A14
SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010
The Oxford Enterprise
BUSINESS PULSE
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION GUARANTEED: Edith Kelly-Green believes proper training and a positive work environment keep turnover down and em-
ployees happy at her Lenny’s Sub Shop franchises, including the one in Oxford.
Former FedEx VP delivers tasty
sandwiches instead of packages
Edith Kelly-Green now largest franchisee of Lenny’s Sub Shops
BY BECKY GILLETTE
The Oxford Enterprise
In 2003, Oxford native and Ole Miss account-
ing school graduate Edith Kelly-Green retired
after 26 years at FedEx in Memphis, rising
through the ranks to the prestigious position
of vice president and chief sourcing officer. She
had planned on a life of leisure, reading books
at the local coffee shop each day. But one Sat-
urday morning in 2004, while Kelly-Green
was sitting at Starbucks, she read about the
Lenny’s Sub Shop franchise in Oxford being for
sale.
“My daughter, who was a student here at col-
lege in Memphis, ate at Lenny’s all the time,”
says Kelly-Green, who was the first African-
American female vice president at FedEx. “She
said, ‘Mom, we should invest in it. The food
tastes good, it is fresh and healthy, and it is a
good value.’ She is an athlete, so she was in-
terested in the healthiness of the food.”
Kelly-Green bought the franchise in Oxford
and used her business management skills
honed all those years at FedEx to make the
shop successful. Then, she and her partners –
daughter Jayna, who is now in medical school,
and son James – repeated the success of the
Lenny’s in Oxford over and over again. In only
FNC, Inc. honored for innovation
Oxford company revolutionized mortgage, appraisal process
Special to The Oxford Enterprise
The exclusive membership includes a dash-
ing astronaut, the brilliant doctor who per-
formed the world’s first heart transplant and
a manufacturer who brought jobs to an impov-
erished town with a factory that makes deluxe
ovens for luxury-loving foodies.
Now, mortgage technology company FNC
Inc. is the newest member of the Mississippi
Innovators Hall of Fame, an honor given to Mis-
sissippi entrepreneurs and inventors whose
creativity has spawned jobs and economic de-
velopment in the state.
FNC was founded in 1999 by University of
Mississippi professors Bill Rayburn, Dennis
Tosh, Robert Dorsey, John Johnson and Ph.D.
candidate Duncan Chen. FNC’s Collateral
Management System® (CMS®) software en-
sures that lenders and appraisers are in com-
pliance with federal regulations. It dramatically
FNC continued, PAGE A15
BizB I T S
Toyota announced some good
news for North Mississippians
this week: it plans to resume
work on its nearly completed
plant in Blue Springs, where it will
build its best-selling compact car,
the Corolla. After nearly complet-
ing construction of the $1.3 billion
facility, Toyota had ceased work-
ing on the plant in December 2008
in the midst of the economic
downturn.
“Toyota is moving forward to
equip and begin production at its
Mississippi plant. We’re delighted
but not surprised,” Gov. Haley
Barbour said in a prepared state-
ment. “We’ve had good reason to
keep faith in them.”
Mississippi has committed
about $294 million for site prepa-
ration, infrastructure and training
for the plant. Toyota said it plans
to open the plant sometime in
2011 and will eventually hire
about 2,000 workers. The Japan-
ese automaker had previously
planned to build its popular hy-
brid Prius at the facility and also
had mentioned building its High-
lander SUV there.
“We sincerely appreciate the
patience and understanding
shown by Gov. Barbour and the
people of Mississippi,” said
Yoshimi Inaba, president and
chief operating officer of Toyota
Motor North America. “With the
economic downturn, we had a
six years, they have come to own eleven
commitment to our team mem-
business profile
Lenny’s Sub Shops, in fact becoming the
chain’s largest franchisee. bers and communities worldwide
“Opportunities come up,” Kelly-Green says. to make sure all of our existing
“I did a have a fun and leisurely retirement for plants were stable. With the re-
at least a year. Even though FedEx is far larger turn of stability to our existing op-
with billions in sales, the business skills I erations in North America, it is
learned there have been very helpful in oper- time to fulfill Toyota’s promise in
ating the sub shops.” Mississippi.”
Those skills include putting people first and
giving back to the community through philan-
thropy.
Statewide
“FedEx has a strong emphasis on philanthro-
py and putting people first,” notes Kelly-
& Briefs
Green, who, as founding chairman of the Ole The Tennessee Valley Authority
Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy, estab-
(TVA) will raise its rates for the
lished a scholarship endowment at Ole Miss for
fifth straight month, adding up to
a student in accounting. “With any business that
deals with the public, if you don’t have good $4 a month for residential cus-
Nathan Latil/University Brand Photography
employees, you don’t get good customer serv- tomers, the Associated Press re-
ice and you are going to fail. Finding and hiring ported this week. TVA blames the
good employees is always a challenge. You rate hike on increased fuel costs
have to treat people well, pay them well and and increased demand with the
motivate them.” summer heat. Compared to June,
Training is important to help create a pos- the July fuel cost adjustment will
itive work environment. Kelly-Green says her raise monthly residential bills be-
employees are cheerful, friendly and effi- tween $1.50 and $4, depending on
Ole Miss alumnus Edith Kelly-Green accepts the cient. usage.
Alumni Achievement Award from Executive Director
of Alumni Affairs Tim Walsh. KELLY-GREEN continued, PAGE A15 BancorpSouth targets
small business owners
Tupelo-based BancorpSouth
Inc. this week announced a new
initiative focused on assisting
small- to mid-sized businesses
during the slow economic recov-
ery, the Mississippi Business Jour-
nal reported. The goal is to help
small businesses to manage their
cash flow and maximize their bot-
tom line.
“Our small business focus is im-
portant due to the large number of
small businesses and entrepre-
neurs who are bearing much of the
brunt of the national economic
downturn,” Gordon Lewis, Ban-
corpSouth’s vice chairman for
community banking, was quoted
as saying in the MBJ article.
The bank offers next-day credit
to small businesses that open a
Elli Williams/The Oxford Enterprise
merchant services account, plus
up to $200 of free processing serv-
ices on credit card purchases for
a limited time. Also available for a
limited time is a $100 cash reward
to small business owners for trans-
FNC President Glen Evans (second from left) relaxes at the company’s Oxford headquarters with staff ferring their business checking
members (from left) Anu Kulkarni, Michelle Chatham and Peter Womer. account to BancorpSouth.
THE OXFORD ENTERPRISE
Boss’s forgery accusation may call for a lawsuit
BY LINDSAY NOVAK
Suing isn’t easy, but heart-
less boss deserves it
Q: I am a single mom with
one child. I worked for two
years as an executive assis-
tant at an agency. I was pro-
moted two levels higher at
the same
time my
daughter be-
came des-
perately ill
w i t h
Crohn’s disease. She lost 40
pounds in a month and
couldn’t even keep water
down, but I performed all my
work during this, though I
wasn’t my normal smiley self.
When my boss heard about
my daughter, she said to me,
“Crohn’s is no big deal.” Im-
mediately following this, the
human resources depart-
KELLY-GREEN
Continued from Page A14
“People come for the
food, but they come back for
the experience of people
who know your name and
remember which sandwich
you like,” she says. “We have
some employee turnover,
but lower turnover than usu-
al. Some of our employees
are celebrating ten years at
the particular Lenny’s where
they work.”
While business basics are
the same at any company —
whether it is a Lenny’s or
FedEx — Kelly-Green enjoys
working for herself and be-
ing able to make manage-
ment decisions more quickly
than with a large corpora-
tion. Now she doesn’t have
to go through multiple
chains of command to make
decisions.
Still, it is no picnic over-
seeing eleven franchises. “It
is hard work,” Kelly-Green
says. “You have to put in the
time. You have to be con-
cerned with the pennies and
FNC
Continued from Page A14
decreases risk and error in
the mortgage industry.
FNC was founded a year
after Google was created
during a time when there
was great pressure for tech
firms to migrate to Silicon
Valley. But the company’s
founders chose to stay here
in Oxford.
“We have offices in Cali-
fornia and Texas, but this
fantastic honor resonates
with us emotionally because
we kept our headquarters
and our hearts in Mississip-
pi, our home,” CEO Rayburn
says. “This proves that a
technology company that
values originality and imag-
ination can draw talented
people from all over the
world to our small, beautiful
town of Oxford.”
On a large world map in
the foyer of the company’s
Oxford headquarters, tiny
paper flags mark the birth-
places of FNC employees,
ranging from India and Nige-
ria to Switzerland and
Britain, from Brooklyn to La-
guna Beach and many
points in between. For
FNC’s founders, it’s addi-
tional proof that Mississip-
pi’s green hills can be as in-
spirational as fog-draped
Silicon Valley.
FNC pioneered real es-
tate collateral information
technology. FNC has driven
down costs and streamlined
loan processing for the na-
tion’s largest mortgage
lenders. With its collateral
management platforms and
collateral-focused data and
analytics, FNC provides ad-
vanced insight into the prop-
erty backing a loan from
origination to capital mar-
HAVE A
STORY IDEA?
GIVE US A CALL!
ment made a mistake on the
paperwork for my promo-
tion. Also during this period,
my boss signed off on a doc-
ument without reading it.
When her boss asked her
questions about the docu-
ment, she was embarrassed
and accused me of signing
her name, therefore having
an excuse for why she didn’t
know the information in the
document. She then re-
scinded my promotion,
which was a loss of $10,000
for me, and sent me to work
in another office. To make
matters worse, she told her
employees that she had to
fire me for forging her name.
Do I have any recourse?
A: You may not want to
spend the money, but this is
a critical situation because
your boss is spreading lies to
A Lenny’s employee chats with customers.
dimes if you are a small
business owner.”
Kelly-Green also serves
on Lenny’s Franchisee Advi-
sory Board. “We really value
her opinion,” says Brent
Alvord, president of Lenny’s
Sub Shops. “She has insight-
ful franchisee questions and
good ideas about how we
can improve franchise sup-
port services.”
It isn’t the norm for a
franchisee to add so many
new stores so quickly. But
Alvord has learned not to be
surprised by Kelly-Green.
“She has significant busi-
Despite its national reach, FNC Inc. has kept its headquarters in Oxford.
kets.
The Mississippi Technol-
ogy Alliance launched the
Innovators Hall of Fame in
2008 to celebrate the
achievements of some of
the state’s brightest minds.
The individuals and com-
panies recognized there rep-
resent excellence in innova-
tion and technology in Mis-
sissippi.
The FNC honor puts the
Oxford corporation in some
pretty impressive company.
In its second year, the Inno-
vators Hall of Fame Awards
Gala recognized Jim Barks-
dale as the recipient of the
Mississippi Innovators Leg-
ends Award. Barksdale
played a significant role in
revolutionizing three indus-
tries — air express, cellular
phones and Internet com-
munications. He served as
president and CEO of
Netscape Communications
662.232.8650
BUSINESS
damage your reputation.
Consult an employment
lawyer who represents em-
ployees and not manage-
ment. In choosing one, check
each attorney’s area of con-
centration under employ-
ment law, and don’t hesitate
to interview several before
making your decision.
Forgery is a serious accu-
sation, and you cannot let it
go simply because a legal
fight is unpleasant. Your boss
may be spreading this mali-
cious rumor in your former
office, but don’t fool yourself
into thinking it won’t travel to
other offices and other com-
panies if you decide to look
for another job.
Make a record of dates,
and describe every conversa-
tion and interaction between
you and your boss. Then ask
ness experience and has had
tremendous success with
her restaurants,” Alvord
says. “They all contribute
to her running her opera-
tions in a very professional
way with missions, goals
and core values that, through
training, emanate to every
employee. She is also very
involved in the community
and is always thinking about
how to give back. She partic-
ipates on several non-profit
boards. She is a very well-re-
spected woman in the com-
munity.”
Kelly-Green, who has her
from January 1995 until the
company merged with
America Online in 1999.
Upon completion of that
merger, Barksdale joined
Time-Warner’s board of di-
rectors.
The 2009 inductees were
inductees who demonstrat-
ed excellence in innovation
and technology and repre-
sent the very best of Missis-
sippi. They include: Fred
Carl, founder, chairman,
president and chief execu-
tive officer of Viking Range
Corporation; Fred Haise, a
NASA astronaut and aero-
space executive; and Dr.
James Hardy, a University of
Mississippi Medical Center
physician and pioneer in or-
gan transplant surgery.
Ambassador John
Palmer, a native Mississippi-
an and former Ambassador
to Portugal, received the
2008 Innovators Legends
SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010 A15
human resources to allow was. I have allergies, and I have excused yourself once
you to review and receive a don’t like cats; they are you saw them and graciously
copy of your employment sneaky and too independent. left the party. If your allergies
file. When you meet with the I made a comment that got don’t affect your breathing
attorney, your written infor- back to her. Now I don’t ability but you object to the
mation will help you relate know how to apologize. presence of cats, you could
your experience. Legal fights A: You weren’t thinking, have stayed for a short
are stressful, but you clearly and perhaps the hostess was- amount of time and chosen
deserve to win this one. You n’t thinking, either. Cats can not to eat any of the food.
could end up with your pro- cause severe reactions in Many party hosts would have
motion, a cash settlement people with cat allergies. She put their pets in an upstairs
and getting this jerk of a boss should have made known to bedroom for the safety of the
fired. Whatever the outcome, her invitees that her cats animals, but seeing as this
don’t allow your boss to get would be present at the party. host didn’t, guests were ex-
away with damaging your Because you have serious al- pected to enjoy the cats, ig-
reputation. lergies to cats, you could nore the cats or leave.
have turned down the invita- Making a negative comment
Bad comment gets back to tion politely. Because you at a co-worker’s home is not
co-worker weren’t told ahead of time one of the options.
Q: A co-worker of mine about the cats, you could © 2010 CREATORS.COM
had a party at her home. She
owns cats and lets them walk
around freely. I watched
them walk on the counters
and tables where the food
bachelor’s degree in account-
ing from Ole Miss and a
Masters of Business Admin-
istration degree from Vander-
bilt University in Nashville,
Tenn., is a board member of
The University of Tennessee
Medical Group (UTMG) and
Applied Industrial Technolo-
gies, Inc. (AIT) a New York
Stock Exchange company.
She also has faced and
overcome personal chal-
lenges, such as being diag-
nosed with breast cancer
14 years ago. Her children at
the time were young, and
she was determined not to
leave them motherless. She
researched the disease thor-
oughly before opting for sur-
gery, chemotherapy and ra-
diation.
Kelly-Green participates
in the annual Race for the
Cure and is on the Baptist
Women’s Hospital Advisory
Board.
A member of the execu-
tive board of the University
of Mississippi Alumni Asso-
ciation, Kelly-Green was in-
ducted into the Ole Miss
Hall of Fame in 1999.
Award. He served as chair-
man of Skytel Communica-
tions from its founding in
1989 to its sale to MCI
WorldCom in 1999. Skytel
was a world leader in ad-
vanced wireless messaging
and deployed the first na-
tionwide two-way wireless
messaging network.
Other 2008 Excellence
Award recipients included
Edward Barq., Sr., the
founder and inventor of
Barq’s Root Beer, Cellular
South, founded by James
H. Creekmore, Sr. and Wade
H. Creekmore, Jr., Peavey
Electronics, founded by
Hartley Peavey and Dr.
Arthur Guyton, author of
the seminal textbook, “Text-
book of Medical Physiolo-
gy.”
Visit FNC’s Web site at
www.fncinc.com.
THE OXFORD
ENTERPRISE