection regu-lator, with broad authority to write and enforce rules protecting borrowers, is a centerpiece of the inancial legislation. Its jurisdiction would include banks, mortgage lenders and other com-panies whose primary business is making loans to consumers.

Wilkerson, Bank of Missouri President David Keller and Bruce Harris, president of the Missouri Independent Bankers Association and The Callaway Bank, all said some regulations are

needed to protect customers.Keller, however, described

the banking bill as a "kitchen sink" approach to regulating an already bloated system.

"We're trying to put all this regulation in place to force the element of trust in a banking system that is built on trust," Keller said. "And it's just add-ing more expense to the bank and more expense to the con-sumer to do business with banks."

The executives said they wished small- and medium-sized banks had been exempt from parts of the larger legisla-tion designed to regulate risky inancial trading, a practice primarily taking place at the largest banks.

It's "a bitter pill to swallow," Wilkerson said of the potential regulations. Congress is pun-

ishing everyone, she added, even though com-munity banks did not participate in risky trad-ing schemes

The local bankers also lamented a provision expected to decrease the amount of money a bank can receive when one of its debit cards is

processed by merchants.

The pro-cessing fee, called an in-terchange pay-ment, would be regulated under an amendment to the bill from Sen. Richard D u r b i n , D-IL. Under

Durbin's amendment, the percentage at which banks could charge merchants would be de-creased — a provision local bankers said would be a boon for big-box retailers such as Walmart.

Keller said that by allowing retailers instant access to money in the form of debit transactions instead of requiring them to hold out for checks to be processed, banks are providing a service to retailers as well as taking on the risk of possible overdrawn customer accounts.

"They enjoy the service, so why shouldn't they pay?" Keller asked.

If banks are forced to lower their interchange rates, Keller said, this cost of processing the transactions and holding risk would eventually be passed along to bank customers. Some meth-ods of transferring the cost to customers could involve the end of free checking accounts or pos-sibly charging an annual rate to debit card users.

But Max Gleischman, a spokesman for Durbin, said the amendment would not affect

"We're trying to put

all this regulation in

place to force the

element of trust in a

banking system that

is built on trust, and

it's just adding more

expense to the bank

and more expense

to the consumer to

do business with

banks."

– David keller

(continued on Page 23)

Local bankers lamented a

provision expected to decrease

the amount of money a bank can

receive when one of its debit

cards is processed by merchants.

Wilkerson Keller Harris

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First State to keep Premier staff, locationsByJeremy Essig

Premier Bank customers might initially notice little more than a change in sig-nage after the bank is taken over by First State next week.

First State Vice Chairman and CEO Greg Allen said the bank has retained the majority of Premier's staff and will maintain its Columbia locations as they are.

"Our niche is customer relationships," Allen said. He added that the relation-ships are aided when customers see the same faces when entering the bank, which provides a more personal relationship between banker and customer.

First State Community Bank, based in Farmington, acquired Premier's three Columbia locations in late March. The transition is on schedule to be completed July 2, Allen said, noting that all regulatory approvals have been received.

The new bank has retained and retrained all previous Premier employees who wished to stay, Allen said. First State also has no plans to make structural changes to branch locations in Columbia, he said.

Allen said customers will receive new First State debit cards, checks and loan information in the mail. It is very important that former Premier customers read the documentation and deadlines that accompany the new products so customers know when to transition to the new items, he said.

Although changes might not be evident initially, Allen said customers can look forward to new products and new account choices. He also said he thinks First State will be able to meet the lending needs of more customers.

As previously reported in CBT, the purchase continues a legacy of expansion throughout eastern Missouri. First State, which opened in 1954, has been buying bank branches in small communities since 1980, and with the Premier purchase First State will have 32 locations in 24 communities. It has operations in Hillsboro, Sikeston, Warrenton, Owensville and Cape Girardeau, among others. It runs insur-ance companies in addition to its banking operations.

Premier Bank opened in Jefferson City in 1995, expanded into Columbia in 1998 and moved into the St. Louis metro area in 2003. By 2006, it had $1 billion in total

assets. But as real estate values began plummeting, Premier sustained heavy losses in the past two years. In March 2009, the Federal Reserve put Premier Bank's hold-ing company under supervision.

Allen said that conversions during and after a bank acquisition can be dificult for both staff and customers but credited Premier employees for helping make the transition easy. The only problem, he said, was occasionally getting the computer technicians to talk to one other.

Columbia will become First State's largest market when the bank oficially takes over the former Premier locations. Allen said though the bank might keep expand-ing, he is not looking at locations in larger metropolitan areas such as St. Louis or Kansas City.

Allen said he feels Columbia is a good location for First State and looks forward to being part of the community.

"We want to grow slow and steady with Columbia as it grows," Allen said. v

On July 2 Premier Bank will change ownership and become First State Community Bank.

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SPECIAL SECTION | BANkING/FINANCIAL sErvICEs

the ability of community banks to set rates. The amendment, according to Gleischman, was only designed to affect banks that take in more than $10 billion in deposits — or only about 90 banks total across the nation.

Harris said that if community banks kept higher interchange rates than their larger coun-terparts, merchants would eventually refuse to accept community bank debit cards.

"It isn't going to make any difference in the practical world," Harris said. Setting higher rates "will make us noncompetitive."

J. Craig Shearman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, a trade association, said Harris' fears are unfounded. MasterCard and Visa have agreements in place with mer-chants, Shearman said, that do not allow mer-chants to pick and choose which cards they accept.

Keller, however, said he does not see a meth-od by which card processing systems can charge different interchange rates based on the cards’ bank of issuance.

"How do you differentiate electronically in a transaction?" Keller asked.

Keller also said he fears the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will harm the ability of community banks to meet local inancial needs. The new bureau will, he said, design government-sponsored inancial products and force all banks to offer them.

"Regulation like this severely inhibits the ability of a local community bank to provide, to tailor its services to the needs of the community," Keller said.

The regulatory bill before Congressional consideration, Harris said, also could contain a provision that would require all banks to pay into a fund that would provide insurance for the countries' largest banking institutions — those often referred to as "too big to fail."

Keller said he disagrees with the idea of pro-viding insurance for the nation’s largest banks. He said those banks that deal in products such as derivative trading should be required to hold more assets on hand.

"If you're going to be on the risk end of a trade, you better have the bananas to back it up," Keller said.

A proposal to make permanent the increase in Federal Deposit Insurance that took effect on a temporary basis in late 2008, however, was met with support from the three local bankers.

Although making the raise permanent would cost banks more in insurance payments, Wilkerson said the move makes "complete logi-cal sense."

Harris said the move could provide a beneit for both banks and customers.

"It allows people to keep more money in com-munity banks," Harris said, "and gives us more money then to turn around and lend out." v

Finance reform ... continuedfromPage21

Keller also said he fears the

proposed Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau will harm the

ability of community banks to

meet local inancial needs.

A proposal to make permanent

the increase in Federal Deposit

Insurance was met with support

from the three local bankers.

Banking executives wary of writedownsFrom the Editors of American BankerAlmost half the banking sector's top executives say it has gotten easier to raise capital in the

past six months — perhaps none too soon, considering their forecast for writedowns.In a new KPMG LLC survey, 96 percent of chief executives and other senior bank industry

oficials said they expect the sector to get hit by heavy additional writedowns stemming from the real estate market, with 74 percent predicting the pace would be "more than normal."

Other red lags cited in the survey included writedowns of non-real-estate assets (for which the predictions are less alarming but still cautionary), the cost of new regulation and the persis-tence of high unemployment.

And yet, bank executives are generally bullish about the industry's prospects, with 57 percent agreeing that the sector is more proitable than a year ago and 75 percent saying they expect prof-itability to be even better a year from now. v

Some Midwest bankers wary of reboundA survey of rural bankers in 10 Midwest and Plains states released on June 17 showed con-

tinued signs of a rebounding economy, though some bankers remain cautious about the future.The overall index for the Rural Mainstreet economic report dipped to 52.6 for June, from 54.3

the month before. The June 2009 index was 34.The index ranges between 0 and 100. A score less than 50 suggests the economy will contract

in the next few months; more than 50 indicates the economy will expand.After 26 months below neutral growth, the index in June marked its second month above neu-

tral, said survey organizers Ernie Goss, a Creighton University economist, and Bill McQuillan, CEO of CNB Community Bank of Greeley, Neb. v

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Landmark, BCNB develop social networking sitesByJeremy Essig

Two local banks have moved beyond their websites to serve Columbia’s virtual community.

Landmark Bank set up a fan page on Facebook.com last July to foster new avenues of discussion with customers and other area residents, Marketing Director Rhiannon Trask said. Two weeks ago, Boone County National established a fan page for similar reasons, Senior Vice President Mary Wilkerson said.

The social networking endeavors are not intended to serve as additional advertisement for the banks, both marketing directors said.

"We never intended it to be a hard-sell marking tool," Wilkerson said. "We already have one of those; it's called our website."

Trask said research shows that people are not searching for "self-promotion" when spending time on Facebook.

"It's really more about connecting with our customers, talking with them, trying to provide useful information."

During the past month, Landmark's page (www.facebook.com/LandmarkBank) has reminded visitors of Flag Day, sug-gested they visit a Columbia website to ind information about weekend activities and attempted to engage customers by asking

The social networking endeavors are not

intended to serve as additional advertisement

for the banks.

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readers how they keep their children cool during the hot summer months.

Boone County National Bank's page (www.facebook.com/BooneBank) has informed fans of the lineup for this year's Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival, promoted the Douglas Park Juneteenth celebration and recommended an article on how to manage credit score.

Referring Facebook fans to articles and links about inancial education is another way to establish a presence in the virtual community, Wilkerson said. "I think education is probably right up there with (community) information."

Boone County National Bank has also signed up for a channel on YouTube.com and hopes to use this to provide further inancial information for customers, Wilkerson said. One idea is to produce short videos informing irst-time home buyers of what needs to be done to obtain a home loan. Although the channel is not up and running yet, Wilkerson had a stack of old commercials on her desk that she said the bank will transfer to the channel for entertainment's sake.

Wilkerson also said Boone County has reserved an address on Twitter, a service she sees as a potential customer-service tool.

Landmark Bank, under Trask’s direction, began engaging cus-tomers on Twitter in January. Trask said she will search for certain keywords through Twitter's advanced search engine and in doing so can stay attuned to what the community is discussing.

On Twitter, Landmark is "doing a lot of listening," Trask said. "If somebody is having problems with another bank in the area, we just offer our assistance and say, 'Is there anything we can do to help?'"

Trask also participated in Columbia's irst "tweet-up," a meeting of local Twitter us-ers at Shakespeare's Pizza, as part of a nationwide "twest-ival" held for charity. It was nice to put names with faces at the event, she said, adding that Landmark is looking to set up and sponsor the area's next "tweet-up."

Engaging customers in a public conversation, however, can have it's drawbacks, both Wilkerson and Trask acknowl-

edged. One such issue is providing unhappy customers a public forum on which to air their grievances.

Although she had not yet encountered such a situation, Wilkerson said that as a marketer, part of her job is to ask custom-ers what the company is doing right and what it is doing wrong.

"If we don't hear complaints, we don't know what to ix," she said.

Another issue with setting up a social networking proile, Wilkerson said, was adhering to federal banking regulations when announcing a new product or service. Appliance stores can simply announce a new item, but Wilkerson said banks can be hindered by the amount of disclaimers they are required to run alongside new products and services.

Although the model for proper usage of social networking ser-vices by banks might still be unformed, Trask said she was excited to be a forerunner of the new technology.

"It's really neat being on the verge of something cool," she said. "Granted, we're probably about three years behind everyone else, but for a bank, we're up there." v

Engaging customers in a public conversation,

however, can have it's drawbacks, both

Wilkerson and Trask acknowledged. One such

issue is providing unhappy customers a public

forum on which to air their grievances.

Engaging

customers in a

public conversation,

however, can have

it's drawbacks, both

Wilkerson and Trask

acknowledged.

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Guest Column » By Heather Lutze

Expand by thinking global, acting local Many small-business owners think that to be successful, they must dominate

the world. After all, their product is just as good for people in Ohio as it is for people in Missouri. But often the real business is right under your nose — right in your own backyard.

For many small-business owners, understanding the nuances of how to attract and capture a local search audience and convert them into paying clients is a big challenge. Fortunately, you can increase your “indability,” dominate Web search results and attract new customers in your own hometown.

The question is: How do you stay competitive in a local market where competi-tion is ierce and your company offers the same perceived product or service as ev-eryone else in the area? How do you achieve a real competitive edge in a localized market? Often, it's about two key things: getting social and getting local.

If you want to stand out in your local market and increase your Web ranking, here are some key ways to get social, get local and get a whole lot of business.

Get socialSocial media marketing is

an excellent tool in an Internet marketer's toolkit. It gives you a great opportunity to demonstrate how your company is different, and it gives a real voice to your online presence. Many businesses that do some social media marketing do a good job of helping consumers ind their social media platforms off the main website. And, for the most part, they do keep their accounts updated with relevant, high-value information. However, in order to harness the potential of these platforms, you need to make a few changes with a localized spin that will go a long way for search engine marketing.

Tip No. 1: Get everyone — and everything — on the same page.

Your blog is the most important social media element your company can create. As such, it needs to be a part of your main website, and it must support your brand. Just having a blog up somewhere on the Web doesn't cut it. In fact, you can have the most informational, well-organized blog in the world, but if it isn't an integrated part of your website, it's useless.

Unfortunately, most businesses have a blog that acts as its own website and is totally separate from the company's main website. As such, the blog often gets more trafic and better Web rankings than the main site. The blog gets all the credit for the business owner's regular posts, and the website gets none. Ideally, you want your website to get everything. The goal is not for consumers to read your blog; it's for them to read your blog and then visit your website and take action.

Therefore, port your blog directly into your main website. Ideally, users will see the same header and footer as the main website, which makes it very easy for them to jump from a blog post to a rel-evant section on your website.

Tip No. 2: A little key-word research goes a long way.

If you are going to take the time and effort to keep your social media platforms up-to-date and informational, then you probably want your potential customers to read them. The true power of social media marketing is the ability to gain search engine ranking by optimizing your platforms, thereby getting found in the search engines and getting trafic to your platforms.

Chances are you've already done the hard work. You're giving great information, uploading videos and images and giving customers a real value-add. Now you simply need to pick one strategic keyword per post and do a little post optimiza-tion, and you'll have search engine ranking. For each blog, use a keyword tool (such as Google's free one, https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal),

The true power of social media marketing is the ability to gain search

engine ranking by optimizing your platforms, thereby getting found in

the search engines and getting trafic to your platforms.

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ind a keyword with good search volume, and simply add it into your post title and throughout the content.

Now, here is the trick for using a keyword tool to localize posts. You probably won't see the tools diving in deep enough to get search volume for Columbia, Mo., or any town for that matter. However, what works for Americans, works for Columbians. This means if there is great search volume under cosmetic dentistry, for example, then there is probably good search volume under cosmetic dentistry, Columbia Mo." So think global, but act local with your keywords.

Get localWhen it comes to marketing on the Internet, the sky is truly

the limit for narrowing in and getting in front of your target audi-ence. Local searching is no exception. Here are a few tricks of the trade that can help you dominate local search results.

Tip No. 1: Use geo-targeting carefully.Many local businesses that do pay-per-click advertising use

geo-targeted criteria, which means your PPC ad will only show if the searcher has a local IP address in the geographic area you've deined. The biggest gap in running only a geo-targeted by IP address campaign is that people who are not physically located in your area when searching won't see your ads. So if someone lives around the corner from you, but this week they happen to be across the country visiting their Aunt Betty and using her com-puter to ind some local businesses to call next week when they're back in town, your PPC ads won't show.

For this reason, geo-targeted pay-per-click accounts need to have two campaigns. Campaign 1 is the localized campaign that only shows ads to consumers in your area, and campaign 2 is a state-wide or national campaign with keywords that have local modiiers. Using our cosmetic dentistry example from earlier, in campaign 1 you could show ads for keywords such as "cosmetic dentistry" and know that only consumers in the surrounding areas would see them. For campaign 2, you could show ads for keywords such as "cosmetic dentistry Columbia, Mo.," and know that regardless of where that person is located, they have a need for a dentist in Columbia.

Tip No. 2: Use Local Business Center ads.Local Business Center ads are a fantastic way to gain additional localized ranking in the search

engines. Setting up a Local Business Center ad account in Google is free; all you need is a local ad-dress, and you are good to go.

Local Business Center gives you the opportunity to connect your local listings with your Google Adwords account, which means that when someone searches for your keyword in your local area, your listing will appear with an address and phone number under the standard ad text.

Even better, Local Business Center ads can be optimized. For example, if one of your local list-ings is titled "Columbia Dentist," you could label it "Columbia Dentist, Cosmetic Dentistry" and gain ranking for someone searching for cosmetic dentistry in Fairield. By using a keyword tool and in-cluding your keyword in the local listing, small businesses can take full advantage of a local Internet marketing approach.

Tip No. 3: Get the right local domain for the right audience.As much as we are targeting local keywords and local listings, there is a ine line between local

and too local. For example, some businesses put their phone number or address (or part of it) in their domain name. Whereas an address and/or phone number is certainly local, it is just a bit too local. Searchers deinitely identify with localized keywords; however, typically they don't search down to the street number or phone number until they are looking for directions or a speciic provider. Therefore, get a website address that is local-keyword rich. A small change in your Web address can make a very big change in your search engine indability. v

Heather Lutze has spent the past 10 years as CEO of The Findability Group, formerly Lutze Consulting, a search engine marketing irm that works with companies to attain maximum Internet exposure. She is the author of The FindAbility Formula. www.FindabilityGroup.com.

Local Business Center ads are a fantastic way to gain additional

localized ranking in the search engines. Setting up a Local Business

Center ad account in Google is free; all you need is a local address, and

you are good to go.

When it comes to

marketing on the

Internet, the sky is

truly the limit for

narrowing in and

getting in front

of your target

audience.

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Smart Thinking » Cathy Atkins

E-mail is for wimpsThis comment came up in my advanced sales

training classes last week. I think it’s right on.There are some very practical uses for e-mail.

However, how many times have you sent an e-mail because you were too chicken to pick up the phone, walk down the hall or drive to the recipient’s ofice and handle it face-to-face? Be honest. And it’s all of us, not just salespeople, who fall into the avoidance trap.

E-mail is never a substitute for in-person communication. Many e-mail conversations that ended up with hurt feelings and miscom-munications could have been handled success-fully if only they’d have been handled in per-son. Communication is about more than just words used; it is given meaning by the elements of body language and tonality. Short of using smilies (not recommended in a professional e-mail) or ALL CAPS, you cannot discern emotion or intention from an e-mail.

Early on, there was a con-cept called “netiquette” that attempted to set parameters for tone and emotional inten-tion in e-mail. That concept has all but disappeared. There can be serious business side effects from misinterpretations about intention and tone in e-mail.

I often say that sales is the art of communication. The bet-ter communicator you are, the better salesperson you tend to be. Don’t hide behind e-mail and expect it to do for you in business what you really need to be doing yourself. There’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction in your sales pro-cess. In my experience, a few rules will help you capitalize on e-mail for the value that it does provide. The two parts of the sales process that are traditionally more dificult are cold calling and closing. Because the human dynamic makes these two elements so dificult, many try to ease the pain by using e-mail. However, overuse of e-mail on these two integral parts might be kill-ing your success.

E-mailing is not prospecting. E-mail pros-pecting can work but not by itself. It is one step in a system that should always be followed up with personal contact. It’s actually a great quali-fying tool. The best method is to target a small number of prospects, an amount that you can

comfortably follow up and contact by phone after your e-mail. If you send a newsletter, for example, track who opens it regularly. Target those individuals for a personalized follow-up. Make your irst e-mail contact very personalized and focused on the company. Your job, at this point, is simply to test interest and pique curios-ity. Send an e-mail addressed to them personally and mention the issues, concerns or frustrations your business can solve. If they were a referral, mention that person’s name as well. Keep the e-mail brief enough to be read in the preview pane. They’ll take less than 20 seconds to decide whether to respond, forward or delete it. Invite a response, and work to start a dialogue. If they respond, follow up with a question and more in-formation, such as a white paper or a link. Then,

let them know you’ll follow up via telephone within the week to see if a meeting makes sense.

Whenever possible, strive to never send a proposal via e-mail. E-mailing a proposal to a prospect is a pretty wimpy move. You hope they’ll read it. You hope they’ll understand it. You hope they’ll justify it and sell it to others in the or-ganization with as much skill as you could. You hope they’ll respond with, “Yes, we’ll take it!” A hint: It’s not coming. You’ve lost complete control of your sales process. Even for companies whose salespeople ly across the country to meet with prospects, a more careful-ly planned approach is appro-priate. Even the big guys get caught in a game of: “I hope this closes. I was supposed to hear back yesterday.” Some of these companies will hop on an airplane to meet with a mildly qualiied prospect. Yet

they will relegate the most important part of their process — the proposal — to an e-mail.

Bottom line: Pick up the phone or meet toe to toe and belly to belly. Quit being a chicken. It is ultimately the only way to sell, communicate and successfully interact with the human race. v

Catherine Atkins is an authorized Missouri fran-chisee for Sandler Training, a global leader in busi-ness development training, systems and strategy. Visit www.savant.sandler.com

Early on, there was

a concept called

“netiquette” that

attempted to set

parameters for

tone and emotional

intention in e-mail.

That concept has

all but disappeared.

There can be

serious business

side effects from

misinterpretations

about intention and

tone in e-mail.

.....

eIt’s easy. Log on to

www.columbiabusinesstimes.comand register your interest today!

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usinessTimes.com

PUBLIC RECORDDeeds of Trust $250,000+ June 14-21$15,998,297 TIGER PLACE LLCBANK OF OKLAHOMALT 3 BLUFF RIDGE PLAT 1-F

$8,000,000 PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INC.COMMERCE BANKLT 2C1B EAST POINTE PLAT 2-C1

$3,000,000 NORTH BOONE COUNTY PROPERTIES II LLCLW PARTNERSHIP L PLT C1 TUSCANY RIDGE PLAT NO. 1

$2,074,000 WENDLING DEVELOPMENT LLCPROVIDENCE BANKLT 1 ACADEMY VILLAGE PLAT 1

$1,480,000 WENDLING, STEPHEN F & CHERYL APROVIDENCE BANKLT 1 CHATEAU ON ST CHARLES PLAT 1

$548,000 REID, ROBERT WAYNE & ELIZABETH TAYLORSTIFEL BANK & TRUSTLT 20 HUNTERS RIDGE SUB

$531,478 DENNISON, CHARLES & CHRISTINALIBERTY MORTGAGE CORPSTR 1-50-13 //NE SUR BK/PG: 2042/90 AC 10.00

$500,000 STATLER, MILDRED A REVOCABLE TRUST AGREEMENTFCS FINANCIALSTR 17-51-11 /N/SE

$417,000 CRIST, BRETT D & MARY KPRIMARY RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE INC.LT 370 THORNBROOK PLAT NO. 12

$417,000 DE LA TORRE, ROGER A & MONIQUEFIRST STATE COMMUNITY BANKLT 121 COPPERSTONE PLAT 1

$417,000 SIMS, R WARREN & GAYLE EJEFFERSON BANK OF MISSOURISTR 13-47-13 //NW SUR BK/PG: 770/537 FF W/EXCEPTIO

$387,000 DAVIS, KIRK & KATHLEENMISSOURI CREDIT UNIONSTR 18-47-12 //SE SUR BK/PG: 1157/986 AC 5.220

$371,000 WILSON, MICHAEL F & KATHERINE AFLAT BRANCH MORTGAGE INC.STR 9-49-14 //N SUR BK/PG: 3639/118 AC 10.000

$335,200 JACOBS, THOMAS A JR & REDFIELD-JACOBS, LAURALANDMARK BANKSTR 11-46-12 //E SUR BK/PG: 1146/772 FF TRACT 2 W/

$330,000 DOUGLAS, JAMES B & ARLENE BMFA INC.STR 10-50-14 /W/SE AC 80

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$313,000 SHINDLER, PHILLIP A & JERI LOULANDMARK BANKLT 305 CASCADES PLAT NO. 3 THE

$312,000 FARMER, CHRISTOPHER D REVOCABLE TRUST AGREEMENTBOONE COUNTY NATIONAL BANKLT 148 CASCADES PLAT 1 THE

$304,735 WEISEL, ANDREW K & CHERI LEGANUSAA FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK LT 27 COPPER CREEK PLAT 2

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$271,500 BURRELL, ROCCO E & SUSAN LCENTRAL FEDERAL SAVINGS & LOAN ASSNLT 304 SOUTHFIELD PLAT 1

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$250,624 RUSSELL, RYAN S & CHRISTINA EFLAT BRANCH MORTGAGE INC.LT 37 EASTLAND HILLS PLAT 3

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Tech Sessions » Jonathan sessions

Runner starts race-timing service

Bright and early on a Sunday morning, a group of about 30 runners gathers under a shelter at Stephen’s Lake Park for a 5K race, a fundraiser for art education.

The rain is holding off, music is playing, and runners are stretching as Patrick Hanson enters names and runner numbers into his laptop. For Hanson, owner and operator of Ready Set Results!, event timing is technical business.

As the runners check in, Hanson gives them each a small plastic card along with a race number. The card is embedded with a passive Radio Frequency Identiication chip that transmits a unique se-rial number, which will identify the runners as they cross the inish line. Hanson has already linked to runners’ numbers in his computer and is now linking names to those numbers. With a twist-tie the runners attach the chips to their shoes, hang the number on their shirts and prepare for the race.

Turning down the music, Hanson leads the runners to the starting point and talks them through the course, which ends back at the shelter. Once everyone has lined up, he starts the race at exactly 9:01 a.m. As the runners turn the irst corner, Hanson casually walks over to the inish line.

Hanson puts his laptop down on a table under a small pop-up tent and begins unpacking his gear. He spreads out large, wire-illed mats that will detect the RFID tags as the runners cross the inish line. Next, he removes the cover from an intimidating metal box that acts as a go-between for the mat and his laptop. Once everything is connected and communicating, he just has to wait for the runners to return.

Seventeen minutes, thirty seconds after the race started, the system beeps as it detects Steve MacIntyre crossing the inish line. As the runners continue to inish the race, they, too, are met with a satisfying beep of completion while Hanson watches their names appear on the computer in front of him. He is then able to immediately print the results and upload them to the Internet.

Hanson, a salesman at Tryathletics in south Columbia, is an avid runner and board member of the Columbia Track Club and has started a race-timing business called Ready Set Results!.

The Track Club contracted Ready Set Results! to time nearly all of the organization’s events this year and direct some of them. (Hanson abstained from the vote.)

Ready Set Results! replaces a time-intensive manual system requiring an individual to push a button as each runner crosses the inish line and other individuals to manually record runners’ in-formation. The manual system requires a minimum of two people for each race and about 10 people for large marathons.

Hanson’s system can handle marathons with as many as 4,000 runners along with small races such as the one last month at Stephens Lake Park, and he can manage most races by himself. The system is portable enough to time three 5K races in a single day.

Although timing the race is the most noticeable part of the job, Hanson’s services only begin at the inish line. Ready Set Results! is a comprehensive race management company. Working with organizations, charities and businesses, Hanson can design the course, get the course oficially certi-ied, promote the event through his known track organizations and help with event coordination for groups hosting their irst event. v

Ready Set Results!www.readysetresults.net|readysetresults@gmail.com|573-268-1409

PH

OT

OS

BY

JE

NN

IFE

R K

ET

TLE

R

TOP: Jennifer Dyley crosses the inish line in a race at Stephens Lake Park. The blue antenna mats and a chip tied to her shoelace record her exact time when she inishes.

ABOVE: Hanson helps Dyley check her time after inishing her 5K race. The new system that Hanson operates by IPICO Sports allows runners to get an exact time down to a 10th of a second.

LEFT: An IPICO Sports Elite Reader Chip ties to a runner's shoes and allows an antenna to capture the runner's exact inish time.