Mobile Register

Study: Fishing industry took $88M hit in Katrina
Situation could worsen without government help, says author

Friday, December 16, 2005

By SEAN REILLY
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Katrina cost Alabama's seafood industry almost $88 million in boat damage, lost wages and other factors, according to a draft of a University of South Alabama study. Those losses may escalate, the study warns, if assistance does not arrive quickly.

"The real key point is getting the money as quickly as the government can," said lead author Semoon Chang, director of USA's Center for Business and Economic Research, in a phone interview Thursday. That way, he said, fishermen, dealers and processors can recover quickly without forfeiting market share.

"If they lose customers, that's going to be hard," Chang said. At a congressional hearing earlier in the day in the nation's capital, state and federal officials made a similar point. Without government action, commercial fisherman are going to find other ways to make a living, said John Roussel, assistant fisheries secretary for Louisiana.

"You're going to lose something you can't get back," he said at the hearing of the House Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee.

Although discussions are ongoing, the federal government has so far provided no direct aid, said William Hogarth, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service. But any help, he said, should be accompanied by programs -- such as voluntary buyouts of boats and licenses -- to restructure an industry plagued by overfishing and low prices in various fisheries even before Katrina struck. A full recovery program, including job retraining, could cost $1.2 billion, he said.

Also pitching a buyout was George Mannina, a representative for charter boat operators, who said that his clients in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana saw Katrina destroy or severely damage about half of their vessels. With a $1 million federal appropriation, they could leverage a $95 million loan program for buyouts, Mannina said.

Operators are "not looking for a handout," he said. "They are looking for a hand up."

The odds of Congress handing out any money before leaving town for the Christmas break appear iffy at best. A comprehensive bill would take several months, Subcommittee Chairman Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., said, although he held out hope of including some funds in a hurricane relief package that could pass by next week.

Chang carried out the federally funded study in conjunction with the state Marine Resources Department.

For the report, Chang drew on questionnaires and interviews with almost 300 dealers, processors, charter boat operators and fishermen.

By his appraisal, Katrina's wallop stemmed mainly from damaged boats, along with losses in inventory, unpaid wages and bills and lost and future sales. Some $61 million more is potentially at risk in loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration and private lenders that could go unpaid if the industry doesn't revive quickly, the report states.

It's unclear, however, how large a proportion of the state's total fishing economy the $88 million in losses represents. While some reports put the size of that economy at $200 million to $300 million, Chang said he has not verified those figures.

In a memo released at Thursday's hearing, the staff of the Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee put the Alabama industry's total losses from this year's hurricanes at about $200 million, the majority of them coming from the shrimp sector. It's unclear how that higher figure was calculated; a Gilchrest aide could not immediately provide an answer late Thursday afternoon.

The Business View

Local Economy to Exceed National Expectations in 2006

December 2005/January 2006 Vol. XXXVI, No. 11

In 2006 the Mobile economy is expected to out-pace the national economy, according to Semoon Chang PhD, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of South Alabama.  While the national economic forecast is being scaled back due to increased energy prices and anticipated recovery expenditures from a number of hurricanes, the local economy is expecting a swell from the construction contracts, material sales as well as increased wages of area trade workers.

Carl Ferguson, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at The University of Alabama, estimated, “The Mobile area will see 5 to 10 percent or more growth as a result based on the flow of wages and the sales of recovery products.”

Ferguson likened the area’s expected economic acceleration to those experienced by construction trades that are accustomed to boom and bust, great activity followed by down time.  “What we’ll see (in Mobile) is akin to the natural construction cycle over the next two to three years, maybe longer,” he said.

Even without increased activity from Hurricane Katrina, Chang said the Mobile area economy is on-par with projected growth.  “Employment is up.  Retail sales are up.  Tax revenue is up,” said Chang.

Taking a look at a variety of economic indicators, here’s how the Mobile area economy is shaping up and a look at what area leaders expect for 2006.

Construction

“Construction is booming,” according to Barbara Estes, executive director of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).  She cites $500 million in projects expected over the next several years as the basis of her prediction and the fact that the economy is strong.  “A strong economy fuels home ownership, which feeds commercial construction such as schools, malls, drugstores, etc., said Estes.

Before the storms, contractors had a six to eight month backlog of work left from 2004’s Hurricane Ivan recovery efforts.  Estes estimates $200 billion in federal money will be pumped in the Gulf Coast economy to rebuild a multitude of structures following this year’s hurricanes.

While there have been some out-of-state contractors vying for work, local contractors remain competitive because costs are lower when using area workers – no per diem or travel costs are included in bids, explained Estes.  “This biggest barrier to all contractors is finding people to do the work when FEMA is paying $16 an hour for debris removal in Mississippi.”

With a government grant that came through Mobile Works, a new ABC program is training carpenters, framers and electricians from the pool of evacuees residing in the area to go to work here.

Workforce

In the latest stats available, Mobile’s unemployment rate at 4.2 percent is below the national average of 4.9 percent and slightly above the state level of 3.8 percent.  The percentages for 2005 are considerably less than the 6.6 percent recorded for the same time period last year.

New announcements, including EADS North America, Universal Rope Fabrication and Wilmax Clinical Research account for nearly 200 jobs.  Existing area employers tell the Mobile Area Chamber they will add new jobs over the next three years.  In addition, capital investments are estimated at $1.48 billion.

“Those kind of increases add up to a 4 percent increase in employment, exceeding the national job growth average of 1.5 percent annually,” said Bill Sisson, the Chamber’s vice president of economy development.  “In addition, the majority of these positions meet our goal of an annual salary of $32,000 or more, and that means we are increasing the standard of living for area employees.”

Housing

“It’s a seller’s market,” said Susie Cleveland, executive officer of the Home Builder’s Association of Metro Mobile.  An indication of the housing sales is the recent Parade of Homes event where less than half of the homes normally shown were finished or had been sold.  “Builders had to make a decision to either keep their show home available as their main marketing tool or sell it,” said Cleveland.

Prior to the storm our market continued to grow in the number of units and in value said Jeff Newman, executive vice president of the Mobile Area Association of Realtors.  “We keep saying we’ve had the best year ever for the last 10 to 12 years,” said Newman.

“Since Hurricane Katrina our inventory is depleted,” he said.  “There is no rental property whatsoever.”  Newman believes when the insurance money begins to come to policy holders affected by the storm the market will get even hotter.  Newman says there will be a strong demand and solid appreciation of property in 2006.  Since interest remains in the single digits, the market will be very good.  “And remember, we’re only 67 percent of the national median,” said Newman referring to the national average of housing costs.

Retail Sales

Randy Ferguson, store manager for the Schillinger Road Wal-Mart, said he’s having a hard time keeping inventory in his store.  “There are a lot of Mississippi car tags in our parking lot and they are defiantly having an impact on sales,” said Ferguson.  Among the items flying off the shelves are house wares, appliances, apparel and furniture.  “People are replacing what they lost,” he explained.  Ferguson expects this trend to continue for several more months, well into 2006.

Last year the new mall across the bay, Eastern Shore Centre, was expected to put a damper on sales at Colonial Mall Bel Air in Mobile.  Sales increased in 2005 before the storm at 3 to 5 percent, normal growth according to Tim Nolan, manager of Colonial Mall Bel Air.  About 10 days following Hurricane Katrina, merchants started seeing “Christmas like” traffic and experienced 23 to 35 increases across the board, said Nolan.  He expects larger than normal increases in sales for his merchants to continue through the holidays and most of next year.

City/County Tax Receipts

During the month of August, county tax receipts were up 20 percent according to Michelle Herman, finance director for Mobile County.  The county experienced up to 12 percent increases in 2005, said Herman, and she expects tax receipts to increase through 2006 as communities rebuild following Hurricane Katrina.  “We’re building our 2006 budget to assume we will see those same kind of returns,” she said.

On the flip side, Herman cautioned, fuel and road materials cost are also increasing.  The county added 50 percent over last year’s heating, gasoline and electricity costs to cover anticipated increases for 2006.  “It’s a big question mark sitting out there.  We’re not sure what the real increase will be once we calculate extra costs.”

Barbara Malkove, executive director of finance for the city of Mobile, said sales tax increases reached nearly 10 percent including September 2005.  The city also amended its budget this year to accommodate increasing gasoline prices and put an additional $2 million in next year’s budget.

Tourism

Chang lists tourism-dependent business on his list of “Losers from Hurricane Katrina.”

Prior to hurricane season gas prices were having an affect on travel and attendance at area attractions, according to Landon Howard with the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.  “The storms came so early and people planning trips to the coast changed their minds as (storms) Cindy, Dennis and Katrina came through,” said Howard.  MBCVB is marking quite vigorously, hoping to capture attendance from disaster workers, insurance adjusters and evacuees filling the area’s hotels.  “It’s hard to find a hotel room within 100 miles,” added Howard.

Events such as the Senior Bowl, Mardi Gras, and the new Mummy exhibit at the Gulf Coast Exploreum, and the return of cruising is expected to revive tourism’s contribution to the local economy.  Howard said his marching orders are to “keep that ship filled,” referring to Carnival’s Holiday.  Howard is optimistic that the passenger levels will quickly return to post shelter numbers, exceeding the ship’s capacity on a regular basis.

“In two years, we’ll look at this as a major inconvenience,” said Howard.

Mobile Register

Boomtown:  Mobile rakes it in after Katrina
Crowded streets and restaurants lead to soaring tax collections

Sunday, November 13, 2005

By STEVE MYERS
Staff Reporter

The clues to Mobile’s standing as one of the few functioning cities on the edge of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction have been evident since just after the storm in the form of packed restaurants and busy streets.

Now the latest tax collection numbers show just how much the area has boomed since the storm.

Mobile and Mobile County’s sales tax collections for September are way up – 50 percent for the city and 43 percent for the county – compared with the same month the year before.

Hotel and restaurant tax collections also jumped, according to the latest figures compiled by two governments.

Mobile’s hotel tax collections in the police jurisdiction, which is the area outside the city where some taxes are collected in exchange for police and fire protection, were up 82 percent over the previous year.

The county’s increase in its gross receipts tax, similar to a sales tax, is the largest since at least October 2002, according to the county.

September tax figures for Baldwin County were not immediately available, but a report from the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau indicated that hotels were more full than usual in September.

Katrina’s Aug.29 strike on the Gulf Coast devastated coastal Mississippi and New Orleans, but outside of Bayou La Batre, the storm didn’t cause nearly as much damage in Mobile County.  Power was restored more quickly than in Mississippi, and evacuees, insurance adjusters and recovery workers swarmed into the city.

Mobile County Commission President Mike Dean said he has seen plenty of evidence of increased economic activity in Tillman’s Corner and Theodore, both of which are in his district.  He said his sister-in-law, who lives in Picayune, Miss., planned to do her Christmas shopping in Mobile because the shopping back home is so limited.

Hotel occupancy rates in the county portended Katrina’s economic effect.  According to Smith Travel Research, almost 9 out of every 10 hotel rooms in the Mobile area were filled in September.

Hotels in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were 80 percent filled, significantly higher than the 56.5 percent in 2003, which is more typical for the fall – though there are fewer hotel rooms available since 2004’s Hurricane Ivan.  Figures weren’t available for September 2004 due to the devastation in those communities from Ivan. 

Elected leaders in Mobile County have already started to discuss what to do with the extra money.

Mobile City Councilman Ben Brooks, who heads the council’s finance committee, said the city should see if the trend continues, then use the extra money to either restructure or lower the city’s sales tax or devote it to capital projects.  The city has used capital funds to run some of the day-to-day operations of the city.

Mobile Mayor Sam Jones was not immediately available for comment.

Mobile County commissioners applauded at a Thursday meeting when they heard the September figures.  Dean said he would like to put some of the overage in a separate fund that would be used for public works equipment and sheriff’s deputies’ cars.

“If we spend it all at one time, this (extra money) is probably not going to be there this time next year,” Dean said Friday.

The county’s lodging tax, which has seen two months of more than 50 percent growth, already is earmarked for tourism-related expenses.

University of South Alabama economist Semoon Chang predicted that the boom will continue through March, with increases of 10 to 15 percent.  Even after that, he said, revenues will be up. 

Tony Dughaish, head of the Mobile Hotel Motel Association, said recently that the nearly 100 percent occupancy at the end of October appeared to be dropping by the end of November.

Despite the post-Katrina boom, Chang noted that two industries – seafood and local tourist attractions – have suffered since the storm, and he suggested that governments try to compensate them for their losses.

Mobile Register

Costs hurt road work
Higher bids, right-of-way problems raise pricetags for Pay As You Go programs by millions of dollars

By STEVE MYERS
Staff Reporter

Higher bids and problems obtaining rights of way for new roads have delayed county road projects and driven up their costs, and a local economist has predicted that the county will continue to experience higher prices.

County Engineer Joe Ruffer said the 2000 Pay As You Go program will cost the county $10 million more than the $93 million total. State and federal governments were to chip in $31.2 million, the rest to be covered by the county.

Pay As You Go projects are approved by voters every four years.

The 2004 program will cost $4 million more to complete than expected, Ruffer said. The county had planned to pay $65 million of the $121 million total cost.

As an example of the higher prices, Ruffer said, a project to pave 10 dirt roads near Alabama 188 in the south part of the county had come in at $1.95 million, well over its estimate of $1.2 million.

The high costs of road projects led Commission President Mike Dean to tell county employees at a Thursday meeting that he wanted to see if the state and other counties were seeing similar increases.

"It's going to get to a line where price gouging might go into effect," he said.

According to University of South Alabama economist Semoon Chang, who analyzed the county's bids, the pressures are nationwide.

Ruffer told the commissioners that signs point to a variety of factors, such as increased transportation and fuel costs and an abundance of work for contractors and workers being drawn westward to work on Hurricane Katrina reconstruction for higher wages.

Ruffer said Chang estimated a 10 percent annual increase in construction costs for the next three years.

Considering that, Chang said, governments "might as well accept that bid prices have increased. They are not likely to go down anytime soon, so raise that cost estimate and go ahead and do it."

The county did hold off on its projects after Hurricane Ivan, Ruffer said, but even six months after the storm, prices hadn't dropped. As a result, the county hasn't done any major road building or repaving projects since the September 2004 storm, Ruffer said.

The state has continued some projects on county roads, however.

Chang noted that the price of several key elements of construction increased moderately from 1990 to 2004, but "prices really zoomed" from mid-2004 to mid-2005.

The cost of highway and street construction increased 2.4 percent annually from 1990 to 2004, according to his report, but 11.5 percent from 2004 to 2005. The price of ready-mix concrete rose about 3 percent annually until 2004, when it went up almost 14 percent.

Part of the supply pressure, according to Chang, comes from several large construction projects under way, including the RSA tower. Other projects that are only on the drawing board portend that the supply will continue to be tight, he said.

Hurricane Katrina recovery has exacerbated the situation, he said.

Ruffer said the 2000 Pay As You Go Program has fallen behind because the county is also having a hard time getting property owners to sign rights of way over to the county and because the county is waiting for utility companies to relocate some facilities.

The utility companies have been occupied by dealing with the hurricanes, he said.

Ruffer said people are demanding to be paid for rights of way even on small residential roads that the county in the past has gotten for free in exchange for building a paved road.

"If the cost of getting right of way is so exorbitant, we may not do that road," Dean said. "We may go somewhere where people want their roads built."

He said later that he was referring to future Pay As You Go projects, not those already approved. Many right-of-way problems aren't discovered, however, until after the projects are approved and county employees start their planning.

Mobile Register

West Mobile busier place since storm
Disaster workers crowd restaurants and hotels

Sunday, October 2, 2005

By GEORGE TALBOT
Staff Reporter
.    .    .
Whether the Mobile economy will benefit from the storm remains to be seen, according to Semoon Chang, a University of South Alabama economics professor.

Chang said data for September sales tax collections won't be available for another month, and many area retailers were still recovering from losses due to Hurricane Ivan last fall.  He said he has observed a significant increase in traffic at restaurants and stores in west Mobile.

"It's strange because I heard that Baldwin County took more evacuees than Mobile did, but the business seems to be gravitating more toward the western part of town," he said.  "I'm very curious to find out who these people are and where they're coming from.  And whether they're going to stay."

Cuba: A Gold Mine for Alabama Exports?

September 2005
By NEDRA BLOOM
Business Alabama, pp. 26
.    .    .
The Beneficiaries

Semoon Chang, an economist at the University of South Alabama, summed up the issues raised by most conference participants by interspersing statistics with his catch phrase, "Who benefits more if sanctions were lifted?"  For example, he quoted U.S. International Trade Association estimates that if sanctions were lifted, the U.S. would export between $658 million and $1.2 billion in goods annually, close to a third of Cuba's imports.  At the same time, the U.S. would import between $59 and $146 million in goods, about a tenth of what it would export.  "Who benefits more?" Chang asked.

In 1957, when trade was free, the U.S. exported $600 million in goods to Cuba, Chang says.  After Castro came to power in 1960 and trade sanctions were imposed, exports dropped to near zero.  That goose-egg stayed in place on the charts until 2002, when restrictions were eased to allow limited trade, primarily on food items.  When restrictions were eased, exports jumped back to $400 million, with roughly $10 million from Alabama.

The Port of Mobile is in a virtual tie with the Port of Houston, second only to New Orleans, in handling shipping to Cuba.

Conference sponsors included the World Policy Institute, the City of Mobile, the Alabama State Port Authority, the Cuba Trade Coalition and Alacaribe Initiative Inc.
 

Mobile Register

Mobile loses in census update
Population growth remains robust in several Baldwin communities

Thursday, June 30, 2005

By NADIA MOHANDESSI
Staff Reporter

Mobile's population continues to decline, while growth in several Baldwin County communities shows no signs of slowing, according to new estimates.

Mobile, the state's third-most-populous city, lost 6,156 residents between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

"The population of Mobile has not been increasing for a long time, and the primary factor is the migration to the Eastern Shore" in Baldwin County, said Semoon Chang, economics professor at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of South Alabama.

"Another main reason is people moving to the unincorporated areas of Mobile County," Chang said.

He estimated the population of unincorporated Mobile County at 145,000, up from 112,179 in 1990.

The new Census numbers show an estimated population of 198,915 in Mobile in 2000, compared to 192,759 in July last year.  The state's two largest cities, Birmingham and Montgomery, with estimated populations of 233,149 and 200,983, respectively, also showed decreases.

In Baldwin County, Foley, Fairhope, Daphne and Gulf Shores registered notable population jumps in the new Census report.  Those increases were Foley, 2,831; Fairhope, 2,122; Daphne, 1,534; and Gulf Shores, 1,251.

"Fairhope is seeing about a 6 percent growth rate each year," Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant said Wednesday.

"People are moving here from all over the country and even the world," Kant said, noting new residents who had arrived from the Northeast, California and England.

Chang said he expects that Mobile will reverse its decline within the next three years.  He said, "I believe the population trend is changing because of the major projects Mobile is undertaking," such as the RSA Tower and a proposed new EADS North America Inc. aircraft-assembly plant.

Chang predicted that Eastern Shore cities will continue to grow, although the migration of people from Mobile may slow.  He said those cities will grapple with growth-related issues like traffic.

On Tuesday, the Baldwin County Commission heard a report that the county's population would soar to 227,727 by 2020, compared to 140,415 in 2000.  That growth will occur mainly on the Eastern Shore and in south Baldwin, based on data from a variety of sources.

Mobile Register

Cuba summit set as benefits debated
Professor: Lifting embargo could add 1,700 Alabama jobs

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

By ANDREA JAMES
Business Reporter

Lifting the trade embargo on Cuba could create 100,000 new jobs and $6 billion in increased exports for the United States, according to research by local economics professor Semoon Chang.

Chang plans to share those numbers Friday with about 300 people expected to gather for the fourth-annual National Summit on Cuba, set this year in Mobile. Chang, who directs the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of South Alabama, said lifting the trade sanctions would add about 1,700 jobs in Alabama.

"Some of them will be jobs in agriculture, but there will be all kinds of jobs," Chang said, adding that the automobile assembly and tourism industries would also benefit.

The two-day summit, organized by the World Policy Institute based at the New School University in New York, is intended as a "balanced discussion" of the nation's often controversial relationship with Cuba's communist government, led by Fidel Castro.

Many local groups are co-sponsoring the activities held Friday at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center and Saturday at Spring Hill College, including the city, the Alabama State Port Authority and the Mobile Airport Authority.

Chang said his research is based on U.S. Department of Commerce trade statistics and export data between U.S. states and countries in Central America and the Caribbean.

Florida would benefit most from lifted sanctions, followed by Louisiana. Alabama would be one of the top 10 states to trade with Cuba, Chang said.

"Many U.S. businesses are hurt because we are not able to sell products to Cuba," Chang said. "Lifting sanctions will be good for both countries. Economically speaking, I cannot find a single reason why you have to keep sanctions."

Pro-trade advocates, including many Southern business and political leaders, argue that Alabama is primed to ship automotive, timber, paper and manufactured products to Cuba.

Mobile Mayor Mike Dow, who is an avid supporter of open trade, is scheduled to welcome the delegates Friday.

Dow said that U.S. farmers and merchants are losing out while the rest of the world trades with Cuba.

"I'm afraid that this issue with Cuba has been pushed aside and has not been addressed by America at large," Dow said. "When all the smoke clears, all this issue is about is the South Florida Cuban American lobby, lobbying to keep the embargo in place for decades."

The United States allows limited, so-called humanitarian, trade with the island, sending about $400 million in agricultural products there annually, Chang said.

"The whole Cuba trade issue is important to us as a port because we're positioned to be a major player in that market," said Alabama state docks director Jimmy Lyons.

Sister city status

The city started campaigning to bring the trade summit to Mobile two years ago, according to Dow. Although trade with Cuba is controversial -- the Bush administration accuses Castro's government of numerous human rights violations -- Dow said the summit is bound to bring positive publicity to Mobile.

"The press coverage is beyond what we've imagined, and the interest is incredible," said Lissa Weinmann, a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute.

Weinmann said one reason the summit is being held in Mobile is the Port City's sister city status with Cuba's capital of Havana.

"It's always surprising to me the degree of interest in Cuba," Weinmann said. "We are finding that particularly being in Mobile and in the Gulf area because of the historic ties to the Gulf island."

Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks is one of the numerous speakers on the Friday agenda, joined by his trade counterparts from other Gulf Coast states. Trade with Cuba is profitable for Alabama farmers, said Sparks, citing sales of poultry, soybeans, wood and cotton products.

Some Cuban officials, who cannot attend, are expected to participate by phone or possible video hookup and answer questions from the audience.

All opposed, say nay

The U.S. trade embargo has been in place for almost a half-century. In recent years, Congress has attempted to lift the embargo, but threats of a presidential veto killed any legislation before it could be signed into law.

President Bush has said that he supports opening trade with Cuba only after it has a new, democratic government, and when human rights are "fully protected."

Consequently, many of Alabama's Republican politicians are stuck between the administration's stance and the hope of positive economic impact that Chang predicts.

For example, "Senator Shelby opposes lifting the trade embargo on Cuba," said Virginia Davis, a spokeswoman for Shelby. "He believes it is vital to American interests that the U.S. maintains a resolute policy towards Cuba."

U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, had been scheduled to introduce the keynote speaker at the summit, but his office said Monday that Bonner will not attend. Bonner has a scheduling conflict, according to his spokesman, Matt Rhodes. Bonner was not available Monday to comment on trade with Cuba, Rhodes said.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

[INSIDE] America's Junior Miss
Q&A with Lynne Bellew, Executive Director

March 6, 2005
Mobile Register
.    .    .
Most see AJM as a pageant; what should they know about AJM the business?

The direct economic impact created annually for Mobile by the AJM National Finals in recent years, combined with the value of the publicity AJM generates throughout the nation, is believed to exceed $4.3 million.  Semoon Chang, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of South Alabama, reported in May 2003 that AJM's direct economic impact in 2002 exceeded $2.1 million.  His calculations were based solely on new money coming into Mobile and did not factor in existing dollars passed from one local hand to another.  He recently said that a study based on 2004 figures would produce very similar results.  The publicity is worth more than $2.2 million, according to The Drawbridge Group, an entertainment solutions company in New York City.  The publicity results from the activities of AJM and its programs across the nation.  Among the AJM staff's responsibilities is working year-round supervising and assisting state and local programs and their 17,000 volunteers.
.    .    .