The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page D4

4D business longbeencriticizedastoo smallforbigraces. tingfinancinginlinesohe canclosethedealtobuy thetrackandrelated propertybythisfall.He agreedearlierthismonth andprovideanearly $20millionletterofcredit toWilsonCountytobuy thefacilityfromDover. offinalizingthefinanc- haveagoodsetofinvest- mentbankersinDenver. Wealsoarebringingin Heidentifiedthemon- eyconnectionasLoHi ver-basedinvestment bankandstrategicadviso- ryfirm.Mostofthemon- eytobuythespeedway fromtheequitypartners, aswell. WilsonCountystillhas debtitincurredtopayfor improvementsalong StateRoute840and aroundthespeedway whenitwasbuiltin2001.

Sextonsaysthemoneyto paythatbackwillcome fromsalesandproperty taxesgeneratedbythefa- cility. therewillbecashonhand fromthepartners.Hedid hasawebsiteshowingan notactuallybegunselling incomeyet. SextonandNeXova- dio-video-electricalwir- ingtechnologythathe patentedinthemid-1980s butthatstillhasnot caughtoninthemarket- productionnow. Afterwinningabest- of-showawardforthe technologyattheCon- sumerElectronicsShow tonbeganlimiteddistri- butionoftheFlatwire thatcanbegluedtoasur- faceandpaintedover, makingthemvirtuallyin- visible. Anindependentdis- tributorinHenderson, marketthewiretohome audiovisualcustomers.

soldtherightstoFlatwire for10yearstoAtlanta- forthatcompanyostensi- blytoheaditsnewFlat- wiredivision.Southwire wastohavedeveloped, manufacturedandmar- Sextonroyaltiesonall sales. chargedina2011lawsuit filedinSumnerCounty ChanceryCourtthat Southwirenevermarket- edorsoldtheproduct, neverpaidhimanyroyal- Thelawsuithassince hastherightstoFlatwire backinhiscontrol.He suedSouthwireforamini- wereconfidential. Southwirespokesman GaryLeftwichsaidthe companywouldhaveno commentonitsdealings withSextonorFlatwire, ordiscussthelawsuitset- tlement. areanativewhohaslived inHendersonvillesince whetheranymoneyfrom theSouthwiresettlement wouldbeusedtofundthe purchaseofthespeed- way. displayingsomeboxesof inventoryhesaidwerere- coveredfromSouthwire inthesettlementofthe suit.Amanufactureris beinglineduptoresume thecompanyplanstoex- pandFlatwiretechnology cludingautomotive.

ownedtheNevadadistrib- thetechnologyworked wellforaudioapplica- forhigh-definitionvideo. cablewasgoodforupto itwouldonlygoabout19 feetbeforethehigh-def eventuallyputusoutof business.Iwentfromhav- ingabusinessthatmade mehalf-a-milliondollarsa yeartobeingcompletely LoginsuedSextonand Southwireoverthefailed muchfromthesettle- ofmylifeIjustwantto velopandmarketthe products. ButnowthatSexton hastherightstoFlatwire underhiscontrolagain, hesaidtheproductsare readytogobackonthe market.There’saversion thatcancarryregular householdelectricalcur- beruninsidewallsorceil- eliminatingcostlyinstal- givingsabouttheearlier stillbelievesintheFlat- wiretechnologyand thinkstheelectricalwir- kitchenislandswithout paniescanrunittoconfer- encetablesinthemiddle ideathathastremendous failuresintheaudiovisual hardtimegettingbackin HowdidSextonmake theleapfromFlatwirein- ventorandtechnologyen- trepreneurtomotor Heownsasoupedup PorschePanamerasedan, andhealsomadeabidof throughNeXovationear- lierthisyeartobuythe storiedNuerburgringmo- torsportscomplexinGer- many. Althoughhelosttoa Germancompanythatbid abouthalfwhathedid, Sextonhaschallengedthe biddingprocess.Hestill hopestoprevailinhis planstobuyNuerburgr- ing. PerhapstheGerman ciallysincehehadnomo- thereweresomeques- tionsaboutwhetherheac- tuallyhadsufficientfi- nancinginplacetoclose thedeal.

ingtheNashvilleSuper- isdependentontheother, Hesaidhealsowants topumpmillionsofdol- larsintoimprovementsat planstodoattheNash- villefacility. anaudioengineerwho wasapartnerwithLogin intheNevadaFlatwireop- eration. Barnessaidbytelephone penedatSouthwire.Flat- wiregotboughtbySouth- Formulaforsuccess Sextonsaidthatbring- ingsomeracesbacktothe NashvilleSuperspeed- tomakethefacilityasuc- cess. hasnothingtodowithbig fewbigeventspayforev- erything.Ourmodelis completelydifferent. tent52weeksayearof generatingrevenue.That facilitywasoriginally basedontheideathata SprintCupracewouldbe ourbusinessmodelthat requiresabigraceevent bustbusinesscyclesare hardonlocallabor.You needpeoplewhenyou wanttopaythemwhen ofourweekswillnothave hugeeventsthatsuddenly AndevenifNASCAR ingsomeofitssecond-tier racesbacktoNashville, theremaybeinterest fromtheIndyCarSeries, accordingtonewsreports lastweekfromTexas.

Inameetingwithsome motorsportsreportersat theTexasMotorSpeed- chiefDerrickWalkersaid exploratoryconversa- cordingtoareportonthe websiteOpenWheelNow. wasquotedassaying. we'retryingtodoright nowislookattheschedule canwelocktheseraces downforseveralyears andgetsomeconsistency inthescheduleandadd moreracesdownthe ReachG.ChambersWilliamsIII at615-259-8076andonTwitter SPEEDWAY CONTINUEDFROM 1D NashvilleSuperspeedwayhostedthe2010FederatedAutoParts300. quiescingtohisdemands proachtocuringhiscan- realisticasthatwas.Idis- tinctlyrememberques- tioningtheefficacyof Dadrequestingyetanoth- weeksafterthelastone, anditbeingorderedwith- ingitwasnotgoingto showanythingdifferent orchangetreatmentrec- ommendations. Asfurtherevidenceof familymemberfurther rationalizeditwiththe intoMedicareforover40 Whenitcomestoend-of- finelinebetweenprovid- inghopeandfacingreali- ty.Lookingback,whatwe reallyneededwasthedoc- thing.

Onthepositiveside, thereweretwomoments inthejourneythatreaf- firmedmyfaithinboth humanityandhealthcare ingeneral.First,Iwill neverforgetonephysi- gistwithSaintThomas hadanextendedseizure andendedupinthehospi- firstpersontofinallylev- elwithDadandourfamily abouttheprognosis. Showingcompassion, truthfulnessandpatience thatwassurelydivine- ciansharedthesadnews thatDadhadfourtosix monthstolive.Asmuchas notthankhimenoughfor caringenoughtosayit. TheothermomentI distinctlyrecallwaswhen Dadwastoundergoa gammaknifeprocedure atVanderbilt-Ingram CancerCenter.Dadhad toldmegoingintothepro- cedurethathereally wantedmetherewhenhe cameoutofrecovery, wouldbealittlescram- forthesamedayasour monthlyhospitalleader- shipconferencecall long.Afterastressful35- minutedrivefromFrank- completelybesidemy- minutesbeforeDadwas toleaverecovery. AsIfinallypulledin invaletparkingap- proachedmytruck, openedmydoorandsaid: knowyouareheretoseea lovedoneandIwanttolet youknowthateverything isgoingtobeallrightbe- causeyourfamilymem- berisgettingcareinthe greatestcancercenterin theworldwiththeabso- lutebestdoctorsand nurses.Anddon’tyou worryaboutparkingasI amgoingtotakecareof methekeysandIwillhan- dlethisforyouandhaveit waitingforyouwhen Iwasawarethatthis youngmanhadlikely Whatmatteredwashow andwhenhesaidit.Hebe- lievedeverywordhesaid, andashesensedmyanxi- Ineeded.Thetechniques thatthisyoungmanhad masteredsimplyrefined hisalreadyinnatecapaci- tyforhumancompassion andcare.And,even thoughIknewexactly becauseofhisdelivery andattitudethatevery ounceoftensionandpanic immediatelyleftmeand suddenlyitwasgoingto beOK. Thatyoungmanwho parkedmytruckthatday hadanobviousdisability, immediatelynoticeable byhisfacialfeaturesand speech.Yethewastheone personIremembermost outofallthemedicalper- sonnelweencountered ahighlycredentialedcli- consideredparkingcars hiscallingandthose scriptedwordshisheal- inginstruments.Hisgift isoneIwillneverforget.

TheperspectiveI somevaluablelessons andsignificantlyimpact- edmyviewsasahealth careleader. cantopportunitiesforus toimprovehowwepro- improvementsthatcan benefitoursocietyasa patientsandtheirfam- ilies.Asourhealthcare systemtransitionsfrom onebasedonvolumeto helpusmakethesediffi- cultdecisions. portantlyforallhealth lydomatter.Everyone— regardlessoftheper- ceivedsignificanceof healingandcomfortwhen itisneededmost. MichaelWiechartispresidentand CEOofCapellaHealthcare. WIECHART CONTINUEDFROM 1D.