Arkansas Money & Politics July 2022

JULY 2022/armoneyandpolitics.com

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Jennah Denney of Today’s Power

By Angela Forsyth/52

INSIDE: Education | Women’s Athletics | Southland $5 USD

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A HANDSHAKE As a firm built on relationships, our handshake matters. It means a warm greeting, the privilege of doing business together and knowing you can count on us. A handshake between two brothers, Witt and Jack Stephens, provided the foundation for a family-owned legacy that Jack’s son Warren upholds today. Under Warren’s leadership, Stephens continues to grow as one of America’s largest privately held independent financial services firms, with offices throughout the United States and in Europe. Our performance builds relationships with our clients, many of whom have become old friends. It’s why shaking hands with us means just a little bit more.

111 Center Street Little Rock, AR 72201 (800) 643-9691

@Stephens_Inc • Stephens.com

STEPHENS INC. • MEMBER NYSE, SIPC

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FEATURES JULY 2022

90 LAND OF OPPORTUNITY Southland Casino Racing puts the finishing touches on its major expansion project in West Memphis, raising the stakes for Arkansas tourism.

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TAKING CHARGE Jennah Denney is leading in her new role as EV Charging Infrastructure program manager at North Little Rock solar company, Today’s Power Inc. — working alongside utilities, cities, schools and businesses to evolve the EV charging economy throughout Arkansas.

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AN UPHILL BATTLE Higher education leaders adapt to changes brought on by the pandemic while bracing for a looming enrollment cliff.

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July 2022 PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER

8 | Plugged In

Foundation 84 Women’s of Arkansas

10 | Viewpoint

The Future is Female: Future 50 Profile

By Sarah Coleman

11 | Discovery Economics 46 | Exec Q&A 112 | The Last Word

HISTORY & POLITICS

98 If Walls Could Talk

EDUCATION

EDITORIAL OPERATIONS MANAGER Lindsey Castrellon | lindsey@armoneyandpolitics.com MANAGING DIGITAL EDITOR Kellie McAnulty | kmcanulty@armoneyandpolitics.com ONLINE EDITOR Jim Miller | jmiller@armoneyandpolitics.com STAFF WRITERS Emily Beirne | ebeirne@armoneyandpolitics.com John Callahan | jcallahan@armoneyandpolitics.com Sarah Coleman | scoleman@armoneyandpolitics.com Akira Hudson | ahudson@armoneyandpolitics.com Katie Zakrzewski | katie@armoneyandpolitics.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Mike Bedgood | mbedgood@armoneyandpolitics.com

14 Charter schools

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lora Puls | lpuls@armoneyandpolitics.com

Charter schools continue to grow and expand across Arkansas

By Dwain Hebda

38 Lyon Vet School

Heather Baker | hbaker@armoneyandpolitics.com

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER David Yerby | dyerby@armoneyandpolitics.com

The Old State House Still Has a Lot to Say

By Katie Zakrzewski

100 Title IX

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Greg Churan | gchuran@armoneyandpolitics.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Tonya Higginbotham | thigginbotham@armoneyandpolitics.com Mary Funderburg | mary@armoneyandpolitics.com Tonya Mead | tmead@armoneyandpolitics.com Amanda Moore | amoore@armoneyandpolitics.com Colleen Gillespie | colleen@armoneyandpolitics.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Jessica Everson | jeverson@armoneyandpolitics.com ADVERTISING COORDINATORS Austin Castrellon | ads@armoneyandpolitics.com Rachel Mercer | ads@armoneyandpolitics.com

Lyon College and OneHealth Team Up to Create Dental and Veterinary School in Arkansas

By Becky Gillette

CIRCULATION Ginger Roell | groell@armoneyandpolitics.com ADMINISTRATION Casandra Moore | admin@armoneyandpolitics.com

FUTURE 50

78 Apptegy

CEO | Vicki Vowell TO ADVERTISE

50 Years, and Beyond

By Becky Gillette

call 501-244-9700 email hbaker@armoneyandpolitics.com

108 History in the Making?

TO SUBSCRIBE | 501-244-9700 ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Joyce Elliott, Gretchen Hall, Stacy Hurst, Heather Larkin, Elizabeth Pulley, Gina Radke, Steve Straessle, Kathy Webb

CONTRIBUTORS

Mark Carter, Angela Forsyth, Becky Gillette, Kenneth Heard, Dwain Hebda, Douglas Hutchings, Dustin Jayroe, Sharonda Lipscomb

Making Connections: Future 50 Profile

By Emily Beirne

Primaries Set Up Potentially Goundbreaking ’22 Vote

By AMP Staff

AMP magazine is published monthly, Volume V, Issue 3 AMP magazine (ISSN 2162-7754) is published monthly by AY Media Group, 910 W. Second St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Periodicals postage paid at Little Rock, AR, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to AMP, 910 W. Second St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Subscription Inquiries: Subscription rate is $28 for one year (12 issues). Single issues are available upon request for $5. For subscriptions, inquiries or address changes, call 501-244- 9700. The contents of AMP are copyrighted, and material contained herein may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. Articles in AMP should not be considered specific advice, as individual circumstances vary. Products and services advertised in the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AMP. Please recycle this magazine.

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PLUGGED IN JULY 2022/armoneyandpolitics.com

ON THE COV E R Jennah Denney is the EV Charging Infrastructure program manager at Today’s Power and included in this year’s installment of Future 50. Photo by David Yerby.

INSTAGRAM

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Jennah Denney of Today’s Power

By Angela Forsyth/52

INSIDE: Education | Women’s Athletics | Southland $5 USD

FEEDBACK HISTORY IN HI-FI: HOPE ORGANIZATION SHARING THE PAUL KLIPSCH LEGACY “Mark Carter did a great job! The photographer captured the best cover shot!!! We enjoyed sharing the story!!!”

Rebekah Moore ARLINGTON RESORT HOTEL IS GETTING A FACELIFT IN THE SPA CITY “Love, love The Arlington, and glad to see the lobby opened up again … love those murals! Restore them, please.”

Patricia Thompson SUBIACO’S ABBEY, SCHOOL SHOWCASES BEAUTY OF GOD’S CREATION “My favorite place.”

Jackie Wisbrock SPOTLIGHT ON SMALL BUSINESS: FLYWAY BREWING SOMETHING SPECIAL IN ARGENTA “There are a couple really good brewers in town, and Flyway is one of them. And their taproom is great for a couple (or more) rounds. Meanwhile, Brood and Barley offers some fantastic menu items. Big fan of what they are doing there.”

Matthew Carpenter

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has named Matuschka Lindo Briggs as vice president and regional executive for the Little Rock Branch, which serves the majority of Arkansas.

RETIRED FROM FARM BUREAU, RANDY VEACH STILL A FARMER AT HEART “Congratulations!”

Eric Treat

TOP ONLINE ARTICLES May 23 - June 23 1. New Owners, ‘Eat My Catfish’ On Board for Riverdale Shopping Center Overhaul 2. Porsche, Luxury Auto Dealership Coming to Little Rock in 2023 3. New 1.2 Million SF Facility in North Little Rock to House ‘Fortune 100 Home Improvement Co.’ 4. Walmart Announces 2022 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Dates 5. Mark Middleton of Central Arkansas’ Middleton Heat & Air Dies Age 59 6. Crumbl Cookies Makes Central Arkansas Sweeter with 3 New Locations 7. Arlington Resort Hotel is Getting a Facelift in the Spa City

Jim Cargill, local president and CEO for Arvest Bank in Little Rock, has announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31.

8. Bank of America Building Acquired by Local Real Estate Developer 9. Former Oaklawn Hospitality VP Takes Over J&S Italian Villa in Hot Springs 10. Nurse Practitioner Team to Open Onyx Aesthetics in Fort Smith

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@AMPPOB ARM ON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM

By Lindsey Castrellon

EDITOR’S LETTER

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BUMPER STICKER WISDOM

had the honor of being behind a bumper sticker the other day which read, “I respect your opinion, I just don’t want to hear it.” After feeling slightly annoyed that the driver accelerated from zero to sixty as soon as the light turned green, the words on the sticker got me thinking.

“Respect” is a word that, like so many others these days, gets thrown around a lot. But again, like with so many other words that are overused to the point of losing all meaning, I think few people stop to consider what it actually means.

Maybe it’s a subjective term and means something different to each individual, a respect is in the eye of the beholder situation, which would explain Aretha Franklin’s plea.

Alright, Aretha — to fully understand respect, I’ve got to “find out what it means to me.” Now things started to feel more like a riddle.

We know that it’s something that everyone wants. From the very beginning,

we are taught to respect our parents, our teachers, then later in life, our partners and our bosses. We’re taught to respect our elders, authority figures, and everyone in between.

We also know that respecting someone does not require you to agree with them, or love them, or even to like them. So what does it require?

It was then that I realized the common denominator, the one thing that respect demands, in all of its ironic glory.

Listening.

That’s it. When someone asks for your respect, they’re really asking you to listen. So I challenge you — especially you, if you’re reading this, Mr. Bumper Sticker Guy Speeding Down Maumelle Boulevard — the next time you come across the word “respect,” replace it — for just a moment — with “listen,” and maybe we can all get on the same page of this great, big book of life.

By Heather Baker

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

I

THE SILVER LINING

f there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’m always looking on the bright side of things. There’s a lot going on in the world — there always is — and sometimes good news gets eclipsed by crime, politics and a global pandemic. But where there’s adversity, there is perseverance.

This month’s issue of AMP checks in with leaders in higher education across the state to see how some of Arkansas’ top colleges and universities are handling the enrollment roller coaster driven by the pandemic, as well as how they’re using the setback as an opportunity to grow.

Speaking of growth, Kenneth Heard updates us on the Southland Casino Racing expansion project, which is coming along beautifully in northeast Arkansas. That means more opportunities for staycations right here in our beautiful state.

We will also reveal our third-annual Future 50 class — a list

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of those Arkansas leaders our readers think are poised for, or are already, accomplishing big things in their industries — which includes some upstanding gentlemen and some fiercely smart ladies.

And just in time for the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Simmons Bank has partnered with women’s collegiate athletics programs throughout Arkansas to be a presenting sponsor of women’s athletics at each of the universities.

You also won’t want to miss Katie Z’s award-winning series on “the digs” of Arkansas institutions as she explores The Old State House in Little Rock, which unsurprisingly, has an epic story to tell.

We appreciate you reading our business pub, as always. Hopefully our coverage of some of the state’s brightest minds Heather Baker and future leaders is that silver lining you’re looking for. Share your story ideas with me at HBaker@ ARMoneyandPolitics.com.

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VIEWPOINT

HYFLEX: THE FUTURE OF WORK, THEREFORE THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION

By Sharonda Lipscomb

Flexible and remote schedules that afford employees the opportunity to work from home all or part of the week aren’t going anywhere, even as the pandemic ebbs. To create workers who can excel in the workplace of tomorrow, we need to provide students with the information and experiences that equip them to succeed in their careers. But we also need to instill in them the ability to stay engaged, motivated and ongoal despite the structure of their work — in-person, remote, or a hybrid of the two.

As part of the online learning team and now the Director of Online Learning at UA Little Rock, I helped the university respond to the technological challenges of COVID-19. That included the transition to completely online education in early 2020. The obstacles of the past two years have been formidable yet illuminating, even as a university with robust existing online programs. I believe this experience positioned UA Little Rock to better prepare our graduates for the flexibility and work/ life compartmentalization that may now be required by their postpandemic careers. In the process, UA Little Rock has instituted policies and expanded the distance-learning infrastructure, helping make higher education more accessible for all.

Hybrid or fully remote work is increasingly becoming the way huge segments of our economy get the job done. Employees prefer it. In recent polling by Pew Research, 78 & of Americans who work from home most or all of the time say they’d like to continue that arrangement after the pandemic is over. That’s up from 64 & at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, sizable majorities of employees who choose remote work told Pew researchers that finding a better work/life balance for themselves has been easier while working from home than it was when they worked from the office.

Employers are also beginning to see the benefits of increased flexibility on their bottom line. In one study by Global Workplace Analytics, researchers estimated that, thanks to factors like increased productivity and a reduction in turnover, U.S. companies could save an average of $11,000 annually for every employee working from home at least half their hours per week.

It’s up to employers and workplaces to adapt to these changes in a way that best supports business goals, productivity and employee retention. But for institutions of higher learning like UA Little Rock, our job remains the same: To provide students with the highest possible benefit for their future lives and careers in exchange for their attention, talents and time.

One way we are doing that at UA Little Rock is by implementing

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a hybrid flexible, or “HyFlex,” education model. The HyFlex model has been used on a limited but growing basis at American colleges and universities for at least a decade prior to the pandemic. The idea was pushed to the forefront by necessity as American higher education ground to a halt during the early days of COVID-19.

HyFlex education allows a student to construct a flexible learning path from three distinct methods: Attending a class in person, attending a class online in real time through video conferencing technologies like Zoom, or learning on their own schedule during the semester by accessing online course materials and recorded lectures. Students in most courses are free to do any combination of the three methods that works best for them. The goal of HyFlex education is to provide flexibility and accessibility for all students to meet the same objectives throughout the semester, no matter how they choose to learn.

At UA Little Rock, HyFlex was fully implemented to help keep students safe while preventing COVID-19 from derailing their education, but we’ve been leading in online education for many years.

As the pandemic wanes, the streamlined policies and increased access put in place now provide students at UA Little Rock the flexibility to let their education truly fit their lives and schedules.

This creates individuals with ownership over their education and a sense of personal responsibility for their own success, which sets them up to be incredible assets to the workforce. We expect more from our students, and in turn, they expect more from themselves.

It’s not about letting students “learn in their pajamas” or avoid a commute. It’s using today’s technology to give students the educational experience that best fits their lives, careers and schedules.

Employers can expect more from our graduates, knowing they are talented, well-rounded, and responsible. By embracing this more flexible model, UA Little Rock helps prepare students for careers that might require the added self-determination and time-management skills of a hybrid or fully remote work schedule. At the same time, we can also provide more Arkansans with access to highquality higher education and life-changing academic degrees from wherever they are, in a way that can meet any schedule.

Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas, Sharonda Lipscomb is the Director of Online Learning at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In this role, she oversees all aspects of distance learning at UA Little Rock.

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DISCOVERY ECONOMICS

ADAPTING to WIN How Arkansas is Prospering in This Changiest World

By Doug Hutchings, ARA Academy Director

noise. In the south, the University of Arkansas at Hope is leveraging industry in their successful launch of the state’s first solar energy degree program.

Connecting these efforts is a highly diverse group of 40+ support organizations that are too many to list by name. I would encourage Doug Hutchings you to utilize the handy Resource Map created by the Conductor (point your favorite search engine at “Arkansas Entrepreneurship Resource Map”). Like our researchers and industry, these organizations span the state and work to ensure that no matter where you live, you are empowered to build something. If you are anything like I was, you may not be aware of all the tools/resources available to you and that entrepreneurship in Arkansas is a viable career opportunity.

If you squint just right, all of this is building towards an exciting future for Arkansas. Change necessitates adaptation, and there is a big difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win. I know ARA is more interested in the latter, so here we are today with the opportunity to keep refining the vision for our favorite state. There is a lot of work to be done and many more stories to tell. We will continue to highlight researchers and how they are setting the stage for the future. I hope that you are willing to share your own stories by reaching out. They say, after all, that storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.

“The world is the changiest it has ever been” was a line from a talk by Phil Libin at the Heartland Challenge, a competition for student-led startup companies. Phil is best known as the creator of Evernote, and he now works out of Arkansas. I have been thinking of this statement often over the past few months. Change provides opportunity for those most ready to capitalize on it. I believe Arkansas is ready based, in part, on the investments we have made in university research, workforce development and entrepreneurial support. These investments run the spectrum from the earliest stages of ideation through to scaling a successful company. As someone passionate about the earliest parts of our innovation pipeline, there are several reasons I am optimistic.

Over the past two years, this column has highlighted 18 very different world-class researchers across the state who could, or are already, having an economic impact on the state. In all cases, the focus has been to draw a direct line between research and economic development. The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) is, by definition, an economic development organization after all. These stories have ranged from Arkansas’ leadership in areas of quantum science with currently unknown commercial applications to the already available GRAX high performance chain lube that leverages cutting- edge nanotechnology to improve your cycling experience, check it out at Arkansas-based Allied Cycling. We have the research talent, that is without doubt.

Industry also is leaning in on the other end of the spectrum.

Arkansas is attracting the attention of business leaders both inside and outside our borders. It is happening across the state. In Northwest Arkansas, the recently held UP.Summit focused on “Transforming the Moving World” and attracted executives from an array of industries — from airlines to energy providers. In Central Arkansas, HealthTech Arkansas is building on its track record of success with the state’s 10 largest hospitals to launch a cardiovascular-focused accelerator [an intensive program to expedite the growth of a company] in partnership with MedAxiom. In northeast Arkansas, Hytrol Conveyor Company is working with Arkansas researchers to deploy advanced coatings into logistics hubs to reduce energy usage and improve working conditions with reduced

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Discovery Economics is a monthly feature highlighting the work of the ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows, a community of strategic research leaders who strive to maximize the value of discovery and progress in the state. ARA recruits, retains, and focuses strategic research leaders to enhance the state’s competitiveness in the knowledge economy and the production of job-creating discoveries and innovation. Learn more at ARalliance.org.

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Jim Rollins Elementary School of Innovation

Tontitown, AR

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EDUCATION

CHARTING A NEW COURSE CHARTER SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO GROW AND EXPAND ACROSS ARKANSAS

By Dwain Hebda

T

heresa Timmons, executive director for Westwind School of Performing Arts in North Little Rock, can feel the questions before they’re even out of a person’s mouth. Even though the arts magnet junior high has only one year under its belt, Timmons has talked to enough prospective families, as well as people on the street, to know what’s coming.

“So, are you guys a private school?”

(We’re a public charter school.)

“All you do is teach art, singing and dancing, then?

(No, we teach all of the regular coursework, too.)

Theresa Timmons

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“ You don’t have to answer to anybody, though, do you?”

(We are accountable to the Arkansas Department of Education and are accredited just like any other school.”)

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Timmons doesn’t get frustrated with the familiar line of questions — after all, every person she can talk to is someone who gains a better understanding of what charter schools are and the role they play. Which, not surprisingly, she believes is an effective and dynamic education option for families.

“All kids don’t learn the same, so this allows them to be in a place that supports their unique type of learning,” she said. “Many charter schools have unique models, and the unique model is what differentiates charter schools from some other schools. In our case, it’s the arts. Unfortunately, art is one of the things that has been affected in many schools and school districts. We

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Throughout the state, charter schools are providing parents with educational choice and unique learning environments. are bridging that gap, and allowing our students and our creatives to come to a place where they’re able to be exposed to and learn through the arts, which is a totally different model.

“I think if more people took the time to come and tour and visit with not only the leadership and the staff, but the students, they’d immediately feel the difference.”

Throughout the state, charter schools are providing parents with educational choice and unique learning environments. State funded, a charter

school does not cost anything to attend. Nor is it limited to any one school district, and it can accept students from anywhere, including students with physical challenges, learning disabilities or who have struggled in traditional public school settings.

“Westwind is its own school district,” Timmons said.

“We accept all students regardless of where they live, and we have different departments and special education teachers who support those efforts. Students who have learning or physical disabilities, our school is equipped to educate them.”

Statistics show that charter schools are becoming more popular. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) released data last fall that indicated that

Westwind School for Performing Arts campus in Maumelle

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Students showcase their talents for friends and family during a performance

among 42 states and the District of Columbia (seven states don’t have charter schools, and two other states didn’t submit usable data) enrollment increased in both the 20192020 school year and the 2020-2021 school year; Charter schools gained 240,000 students overall, a 7% jump.

Four states posted charter school growth of 20% or better, including Oklahoma (almost 78%), Alabama (65%), Idaho (24%) and Oregon (20%). Only three states — Illinois, Iowa and Wyoming — saw a decrease in charter enrollment.

Meanwhile, public schools lost 1.45 million students across all 42 states surveyed during the same time period. California’s district schools lost the most students — 175,761 — while Texas lost 151,393. In all, 21 states saw district enrollment losses of more than 25,000 students.

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Academics Plus Charter School, which operates in Maumelle and Scott, is a poster child for parents voting with their feet when it comes to school choice. The organization operates

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Maumelle Charter Elementary School, Maumelle Charter High School and Scott Charter School.

“At the time that the charter school was started, the option for students in Maumelle was to go to Oak Grove, and a lot of parents in Maumelle did not want their children to go to Oak Grove for whatever reason,” said Rob McGill, Academics Plus CEO. “In Scott, the Pulaski County Special School District decided to close the K-5 school there. Then, with communication with community members in Scott, we saw a need. It’s a growing area that has a lot of potential, and we felt we could meet that need for the students there.”

In the first decade since it opened in 2001, Maumelle Charter school grew to 535 students. In a little more than a de-

Construction site for new Maumelle Charter High School near White Oak Crossing in Maumelle.

Photo courtesy of Jamison Mosley

The former Maumelle Charter High School near Millwood Circle in Maumelle

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EDUCATION

Academics Plus Charter School in Scott.

Rob McGill

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cade since, that enrollment number has swelled to 1,600 and is expected to reach 2,000 students in the next few years. Scott forecasts similar growth on the horizon; once the school hits 400 students, the organization has plans to build a new elementary school, and once it hits 800, a new high school will be constructed.

It’s interesting to note that over that same time frame, the Maumelle school district built a brand-new middle school and high school, but even those sparkling behemoths haven’t been enough to slow down the charter school’s growth.

“We have a waiting list; some people have waited on the list two, three, four years before they actually get into the school,” McGill said. “It’s seen as a privilege to be able to get in here.”

It’s not just prestige, either. As is the case with many charter school families, parents like having a measure of choice in where and how their children are educated.

Maumelle’s charter schools’ outstanding track record doesn’t hurt, either.

“We are college preparatory, so we’ve consistently tried to stay on that track,” McGill said. “This year in Maumelle, we had 100% of our graduating seniors accepted to college and a lot of scholarships received. I think parents recognize that they’re sending their kids to a safe environment that is also a rigorous environment. We’re trying to prepare them for the next step of their life.”

A nearby charter school, Premier High School, can say the same, serving both high achievers and students who, were it not for the school’s highly individualized approach and small class size, would likely not finish high school at all.

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“We’ve got students who are high achievement students who are really trying to finish high school early and start on some of those post-secondary goals,” said State Director Dennis Felton Jr. “We’re also helping students graduate high school with an industrybased certification that allows them to enter the workforce. You think about welding, diesel technology or medical professions like certified nursing assistant or phlebotomist, and a lot of these jobs only require a year or two of certification, and you can come out making $40, $50, $60,000 a year.

“So, we facilitate post-secondary goals, whether it’s getting a student enrolled in college courses in high school, or whether we’re getting them in an industry-based certification program, or something as simple as getting them an internship and doing some job shadowing. We try to take on that charge of how do we not only give them a high school diploma but something else as well.”

Texas-based Premier, which has been operating in Arkansas since 2013, has campuses in Little Rock and North Little Rock, with 140 and 170 students, respectively. A newer school in Springdale, opened last year, currently serves 85 students. New campuses in Texarkana and Fort Smith are slated to open this year as well.

Felton said establishing a charter school takes a multilayered approval process, starting with communicating with leaders in the community and progressing to building a case for a state approval board, showing how the school augments existing educa-

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“We have a waiting list; some people have waited on the list two, three, four years before they actually get into the school.”

Maumelle Charter High School graduating class of 2022

tional offerings. During this process, Felton often gets the chance to address many misconceptions head on, and sets the record straight on what a charter school is and what it is not.

“There’s still the population out there that considers us a private school or a competitor to the local public school district,” he said. “I try to stress to people that we have no interest in being a competitor with the local ISD or any other charter school. One of the things we’re trying to do is come into a community to fill a niche and give parents and students another choice. It’s another educational option, another educational entity to be able to explore.

“People in the charter school world like to think the concept is old, but the whole charter movement is re-

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ally pretty recent. When you see here lately that charter schools have started to take off in certain states, including Arkansas, it tells me the public has become more supportive and more open to charter options. When you look across the state now, you don’t have a lot of people fighting charter schools, they’ve become educated on what charter schools are. The more people become educated on what charter schools are and what they’re doing and the impact they’re having, the more receptive they’re being to the quality of the education.”

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FOUNDERS We offer a Kindergarten through 12th grade tuition-free Classical Education.

FOUNDERS FACTS National Merit Finalists - 5% of our students have achieved National Merit Finalist status, and several have gone on to receive National Merit Scholar designations.

At Founders Classical Academy - we seek to provide an excellent and distinctive classical education that pursues knowledge, promotes virtue, and prepares students for prosperous lives in a free society.

Knowledge - We believe that the pursuit of knowledge is neverending and we set the foundation for students to be lifelong learners.

Advanced Placement Participation - 95% of all seniors take at least one AP course.

College Acceptance - 100% of all graduating seniors have been accepted to 2 or 4-year colleges across the United States.

Top 100 Schools in Arkansas - Ranked as the #2 High School in the state of Arkansas by US News and World Report.

EAST program - Provides an environment that fosters relevant, individualized life-changing experiences through service and technology.

LOCATIONS WE SERVE: WEST LITTLE ROCK - 1815 Rahling Rd LR, AR 72223 BENTONVILLE - 1302 Melissa Drive Bentonville, AR 72712 ROGERS - 800 South Dodson Rd Rogers, AR 72758

Virtue - We believe knowledge alone does not make a good citizen.

The shaping of a student’s heart is more important than the shaping of their mind.

Liberty - We believe that liberty is necessary for citizens to live and participate in a free and just republic.

EDUCATION

ARKANSAS CHARTER SCHOOLS LOCATION

PRIMARY/ SECONDARY

Wilson

Secondary

Waldron

3-12

Rogers

Both

Arkansas Connections Academy

Bentonville

Secondary

Arkansas Virtual Academy

Little Rock

K-12

Batesville

9-12

SCHOOL Academies at Rivercrest High School Adventure Online Academy Arkansas Arts Academy

Batesville High School Charter Cabot Panther Academy (formerly Academic Center of Excellence)

LOCATION

PRIMARY/ SECONDARY

Little Rock

K-3

KIPP Delta

Blytheville, Helena-West Helena

PreK-12

Lighthouse Academies

LR, Jacksonville, LRAFB, Pine Bluff

K-12

Lincoln

9-12

NWA, Central Arkansas

K-12

Maumelle

K-12

Bauxite

7-12

Mountain Home

Secondary

Mountainburg

5-8

Little Rock

4-6

North Little Rock

9-12

Mena

K-12

Prairie Grove

9-12

LR, NLR

9-12

Prodigy Preparatory Academy of Service

Little Rock

7-8

Responsive Ed Solutions Premier High School of Springdale

Springdale

9-12

River Valley Virtual Academy (Van Buren School District)

Van Buren

K-12

Rogers New Technology High School

Rogers

Secondary

Scott

K-11

Siloam Springs

Secondary

SCHOOL Ivy Hill Academy of Scholarship

Lincoln High School Lisa Academy Maumelle Charter (Academics Plus)

Cabot

7-12

Miner Academy

Cave City

9-12

Mountain Home Career Academies

Amity

11-12

Mountainburg Middle School Brain Academy

Cross County High

Cherry Valley

Secondary

Cross County Ele Tech Academy (Cross County School District)

Cherry Valley

Primary

Don Tyson School of Innovation

Springdale

K-12

Driven Virtual Academy

Little Rock

K-12

ESTEM

Little Rock

K-12

Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock

Little Rock

K-8

Fayetteville Virtual Academy, a District Conversion Charter School

Fayetteville

K-12

Founders Classical Academy

Bentonville, Rogers, WLR

Both

Fountain Lake Middle School Cobra Digital Prep Academy

Hot Springs

Secondary

Cave City Career and Collegiate Preparatory Centerpoint Academy of Agriculture & Skilled Trade

Nichols Intermediate Academy of Leadership North Little Rock Center of Excellence Polk County VIrtual Academy Prairie Grove High School Premier High School of Little Rock / NLR

Scott Charter School

Friendship Aspire Academy

Pine Bluff, Little Rock

Both

Siloam Springs High School Conversion Charter

Future School of Fort Smith

Fort Smith

9-12

Graduate Arkansas Charter High

Batesville

10-12

Little Rock

9-12

Southside Charter High School Southside Junior High School

Batesville

7-9

Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers

7-12

Harrison

Secondary

West Memphis

Secondary

Hope Academy of NWA

Little Rock

K-3

The Excel Center

Little Rock

K-12

Hot Springs Junior Academy

Hot Springs

7-9

Vilonia Pathways Academy

Vilonia

K-12

Hot Springs World Class High School

Hot Springs

10-12

Warren Middle School

Warren

6-8

Imboden Area Charter School

Imboden

K-8

North Little Rock

6-8

Haas Hall Academy Harrison High School Conversion Charter

The Academies of West Memphis Charter School (West Memphis School District)

Westwind School for Performing Arts

Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education

EDUCATION

ARKANSAS PRIVATE SCHOOLS 2021-2022 SCHOOL

LOCATION

GRADES

SCHOOL

LOCATION

Baptist Preparatory School

Little Rock

PK-12

North Little Rock Catholic Academy

Blessed Sacrament School

Jonesboro

PK3-6

Our Lady of Fatima School

Catholic High School for Boys

Little Rock

9-12

North Little Rock

PK3-12

Christ Little Rock School

Little Rock

NS-8

Christ the King School

Fort Smith

NS-6th

Salem Lutheran School

Christ the King School

Little Rock

PK4-8

Christian Ministries Academy

Hot Springs Village

Clear Spring School Columbia Christian School

Central Arkansas Christian

Episcopal Collegiate School

GRADES

North Little Rock

PK3-8

Benton

NS -8

Our Lady of the Holy Souls School

Little Rock

PK4-8

Ozark Catholic Academy

Tontitown

9-12

Pulaski Academy

Little Rock

NS-12

Morrilton

PK3-12

Springdale

NS-PK

South Arkansas Christian School

Lewisville

K-12

K-12

Southwest Christian Academy

Little Rock

NS-12

Eureka Springs

NS-8

St. James Day School

Texarkana

PK-8

Magnolia

PK-12

St. John School

Hot Springs

PK2-8

St. John School

Russelllville

PK3-5

Little Rock

PK3-12 St. Joseph School

Conway

PK3-12

St. Joseph School

Fayetteville

PK3-8

Paris

PK3-8

Sacred Heart School

First Academy

Rogers

NS-5

Grace Lutheran Academy

Lowell

PK-8

St. Joseph School

Fort Smith

NS-8

St. Mary School

Paragould

PK3-6

Holy Rosary School

Stuttgart

PK3-6

St. Mary’s Catholic School & Preschool

Paragould

PK-6

Immaculate Conception School

Fort Smith

NS-6th

St. Michael School

West Memphis

PK3-6

Immaculate Conception School

St. Paul School

Pocahontas

PK3-6

North Little Rock

PK3-8

St. Theresa School

Little Rock

PK3-8

Immaculate Heart of Mary School

North Little Rock

PK-8

St. Vincent de Paul School

Rogers

PK-8

Jacksonville

PK-12

Subiaco Academy

Subiaco

7-12

Life Way Christian School

Centerton

PK-12

Thaden School

Bentonville

6-12

Little Rock Christian Academy

The Anthony School

Little Rock

PK-8

Little Rock

NS-12

Little Rock Montessori School

Fort Smith

PK-7

Little Rock

The Montessori School of Fort Smith

Maranatha Baptist Christian School

The New School

Fayetteville

PK-10

El Dorado

PK-12

Trinity Junior High School

Fort Smith

7-9

Mount St. Mary Academy

Little Rock

9-12

Valley Christian School

Russellville

NS-12

Harvest Time Academy

Jacksonville Christian Academy

J U LY 2 02 2

PK-3

22

Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education ARM ON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM

ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2021-2022 SCHOOL

SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

ENROLLMENT

Springdale School District

21,796

Lisa Academy

3,469

Little Rock School District

20,786

Greene County Tech School District

3,462

Bentonville School District

18,536

Arkansas Connections Academy

3,390

Rogers School District

15,603

Pine Bluff School District

3,379

Fort Smith School District

13,846

Lakeside School District (Garland)

3,347

Pulaski County Special School District

11,265

Beebe School District

3,286

Fayetteville School District

10,349

Alma School District

3,210

Cabot School District

10,272

Batesville School District

3,191

Conway School District

9,818

Paragould School District

3,075

Bryant School District

9,399

eStem Public Charter School

3,052

North Little Rock School District

7,685

White Hall School District

3,021

Jonesboro School District

6,340

Vilonia School District

2,979

Benton School District

5,641

Valley View School District

2,878

Van Buren School District

5,600

Brookland School District

2,818

Russellville School District

5,310

Harrison School District

2,722

West Memphis School District

4,925

Farmington School District

2,603

Siloam Springs School District

4,290

Magnolia School District

2,590

Sheridan School District

4,139

Wynne School District

2,503

Lake Hamilton School District

4,128

Clarksville School District

2,459

El Dorado School District

4,079

De Queen School District

2,323

Searcy School District

4,006

Pea Ridge School District

2,321

Texarkana School District

3,880

South Conway County School District

2,289

Mountain Home School District

3,879

Huntsville School District

2,228

Arkansas Virtual Academy

3,855

Hope School District

2,201

Greenwood School District

3,848

Camden Fairview School District

2,134

Jacksonville North Pulaski School District

3,846

Dardanelle School District

2,083

Marion School District

3,714

Prairie Grove School District

2,068

Hot Springs School District

3,631

Forrest City School District

1,990

Greenbrier School District

3,623

Southside School District (Independence)

1,985

Nettleton School District

3,554

Pocahontas School District

1,970

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EDUCATION

ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2021-2022 SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

Watson Chapel School District

1,942

Elkins School District

1,292

Gravette School District

1,920

Harmony Grove School District (Saline)

1,238

Nashville School District

1,909

Clinton School District

1,228

Malvern School District

1,857

Cave City School District

1,218

Arkadelphia School District

1,829

Booneville School District

1,216

Berryville School District

1,818

Genoa Central School District

1,208

Pottsville School District

1,793

Dover School District

1,191

Mena School District

1,712

Arkansas Arts Academy

1,191

Ozark School District

1,709

Gosnell School District

1,164

Westside Consolidated School District (Craighead)

1,702

Riverview School District

1,151

Monticello School District

1,689

Dewitt School District

1,132

Academics Plus Public Charter Schools

1,685

Drew Central School District

1,125

Blytheville School District

1,626

Newport School District

1,118

Bauxite School District

1,592

Helena/West Helena School District

1,116

Highland School District

1,558

Bald Knob School District

1,111

Stuttgart School District

1,557

Kipp Delta Public Schools

1,095

Lonoke School District

1,550

Harrisburg School District

1,094

Hamburg School District

1,550

McGehee School District

1,090

Gentry School District

1,527

Founders Classical Academies of Arkansas

1,086

Mountain View School District

1,518

Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District

1,082

Heber Springs School District

1,513

Fouke School District

1,070

Warren School District

1,462

Arkansas Lighthouse Academies

1,064

Trumann School District

1,457

Bergman School District

1,061

Waldron School District

1,393

Lincoln School District

1,061

Green Forest School District

1,373

Rivercrest School District

1,022

Star City School District

1,361

Smackover-Norphlet School District

1,019

Haas Hall Academy

1,331

Manila School District

1,013

Ashdown School District

1,299

Osceola School District

990

Fountain Lake School District

1,296

Dumas School District

982

Lamar School District

1,292

Centerpoint School District

980

ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2021-2022 SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

Paris School District

968

Ouachita River School District

757

Lawrence County School District

960

Pangburn School District

750

Mayflower School District

954

Searcy County School District

749

Glen Rose School District

950

Fordyce School District

744

Bismarck School District

946

Danville School District

743

Atkins School District

929

Rose Bud School District

740

Perryville School District

923

Cotter School District

737

Yellville-Summit School District

920

Mansfield School District

734

Prescott School District

901

Two Rivers School District

734

Cossatot River School District

881

Sloan-Hendrix School District

732

Harmony Grove School District (Ouachita)

877

Cedarville School District

730

Lakeside School District (Chicot)

876

Greenland School District

712

West Fork School District

870

Riverside School District

710

Charleston School District

859

Horatio School District

707

Salem School District

850

Cleveland County School District

704

Flippin School District

844

Buffalo Island Central School District

696

Valley Springs School District

832

Magnet Cove School District

694

Corning School District

828

South Pike County School District

693

Jackson County School District

824

Marmaduke School District

682

Jessieville School District

819

Barton School District

677

White County Central School District

813

Cutter-Morning Star School District

671

Melbourne School District

800

Junction City School District

664

Lavaca School District

794

England School District

639

Quitman School District

790

Westside School District (Johnson)

638

Parkers Chapel School District

786

Mountain Pine School District

632

Hoxie School District

786

Gurdon School District

627

Jasper School District

779

Hector School District

625

Palestine-Wheatley School District

779

Mountainburg School District

623

Hackett School District

776

Cedar Ridge School District

619

Piggott School District

768

East End School District

614

EDUCATION

ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2021-2022 SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

Carlisle School District

613

Mammoth Spring School District

471

Cross County School District

606

West Side School District (Cleburne)

462

Ozark Mountain School District

597

Midland School District

456

Lee County School District

591

Magazine School District

452

Izard County Consolidated School District

588

Norfork School District

447

Spring Hill School District

580

Scranton School District

447

Eureka Springs School District

572

Bradford School District

437

Decatur School District

570

Blevins School District

436

Des Arc School District

569

Alpena School District

435

McCrory School District

568

Wonderview School District

430

Bay School District

565

Brinkley School District

422

East Poinsett County School District

560

Mulberry/Pleasant View Bi-County Schools

420

Woodlawn School District

559

Earle School District

419

Rector School District

551

Mount Ida School District

418

Maynard School District

541

Clarendon School District

417

Caddo Hills School District

540

Armorel School District

412

Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock

539

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff

405

County Line School District

536

Hermitage School District

390

Hazen School District

532

Scholarmade Achievement Place of Arkansas

390

Mt. Vernon/Enola School District

531

Kirby School District

389

Southside School District (Van Buren)

527

Viola School District

381

Lafayette County School District

520

Lead Hill School District

379

Dierks School District

516

Concord School District

379

Hampton School District

513

Hillcrest School District

376

Ouachita School District

507

Nevada School District

374

Marked Tree School District

497

Calico Rock School District

372

Poyen School District

495

Omaha School District

371

Foreman School District

493

Deer/Mt. Judea School District

367

Bearden School District

489

Mineral Springs School District

360

Nemo Vista School District

479

Shirley School District

336

ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2021-2022 SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

Western Yell County School District

331

Division Of Youth Services School System

106

Dermott School District

330

Arkansas School for The Deaf

98

Augusta School District

320

Arkansas School for The Blind

80

Strong-Huttig School District

300

The Excel Center

72

Marvell-Elaine School District

293

Guy-Perkins School District

286

Westwind School for Performing Arts

63

Friendship Aspire Academy Little Rock

267

Imboden Charter School District

54

Future School of Fort Smith

251

Responsive Ed Solutions Premier High School of Springdale

50

Responsive Ed Solutions Premier High School of North Little Rock

143

Hope Academy of Northwest Arkansas

49

Graduate Arkansas Charter

141

Friendship Aspire Academy Southeast Pine Bluff

34

Responsive Ed Solutions Premier High School of Little Rock

125

Crossett School District

N/A

Source: Arkansas Department of Education

ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

TOGETHER.

220 West 10th St. // Russellville, Arkansas 72801 // Phone: 479-968-1306 // rsdk12.net // #ForwardRSD

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JULY 2022

EDUCATION

SUPERINTENDENTS OF TOP 20 LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICTS (BASED ON ENROLLMENT FOR 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR)

DR. JARED A. CLEVELAND

SPRINGDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT (21,796)

Dr. Jared A. Cleveland is the superintendent of the Springdale School District in Northwest Arkansas, where he previously served as deputy superintendent from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2020. Cleveland has worked in public education for the past 27 years. Prior to joining Springdale schools, he served as Arkansas Department of Education assistant commissioner of Fiscal and Administrative Services, superintendent of the Lavaca School District, and superintendent of the Magazine School District.

DR. JERMALL WRIGHT

LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT (20,786)

The Little Rock School District recently welcomed new superintendent, Dr. Jermall Wright, following the retirement of longtime LRSD Superintendent, Mike Poole, at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Wright previously served as the founding superintendent of the Achievement School District in Mississippi.

DR. DEBBIE JONES

BENTONVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT (18,536)

Dr. Debbie Jones is the superintendent of Bentonville Schools. She brings more than 25 years of educator experience and knowledge to the table, having previously served as assistant commissioner for Learning Services at the Arkansas Department of Education. Jones also held the position of assistant superintendent for the Bryant School District for seven years following her principalship at Bryant High School. She worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and secondary director in the Pulaski County Special School District.

DR. JEFF PERRY

ROGERS SCHOOL DISTRICT (15,603)

The Rogers School District in Northwest Arkansas recently welcomed Dr. Jeff Perry as superintendent and district leader responsible for 15,600 students and 2,000 staff. Perry previously served as the superintendent of the Hamblen County School District in Tennessee, and has been an educator for 35 years, with18 years as a superintendent. He began his professional career as a high school teacher and coach in Norton, Virginia.

TERRY MORAWSKI, ED.D.

FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT (13,846)

Terry Morawski is the superintendent of Fort Smith Public Schools. With more than 20 years of experience in public education, Morawski has held a variety of roles, including deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, COO, and director. In Fort Smith, he has been part of the leadership team for the Strategic Planning process, Citizens Millage Committee, and the Citizens Capital Improvement Program Advisory Committee. He has achieved multiple certifications and awards, including participating in the Chamber’s Leadership Fort Smith Program and earning a Level 1 Certification as a Curriculum Auditor in 2019.

DR. CHARLES MCNULTY

PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT (11,265)

Dr. Charles McNulty is in his fourth term as superintendent of the Pulaski County Special School District in Little Rock. The PCSSD district serves a highly diverse student population of more than 12,000 students across 25 schools. Prior to accepting the position in 2018, McNulty worked as associate superintendent for the Waterloo Community School District in Iowa. During his tenure there, as a member of a dynamic leadership team, the Waterloo School District graduated more than 80% of its students while increasing ACT student participation and reached the national average on the Composite Score of the test.

DR. JOHN L. COLBERT

FAYETTEVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT (10,349)

Dr. John L. Colbert, a native of Rondo, Arkansas, is the superintendent of Fayetteville Public Schools. Colbert received his Bachelor of Special Education and Elementary Education, his Master of Special Education, and his Doctor of Educational Leadership all from the University of Arkansas. He has had a 43-year career with Fayetteville Public Schools, serving first as a special education teacher at Bates Elementary, and later as the principal of Holcomb Elementary when the school opened. In August 2008, Colbert joined the administrative team where he served as the associate superintendent for Elementary Education and then as the associate superintendent for Support Services.

DR. TONY THURMAN

CABOT SCHOOL DISTRICT (10,272)

Dr. Tony Thurman, superintendent of Cabot Public Schools, was born in Monticello, where he graduated from high school in 1987. He received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education from University of Arkansas at Monticello, then obtained his Doctor of Education in school administration from UA at Little Rock in 2003. Thurman has worked in the field of public education for more than 30 years and was named superintendent of Cabot Public Schools in May 2007. One of Thurman’s greatest achievements was being named the 2015 Arkansas Superintendent of the Year by the AAEA. Thurman is also an active member of the Cabot Rotary Club, Cabot Kiwanis Club, and Cabot Chamber of Commerce.

JEFF COLLUM

CONWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT (9,818)

Jeff Collum became the superintendent of Conway Public Schools in Central Arkansas in July of 2021. Collum worked as a superintendent for nine years before coming to Conway, in Hallsville, Texas and Benton, Arkansas. Prior to becoming a superintendent, Collum was the executive director of Secondary Education in Tyler, Texas ISD. He has also worked as a high school principal, assistant principal, teacher, and coach in other Texas school districts. He has 15 years of administrative experience.

DR. KAREN WALTERS

BRYANT SCHOOL DISTRICT (9,399)

Dr. Karen Walters has been the superintendent of the Bryant Public School in south-central Arkansas system for nearly 10 years. She is part of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, Bryant Rotary, and Bryant Chamber Board of Directors. Walters also serves meals at the Alexander Community Center.

SUPERINTENDENTS OF TOP 20 LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICTS (BASED ON ENROLLMENT FOR 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR)

DR. GREGORY J. PILEWSKI

NORTH LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT (7,685)

Dr. Gregory J. Pilewski became the superintendent of the North Little Rock School District in Nov. 2020. He joined the NLRSD from the Queen Anne’s Public Schools in Maryland, where he served as deputy superintendent. Pilewski is credited with improving academic programs and achievement of all students through expanded educational opportunities, including aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessments, streamlining academic interventions Prek-12, expanding Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Enrollment, Dual Credit, and Early College Academy programs, visual and performing arts, world languages, and virtual learning opportunities through a lens of equity.

DR. KIM WILBANKS

JONESBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT (6,340)

Dr. Kim Wilbanks serves as superintendent of the Jonesboro School District in northeastern Arkansas. During her 13-year tenure with the district, Wilbanks has provided vision and guidance to the district’s 13 campuses. The two pre-k campuses, one kindergarten campus, five elementary magnet campuses, two junior high campuses, one high school campus, one technical center campus, an alternative learning campus, and juvenile detention center are served by 790 employees. Student population has continued to increase by over 2% each year during her tenure.

DR. KIM ANDERSON

BENTON SCHOOL DISTRICT (5,641)

Dr. Kim Anderson, superintendent of Benton School District in south-central Arkansas, has been in education for 29 years as a teacher, coach, library media specialist, technology coordinator, school improvement specialist and professional development coordinator. Anderson earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from Arkansas State University and a master’s from University of Central Arkansas. Before beginning in K-12 education, she served one year as a temporary instructor for Arkansas State University and has been an adjunct instructor for Black River Technical College and Arkansas Northeastern College.

DR. HAROLD JEFFCOAT

VAN BUREN SCHOOL DISTRICT (5,600)

Dr. Harold Jeffcoat has been the superintendent of Van Buren School District in Northwest Arkansas since 2015. Jeffcoat previously served as deputy superintendent of the Cabot School District.

GINNI MCDONALD, ED.D.

RUSSELLVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT (5,310)

Ginni McDonald, Ed.D., serves students and families in the Russellville and London communities in western Arkansas as the superintendent of the Russellville School District. With more than 25 years of experience in public education and academic leadership, McDonald specializes in continuous school improvement and strategy with a strong focus on student success. In 2016, she was named the NASSP 2016 Secondary Principal of the Year.

RICHARD ATWILL

WEST MEMPHIS SCHOOL DISTRICT (4,925)

The West Memphis School District in eastern Arkansas recently named Richard Atwill as superintendent following the departure of former superintendent Jon Collins in 2022. Atwill previously served as superintendent of Blytheville Public Schools in northeastern Arkansas.

JODY WIGGINS

SILOAM SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT (4,290)

Jody Wiggins has served the students of Siloam Springs in Northwest Arkansas in some capacity since 2002. He started his career in the Siloam Springs School District as high school assistant principal and athletic director. He has also served as high school vice principal, district Federal Programs coordinator and assistant superintendent. Wiggins was named superintendent of SSSD in 2019. As superintendent, he leads a public school district of approximately 4,200 students and 600 employees.

DR. JERRY GUESS

SHERIDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT (4,139)

Dr. Jerry Guess, a longtime superintendent and educator at multiple school districts in Arkansas, was recently hired as interim superintendent at the Sheridan School District in south-central Arkansas. He most recently served as superintendent at the Watson Chapel School District until his retirement in 2021.

SHAWN HIGGINBOTHAM

LAKE HAMILTON SCHOOL DISTRICT (4,128)

Shawn Higginbotham, superintendent of Lake Hamilton School District in south-central Arkansas, has been with Lake Hamilton since 2001, joining the school as an assistant principal for the high school for one year, then serving as junior high principal for four years. Higginbotham is originally from Hamburg, Arkansas, having graduated from high school there in 1996. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and social studies from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 1990 and a master’s degree in educational administration from Northeast Louisiana University — now the University of Louisiana-Monroe — in 1996.

JIM TUCKER

EL DORADO SCHOOL DISTRICT (4,079)

Jim Tucker, superintendent of El Dorado School District in southeast Arkansas, was the principal at both Retta Brown Elementary and El Dorado High School before taking over as deputy superintendent in 2013. He was principal when the new high school opened in 2011. Tucker holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas, and a master’s degree in education administration from Texas A&M University.

Jacksonville North Pulaski School District

Building Futures Every Scholar, Every Day

Opened 2018

Opened 2019

Opened 2021

Opened 2022

JNPSD is devoted and on track to have all new schools by 2024. We will break ground on Bayou Meto and Murrell Taylor Elementary Schools in the Fall of 2022.

We serve approximately 4,100 scholars and provide a well-balanced curriculum to meet the needs of all scholars. JNPSD offers three Academies, exposing scholars to ten different career industries at Jacksonville High School.

Academy of Building Automotive & Design

Academy of Health & Safety

Academy of Service, Sales & Marketing

Jacksonville North Pulaski School District 1414 W. Main Street

jnpsd.org

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A LIFE-CHANGING DECISION. Yes, it can be about who you cheer for on Saturdays. And it’s certainly about the degree you come away with. But it can be so much more.

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JULY 2022

EDUCATION

The New College Try Higher education facing steep challenges, beyond lingering COVID issues

By Dwain Hebda

J U LY 2 02 2

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hen COVID reared its ugly head in the spring of 2020, all of education — from kindergarten through grad school — was thrust into disarray. For colleges and universities especially, COVID was simply the latest challenge to come along and, two years later, not even the most pressing one. Trailing at a distance are still the issues of changing consumer demands, spiking costs and sliding enrollment figures.

“When higher education is in growth mode, it’s pretty fun to be in a leadership position,” said Dr. Houston Davis, president of the University of Central Arkansas. “It’s a lot of fun to build and make choices on what to do with that new dollar. It’s not as fun to be in a leadership role — whether that’s as president, the chair of a department or the director of the physical plant — when the decisions are reality checks about what we value most.”

For generations, achieving the American Dream and earning a college degree were inextricably linked. But as per the latest enrollment statistics, that picture is changing. It’s changing fast, and not likely to improve in the short term due to the impending enrollment cliff, a steep drop in enrollment numbers that have been creeping downward for years.

The reason for the cliff is less an indictment of higher education overall than a function of headcount — smaller family sizes are producing fewer high school graduates. The latest studies put the start of the most precipitous part of the cliff at 2025. Davis said UCA had already begun reading the enrollment tea leaves before COVID, so when the pandemic struck, the impact was lessened for the university.

“I think that the questions, as we sit here in 2022, were heavily informed by things we were doing in 2017 and 2018,” he said. “Much of the conversation about the financial impacts of COVID on higher education institutions in Arkansas and around the country are the exact same financial implications that the enrollment decline and cliff in 2025, 2026 and 2027 will bring to all of us in higher ed.

“So, I make the argument that all COVID did was just bring to our steps five years earlier all of the very real challenges that post-secondary education is going to face. I’m not going to say that we

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had any sort of crystal ball, but I will say there’s no argument in the census data about what was going to happen between 2015 through 2029 in terms of the trendline in 18-year-olds.”

Other statistics show there is more contributing to the problem than just the number of students.

Last spring, there were 727,000 fewer undergraduate students nationwide, according to figures from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC). That drop, representing nearly 5% of total enrollment, was the largest in a decade.

These figures underscore the absolute necessity for institutions of higher learning to take a hard look at their offerings to help ensure they are meeting the demands of today’s college students, both in the educational programs they offer and the way in which that education is delivered.

“Before the pandemic, UA Little Rock certainly spoke toward a more traditional student,” said Erin Finzer, associate vice president of academic affairs for UA Little Rock. “I think it’s so important for us to realize that three-quarters of our students today are not traditional; they’re working, they’re lower-income, they come from underserved communities, and they’re largely adults on our campus. The average age is 24.

“Taking care of a more economically vulnerable, underserved adult who’s working, who’s got time crunches, I think we’ve seen a very serious need for wraparound services for students for mental health care, being able to connect them to emergency assistance funds, technology, social services. And UA Little Rock has been really successful in that respect. Our retention rates have dramatically improved over the past three years.”

Cost, and the student debt that comes with it, continues to hound colleges and universities with no sign of relief in sight.

In June, multiple institutions in Arkansas announced tuition increases, led by Arkansas State University, which jumped almost 5%. In fact, most campuses in the ASU System went up, by an average of 3.2%. These include ASU-Mountain Home (4.1%), ASU-Newport (3.4%), ASU-Beebe (3.3%), ASU-Three Rivers in Malvern (2.9%) and ASU Mid-South in West Memphis (2.2%). Only the struggling Henderson State University in Arkadel-

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Dr. Houston Davis

Erin Finzer

JULY 2022

EDUCATION

Dr. Robin Myers

Rachel Gifford

J U LY 2 02 2

phia stayed the same as last year.

Other schools implementing tuition increases include Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia (2.9%), University of Central Arkansas in Conway (2.25%), Arkansas Tech University in Russellville (1.5%), and the University of Arkansas (0.87%).

Not surprisingly, this factor weighs very heavily on the minds of prospective students and their families, forcing institutions to deliver maximum value per tuition dollar.

“Concern about total cost of education has really risen to top of mind for students,” said Kindle Holderby, UA Little Rock assistant vice chancellor of enrollment management. “There’s been a lot of surveys done by a lot of these different enrollment companies, where cost of attendance was anywhere between the third or fifth concern on the students’ and parents’ minds, to where the last couple years, it’s gone up to number one or two.

That’s really been eye-opening.

“What they’re wanting out of their experience, coupled with that cost, is how long is it going to take me to graduate, and what type of job am I going to get whenever I get out with my degree?”

Arkansas’ two-year schools have traditionally held the advantage on both of these points over their four-year counterparts. Career- and skillsfocused, the most successful community colleges have shown a clear path from high school to workplace, receiving high-quality, industry-informed instruction in the shortest amount of time.

ASU-Mountain Home, for example, has worked extensively to formulate programs with industry input, making students immediately employable.

The school has also formed extensive partnerships with the local high school to craft concurrent credit programs — college credit coursework students take while still in high school for little to no cost — substantially shortening time and money spent after graduation.

“I think the service side of things is really evolving in all of higher ed,” said Dr. Robin Myers, ASU-MH chancellor. “Students are looking for speedy degrees, but they want degrees that provide them with job market opportunities. They’re more demanding and more selective of what they are enrolling in.

“As a result, all schools are looking at our programs, and they’re attracted to the job opportunities at the end of that study cycle that will improve

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their life. That’s the other part: They want things that will provide them with better earning opportunities, which, in turn, improve the overall life opportunities that they have.”

Myers said merely having such programs isn’t a cure-all; how such curriculum is delivered is a key weapon in the fight for students. Distance learning options are also helping smaller two-year schools compete with the larger four-year institutions.

“From the fall of 2019 to the fall of 2021, there were 12% fewer students enrolled in all of higher education in Arkansas. That’s a direct impact of COVID,” he said. “We haven’t seen what the 2022 fall number will be, but we can be confident it will still be less than it was in 2019. Hopefully it won’t still be off by 12%. Maybe we’ll gain some of that back, but the point is, students are not coming back in large numbers.

“I think looking at the overall need for more short-term programs, more programs focused on providing specific skill sets that lead to jobs, that’s where the evolution of higher education is going to continue to flow, providing more learning options, more hybrid courses where students can attend some on campus and some virtually. For us, in the fall of 2019, 24% of our attendance was online. In the spring of 2022, 41% of our enrollment is online, and that does not include hybrid courses, which can be a combination of both, which we have many more of than we had in the fall of 2019.”

Nowhere among Arkansas’ two-year institutions has this philosophy been implemented with greater success than Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville. The school has steadily leveraged its proximity to the state’s burgeoning steel industry through its steel tech degree and competitive internships. It is home to TECademy, the only training facility for steel equipment giant SMS outside of Germany.

“Studies have shown that younger students are not interested in earning degrees. They want the quickest route,” said Rachel Gifford, ANC associate vice president of development and college relations. “With our short-term programs, in a semester or a year they could come out and be making in the $40,000-$50,000 range, or what a bachelor’s degree is making.

“Our annual earnings after one year for a twoyear degree is $55,081. The next highest university is U of A Fayetteville at $47,799. Five years after

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graduation, our graduates are earning $61,343.

The next highest is UA Fayetteville at $60,712.”

Such potential earning power has gone a long way toward changing student attitudes about twoyear schools and is starting to turn the tide on decades of a four-year degree being pitched as the be-all and end-all, Gifford said.

“There used to be somewhat of a stereotype [about two-year schools] and I think that’s diminishing,” she said. “I think we’re seeing students, in this area at least, who understand the economic facts. They’re very interested in these internships that our local industries, the steel mills, have with us and some of the other manufacturing companies. They’re taking advantage of that.”

Meanwhile, the state’s only all-online public university underwent some radical changes that have expanded its offerings and made it even more of a player in the new collegiate marketplace. University of Arkansas Grantham, formerly eVersity, was a merger finalized last November, when the University of Arkansas System, which oversees the state’s all-online university, bought the formerly forprofit Grantham University for $1.

“The environment for for-profit universities really started to change in the last few years, and there’s a lot of regulations that were put on their backs that people in the public space don’t have to live by,” said Dr. Michael Moore, chief academic and operating officer. “Not only did the regulatory environment get strenuous and difficult for them, but schools that were at one time at the forefront of online education when it was really edgy have seen a lot of players step into the online space. It’s become more challenging for the for-profits to compete.

“Back in the day, the University of Phoenix had 425,000 students at one point. Today they’re down to 90,000. And it’s not because they have done anything wrong. It’s just that back then, they were the only game in town when you wanted to do online education. Now everybody’s doing online education, so people have choices.”

With the merger, UA Grantham expands from

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“I think it’s so important for us to realize that three-quarters of our students today are not traditional; they’re working, they’re lower-income, they come from underserved communities and they’re largely adults on our campus.” eVersity’s original focus of helping people go back and finish college to offering something for every type of learner: undergraduate, graduate, traditional and nontraditional. And as the ripples of COVID continue to reshape the way education and the workplace operate, Moore said the full value of UA Grantham’s programs have yet to be fully realized.

“There are a couple of positives that are going to continue to come out of the COVID years,” Moore said. “The first is there has been evidence that there has been an increase in the acceptance of online learning at brick-and-mortar schools among professors and students who previously were not very interested in online learning.

“The other thing that’s really going to come out of the pandemic is the nature of certain jobs has been changed, probably forever. Some of us are never going to go back to the workplace. Some of us are going to find our jobs having been replaced entirely by technology, and that’s going to create a demand for individuals to get retooled or reskilled. So certificates, sometimes called badges or micro-credentials, will continue to grow in importance. And as the market for these micro-credentials grows, this is where the future of online learning is very bright.”

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Dr. Michael Moore

JULY 2022

EDUCATION

ARKANSAS 4 -YEAR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES LOCATION

ENROLLMENT (Spring 2021)

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Fayetteville

25,847

Donald R. Bobbitt, President

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Jonesboro

12,241

Charles “Chuck” Welch, President

ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY

Russellville

9,254

Robin E. Bowen, President

Conway

9,251

Houston Davis, President

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK

Little Rock

8,101

Christina Drale, Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FORT SMITH

Fort Smith

5,002

Terisa C. Riley, Chancellor

Searcy

4,239

Michael D. Williams, President

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY

Magnolia

4,008

Trey Berry, President

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF

Pine Bluff

2,781

Laurence B. Alexander, Chancellor

NIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR U MEDICAL SCIENCES

Little Rock

2,781

Cam Patterson, Chancellor

HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY

Arkadelphia

2,711

Charles Ambrose, Chancellor

Monticello

2,479

Peggy Doss, Chancellor

Siloam Springs

2,034

Charles Pollard, President

Arkadelphia

1,619

Ben R. Sells, President

Conway

1,050

W. Ellis Arnold III, President

UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS

Clarksville

824

Richard L. Dunsworth, President

PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE

Little Rock

767

Rodrick L. Smothers, President

ARKANSAS COLLEGES OF HEALTH EDUCATION

Fort Smith

654

Kyle Parker, President

LYON COLLEGE

Batesville

598

Melissa Taverner, President

CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE

Conway

581

Terry Kimbrow, President

WILLIAMS BAPTIST COLLEGE

Walnut Ridge

552

Stan Norman, President

ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE

Little Rock

353

Regina Favors, President

CROWLEY’S RIDGE COLLEGE

Paragould

162

Richard Johnson, President

CHAMPION CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

Hot Springs

69

Eric Capaci, President

ECCLESIA COLLEGE

Springdale

—

Randall E. Bell, President

NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE AT ASU

Jonesboro

—

Shane Speights, Dean

COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS

HARDING UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY OUACHITA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY HENDRIX COLLEGE

LEADERSHIP

Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education

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LYON COLLEGE AND ONEHEALTH TEAM UP TO CREATE DENTAL AND VETERINARY SCHOOL IN ARKANSAS

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Lyon College main campus in Batesville, Arkansas

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By Becky Gillette

rying to get in to see a dentist lately? Particularly in rural parts of the state, you might have to wait months or travel long distances to see a dentist. That is part of the reason Arkansas ranks last in the country when it comes to oral health. Additionally, it can be challenging to make an appointment with a veterinarian. The state currently ranks 49th in the number of veterinarians per capita.

Lyon College in Batesville and OneHealth in Little Rock are working to make progress on those two fronts with plans to open a dental school and veterinarian school at the recently purchased Heifer International campus in Little Rock.

Perry Wilson, chairman of the Lyon College Board of Trustees, said Lyon College is proud of its strong science programs that have prepared undergraduate students for 150 years. “We are now prepared to leverage that success for the dental and veterinary programs we are developing,” Wilson said.

Heifer International has signed a long-term lease to remain at the campus but occupy less space in the main building. The main building at the campus in Little Rock’s East Village will host other tenants including the Clinton Foundation.

“East Village is poised to be a hub of future economic growth in central Arkansas,” said Merritt Dake, CEO of OneHealth Companies. “We are excited to build upon the foundation that Heifer has made in promoting health solutions for Arkansas and the world.”

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JULY 2022

EDUCATION

Perry Wilson

Merritt Dake

Melissa Taverner

J U LY 2 02 2

Since Melissa Taverner became provost of Lyon College in 2018, she has been looking at new projects that both meet their mission and fulfill a need in the community.

“The vet and dental schools are part of a constellation of initiatives that allow us to do what we do best,” Taverner said. “The idea really took off after we had conversations with OneHealth and realized we had multiple points of intersection. I think this relationship is particularly powerful because both Lyon College and OneHealth are private. We are small, but very nimble and excel at leveraging the things we are really good at.

Our strength is we have a very good working relationship and are able to move very quickly.”

The schools will be part of the new Lyon College Institute of Health Sciences. The accreditors for the dental and vet schools largely control the timing of when the schools can open, with hopefuls projecting the first classes could be held as soon as 2024. Accreditation applications were made in March, and Taverner expects them to be approved when everything is in place to ensure the quality of instruction is exceptional, and the schools are ready to train the next generation of professionals.

“The whole rationale is to train Arkansas residents at home so they can stay at home to open their practices in the communities they love,” Taverner said. “There is a fair amount of data that shows when people leave the state to train elsewhere, they don’t come back to Arkansas to practice. This is

one of the powerful ways that we can address that problem. These two projects will not only be better for people, but will serve as an economic driver, as well.”

Arkansas residents who train elsewhere have to pay much higher out-of-state tuition.

Affordability of higher education plays a critical role in the future economic viability of students and programs. Taverner said the proposed plan for Lyon College Institute of Health Sciences strives to make highquality education available at an affordable cost that prepares its future graduates, and the communities in which they will serve, for success.

Frazier Edwards, president of the OneHealth Education Group, said there are many studies that show preventative care saves money for the individual and the health care system. He said it is also important from an economic standpoint.

“A study from the National Center for Rural Health Works estimated that one dentist generated five jobs on average, with average labor income from those five totaling $340,000,” Edwards said. “There were also long-term economic benefits. If you can meet people where they are in their communities with dental care, you can really start moving the needle in the right direction. If we start really addressing these gaps, we can get out of last place.”

Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Health Policy Director Craig Wilson, a Lyon College alum (who is not related to Perry Wilson), said the plans are good news, but now the hard part of making it happen begins, which includes working toward obtaining accreditation, recruiting faculty and

“The whole rationale is to train Arkansas residents at home so they can stay at home to open their practices in the communities they love.”

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Frazier Edwards

Craig Wilson

Photo courtesy of Paul Barrows

developing training programs.

“The need for a dental school has been evident for a long time,” Craig Wilson said.

“We have critical dental professional shortages in rural parts of our state. All of the Arkansas students who want to pursue dentistry currently obtain their professional education in other states, and that educational pathway acts as a barrier to retaining dentists in the state.”

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According to Craig Wilson, the level of investment that will be needed to establish a dental school should motivate policymakers and industry leaders to more broadly tackle the dental access challenges we face as a state and ensure that oral health is more commonly addressed as a critical part of our overall health.

Edwards said with both dentists and veterinarians, the baby boomer generation is

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Jerry Bridges

JULY 2022

EDUCATION

as an out-of-state student,” Bridges said. “I have two undergraduates working for me this summer and they are excited about the news.

There is a need for more veterinarians. Most clinics I know are looking to add vets. Work-life balance has become an important aspect in today’s society. This is an emotionally draining profession, and more vets will hopefully mean a better work-life balance for the whole instate profession.”

Bridges said the pandemic has shown how important pets are to their families. “Having more vets will allow better access to the care that can allow [pets] to be happy and live longer lives, which will improve the quality of life of their families.”

Heifer International Headquarters in Little Rock Photo courtesy of Polk Stanley Wilcox

either starting to retire, or about to reAnimal Hospital in Little Rock, said havtire. Lyon College and OneHealth are ing a vet school in Arkansas will be good focusing on creating a pipeline in the for in-state students, the vet profession, state, ensuring continuity of care that people, their pets and livestock. addresses future workforce demands.

“All the surrounding states have vet OneHealth uses private sector capischools, which makes it harder for Artal and consultant solutions to support kansas students to get into vet school the launch of professional health science programs.

“Our goal is to reduce the debt “For each project, our end goal is a supremely satisfied client. We start with that goal and work backward, planning burden of graduating professionevery detail of the process to achieve it.” als and to provide solutions for —John Teeter, President communities that lack ample access to health care,” Edwards said. “OneHealth has partnered with the country’s leading education consulting firms to develop the schools. The Academy of AdWINNER vancing Leadership is assisting with development of the dental We offer: school, and we are partnering PROJECT PLANNING A great start leads to a strong finish with the Animal Policy Group on development of the vet school.”

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT Arkansas has significant cattle, A team approach for a superior project chicken, and horse industries GENERAL CONTRACTING that require specialized vet trainWe eagerly compete with other firms on quality, reliability, and cost. ing. And statistics show pet ownership is on the rise; studies today DESIGN-BUILD WINNER We take care of everything – show people have more pets than so you don’t have to. children. “We are not producing enough vets as a state,” Edwards said.

1102 South Happy Hollow Road Jerry Bridges, Doctor of VeteriFayetteville, Arkansas 479-251-1161 nary Medicine at Town & Country GLE

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EDUCATION

ARKANSAS TECHNICAL COLLEGES COLLEGE

LOCATION

ARKANSAS CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION FOUNDATION

LEADERSHIP Little Rock

Steve Schaeffer, Executive Director

ARKANSAS ELITE WELDING ACADEMY

Quitman

Travis Bird, President

ARKANSAS NORTHEASTERN COLLEGE

Blytheville

James Shemwell, President

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY-BEEBE

Beebe

Jennifer Methvin, Chancellor

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY MID-SOUTH

West Memphis

Debra West, Chancellor

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY-MOUNTAIN HOME

Mountain Home

Robin Myers, Chancellor

Newport

Johnny M. Moore, Chancellor

Ozark

Bruce Sikes, Chancellor

Malvern

Steve Rook, Chancellor

Jacksonville

Travis Bird, President

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY-NEWPORT ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY-OZARK ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY THREE RIVERS ARKANSAS WELDING ACADEMY BAPTIST HEALTH COLLEGE LITTLE ROCK

Little Rock

Judy I. Pile, Chancellor

BLACK RIVER TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Paragould

Martin Eggensperger, President

BLACK RIVER TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Pocahontas

Martin Eggensperger, President

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY TRAINING

Bethel Heights

Julie McCallister, Director

De Queen

Steve Cole, Chancellor

EAST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Forrest City

Cathie Cline, President

HAAS TECHNICAL (PHILLIPS CORP.)

Little Rock

Michael Garner, President

NATIONAL PARK COLLEGE

Hot Springs

John Hogan, President

COSSATOT COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

NORTH ARKANSAS COLLEGE

Harrison

Rick Massengale, President

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Bentonville

Evelyn E. Jorgenson, President

NORTHWEST TECHNICAL INSTITUTE

Springdale

Jim Rollins, President

OZARKA COLLEGE

Melbourne

Richard L. Dawe, President

West Helena

Keith Pinchback, Chancellor

SOUTH ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

El Dorado

Bentley E. Wallace, President

SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS COLLEGE

Pine Bluff

Steven Bloomberg, President

Camden

Jason Morrison, Chancellor

ULTIMATE TECHNICAL ACADEMY

North Little Rock

Mark and Pat Hardwick, Owners

UNITED WELDING INSTITUTE INC.

Pottsville

Jonathan Humphrey, President

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Crossett

Linda Rushing, Vice Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

McGehee

Bob G. Ware, Vice Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT BATESVILLE

Batesville

Deborah J. Frazier, Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT HOPE-TEXARKANA

Hope

Chris Thomason, Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT MORRILTON

Morrilton

Lisa Willenberg, Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT RICH MOUNTAIN

Mena

Phillip Wilson, Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PULASKI TECHNICAL COLLEGE

North Little Rock

Margaret Ellibee, Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PULASKI TECHNICAL COLLEGE CULINARY ARTS AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

Little Rock

Margaret Ellibee, Chancellor

PHILLIPS COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY TECH

Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education

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JULY 2022

Executive Q&A

Captain’s Log: A Sea of Change

By Katie Zakrzewski

Arkansas State University System President Dr. Chuck Welch

T

he Arkansas State University school system has grown across the state over the last several years. The acquisition of universities into the system, such as Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, as well as the ASU System’s ability to emphasize education during a pandemic, has made some Arkansans curious about who is at the helm of the ship.

Dr. Charles L. Welch serves as president of the Arkansas State University System and as one of the state’s leading advocates for higher education. He is also Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities and systems, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education. He is the youngest person to ever serve as president or chancellor of an Arkansas community college and is the youngest university president in Arkansas. Arkansas Money & Politics recently had the opportunity to ask Dr. Welch a few questions about the pandemic, Henderson, and the ASU system as a whole.

AMP: How would you describe the Arkansas State University System’s status coming out of the pandemic?

Welch: We’re grateful to have returned to some normalcy after two extremely challenging years. Through careful financial planning and conservative budgeting, we were equipped to weather the sudden revenue declines in enrollment and services, such as housing. We continue to believe strongly in the value proposition of higher education and its substantial impact on lifetime earnings and overall well-being. Our four-year universities and two-year institutions are committed to meeting the needs of students and employers, whether through research or workforce training. Our campuses are affordable and deliver a strong return on investment by students and their families. Arkansas State University was recently elevated to Carnegie R2 research status in recognition of its heightened role in research and doctoral-level credentials. Efforts to develop the state’s first veterinary school on campus continue, as well as planning for J U LY 2 02 2

the Windgate Hall of Art and Innovation, with collaborations across academic fields.

AMP: What is the current financial situation at Henderson State University?

Welch: It’s improving, but we’re progressing through a multiyear process to overcome the significant financial challenges we inherited with the Henderson State merger into the ASU System. We have made many difficult financial decisions with substantial reductions in operating expenses and personnel. But we’re confident we can continue to deliver quality instruction and services for students.

AMP: In March, Henderson was reported as seeing financial improvement after joining the ASU System. In May, 88 faculty positions and 25 degree programs were approved to be cut. What led to this decision in May? 46

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Welch: After more than two years of significant cuts in operating expenses, the reduction in faculty positions and degree programs was the final major step in addressing Henderson’s budget. Our data showed that the number of credit hours being taught didn’t justify the level of instructional spending. Additionally, we determined that general education courses could be taught through less expensive means. Degree programs that were cut included those that didn’t result in enough student success, didn’t meet regional workforce demands or were cost-prohibitive. We will narrow our degree programs’ focus to ensure we can maximize student outcomes and teach them efficiently.

AMP: Will Henderson see a name change now that it has been adopted into the ASU System?

Welch: No. The historic Henderson name has a positive legacy as one of the state’s oldest institutions. Support to maintain the Henderson name was very strong.

dent of Henderson — who care greatly for Henderson and our students. It’s a sad time, but we have a responsibility to do everything possible for the long-term success of Henderson.

AMP: What has been the greatest challenge in course-correcting the status of Henderson?

Welch: We have made very difficult personnel decisions regarding cuts in both positions and compensation. This has created burdens and challenges for our employees. We’re losing some talented people — many of whom I knew from my time as presi-

AMP: How is the search for a new chancellor for Arkansas State University in Jonesboro coming along?

Welch: I hope we will have announced a new chancellor by the time your July edition is distributed. We attracted an outstanding pool of applicants who understand what a terrific opportunity we have at A-State.

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EXEC Q&A

Rise and Shine

Arkansas PBS & Department of Education Team Up for Summer Learning Program

By Katie Zakrzewski

Executive Director & CEO of Arkansas PBS, Courtney Pledger

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ourtney Pledger is the executive director & CEO of Arkansas PBS, the statewide public media network serving Arkansas’ three million people. She joined Arkansas PBS in early 2017, bringing with her more than three decades of diverse experience in content creation and distribution, and media management. Through interactive programs, such as Rise and Shine, Pledger closes the summertime gap in children’s learning, and has fun doing it.

Arkansas Money & Politics recently had the opportunity to ask Ms. Pledger a few questions about her work with the Rise and Shine program, Arkansas PBS’ relationship with the Arkansas Department of Education, and more.

AMP: What is the Rise and Shine program?

Pledger: Arkansas PBS and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) have collaborated again this year to create Season Two of Rise and Shine, an extensive educational program designed to boost summer learning and help K-5 students retain academic learning targets. The six-week program — featuring lessons led by Arkansas teachers to reinforce learning in the key subjects of math, science, social studies and literacy — will air on Arkansas PBS, weekdays beginning Tuesday, July 5, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. The Rise and Shine Program was created in 2021 to address the challenges that students face during the summer months. In Season Two, seven Arkansas Teachers of the Year, and additional teachers selected by the Arkansas Department of Education, will lead educational sessions that are augmented by

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exciting virtual field trips, music, arts, animated segments and “Power Packets” distributed to all 75 Arkansas counties. Power Packets are produced by AR PBS educators and align with the Arkansas academic standards. Packets are distributed across the state through partnerships, including libraries, foodbanks, schools, state parks and community organizations for free, and many have been mailed directly to students’ homes. Educational goody bags have been sent to the first 8,000 requests for Power Packets.

AMP: How is Rise and Shine a unique approach to educating students and reinforcing learning targets?

Pledger: When students are on summer break, they typically don’t get the opportunity to continue their learning with expe-

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rienced teachers. Rise and Shine is a method of bringing the classroom to them right at home at no cost and promoting the retainment of knowledge. Season Two offers additional learning targets determined by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and consistently delivers educational content for six weeks, three hours a day, starting on July 5 and ending on Aug. 12. In addition to the new music and art segments, students will see the return of popular special segments like “Mr. Steve the Music Man,” “Zach Lunch,” Writer’s Contest winners and the Season Three premiere of “Blueberry’s Clubhouse.” New special segments include “Wendy Balloon” and “Spelling B’s with Benji and Bart.” Printed learning activity workbooks will reinforce the summer learning experience — with Rise and Shine, summer learning is fun!

AMP: How does the program increase accessibility to summer learning for students statewide?

Pledger: Support from the Arkansas Cares Committee allowed us to expand our broadcast footprint this year. We have four additional transmitters in areas across the state, moving from a broadcast reach of 76% of Arkansans to over 96% of Arkansans. In addition to our statewide over-the-air broadcast, which is essential for students without access to broadband, Rise and

AMP: Can you tell me more about your partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education?

Pledger: The curriculum for Rise and Shine comes to Arkansas PBS directly from ADE. What we bring to the table are our on-staff educators who know how to ensure that the standards are effectively employed, as well as our creative team, who brings the curriculum to life in Rise and Shine. Arkansas PBS has developed and honed our storytelling and production skills for the benefit of our community statewide and we are so lucky to be able to partner with the smart folks at the Department of Education.

AMP: Can you talk about the different community partners that are also involved in the program?

Pledger: We have many partners, such as school districts, libraries, state parks and community organizations all across the state helping us distribute the Power Packet materials. Our virtual field trips include visits to the Arkansas Travelers games, Mid-American Science Museum, Little Rock Zoo, Scott Family Amazeum, Sunset Animal Rescue, Loving Dog Training (service dogs), Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, Bull Shoals, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Ozark Craft Village, Museum of Audio History, the Arkansas state Capitol, Museum of Discovery, and Young Chefs Academy. Partnerships are the key to the success of Arkansas PBS, and we’ve been working diligently over the past several years to grow our partnerships across all areas of the state.

AMP: Why are partnerships like this important to your programming?

Pledger: We’re all in this together — in educating our kids and helping them grow into happy, productive, engaged adults. Deep community connections are what make public media unique, and partnerships magnify the work that each of us is doing.

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Shine is available via channel livestream and on-demand at myarpbs.org/riseandshine. Families can access all the Rise and Shine content through mobile devices with our Engage Arkansas PBS app, and viewers with smart TVs, OTT streaming devices, phones or tablets can find Rise and Shine by downloading the PBS Video app. Content from Rise and Shine Season One, as well as all the ways to watch Season Two, can be found on page two of the FAQs at myarpbs.org/riseandshine.

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EXEC Q&A

The Gold Standard: The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Sets the Bar High for HBCUs in Arkansas

By Akira Hudson

UAPB Chancellor Dr. Laurence B. Alexander

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r. Laurence B. Alexander, a nationally recognized scholar and academic leader, is in his ninth year as Chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a public landgrant research historically black colleges and universities in an urban setting.

Alexander brings more than three decades of combined professional and academic experience as a transformational university leader, administrator, distinguished professor, First Amendment scholar, attorney and journalist. Under his leadership, UAPB has grown in enrollment, achieved remarkable increases in retention and graduation rates, launched several new marketable academic programs, completed reaffirmation of university accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, reached higher levels of research investment and grant funding, acquired funding for new construction and renovation of capital projects, increased levels of community and statewide engagement, and success in major-gift fundraising and development, including the two largest donations in the university’s history. In that time, UAPB has grown in prominence and national visibility by rising to a Top-20 public HBCU ranking in U.S. News and World Report.

In 2022, Alexander was appointed by President Joe Biden to

serve as Chair of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), an advisory committee to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). His appointment as BIFAD Chair marks the first time the board is chaired by a leader of an 1890 public land grant university, acknowledging the valuable contributions of HBCUs and presenting opportunity to further strengthen USAID’s partnerships with HBCUs and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Board supports USAID’s global commitments in agriculture and food systems through initiatives such as the revised U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy and U.S. Government Global Food Security Research Strategy; responding to climate change; expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion; and strengthening local systems.

AMP: The last time you spoke with us, you mentioned you were most proud that UAPB was one of the few schools in the state that not only maintained enrollment but saw an increase in enrollment during the pandemic. Did that success carry over into 2021-2022, and what are your predictions for the upcoming school year?

Alexander: We did have an increase in the 21-22 school year. It was a much lower increase than previously. We previously had an 8% increase, but our growth was under 1% last year — so a tiny uptick in enrollment. As far as this fall, I don’t like to make predictions — not because I could be wrong. I don’t make predictions except to say that we’ve got our faculty, staff, students and alumni who are hard at work on growing enrollment in the university. So they’re working hard on it, responding to questions and interests. The application pool looks good. So, we remain cautiously optimistic.

AMP: You mention you have alum, current students, recruiters and staff who are working hard. What other things do you attribute to the university’s success under your current leadership?

Alexander: I want to attribute that to just great teamwork. First, we enjoy great collaboration by working together towards common goals, using innovative and entrepreneurial efforts and ideas that come into the process within the university community. They all help us bring the university to a higher level of prominence in enrollment growth and student success and increase our retention and graduation rate.

Through significant gifts and grants to the University from various sources — from corporations and foundations, expanding our research grant activity as well, and through the capital projects we have brought to the campus over the last several years. We’re in the

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AMP: Are there new programs offered at UAPB? Alexander: We have a new MBA program offering hospitality and gaming specializations. The gaming specialization is due to our local casino, Saracen Casino Resort. We are developing students and developing a workforce for local industry. And that program is off the ground; we had our first class coming through last fall.

We’re going to be bringing on more students this year. And you mentioned the agricultural engineering program, launched a couple of years back. We just had our first graduate from the program just this spring. So that’s very good news that we were able to get the agricultural engineering program started. We also started an undergraduate program in hospitality management and tourism. So we’ve got some new programs geared towards things happening that are specifically targeted to job prospects right here in Arkansas.

midst of several capital projects now. So, I think I would attribute that to those kinds of successes, to the teamwork that we have, that we enjoy. Everyone is working in concert toward common goals and priorities in the university to enhance the prominence of our university.

We are open and looking for partnerships with businesses and industries that will not only help our students at the University, but will help grow economic development and business with our support.

AMP: Earlier this year, you were appointed the Chair of the Board for Agricultural Development, an advisory committee to the USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development). How has this role contributed to and coincided with your role as Chancellor of an HBCU? Alexander: I’ve only been in the role for about five months, but it’s been a whirlwind. It’s been good. We are getting down to the work of the Board. We are engaging in conversations and working together on how we can best use our universities to achieve the priorities and goals of USAID. It’s only natural to have someone to chair the Board who is a leader of a Historically Black University. We put that front and center in many conversations about how we reach out to universities and ensure that HBCUs and MSIs (Minority Serving Institutions) are involved in that conversation.

AMP: How about your industrial technology program?

Alexander: While it’s not a new program, it continues to be a shining light for UAPB in that our students who graduate from the industrial technology program are sought after. Many obtain jobs earning $60,000-$70,000 a year or more, and it is a popular program on campus. But it is a challenging program, and the folks in industrial technology do an excellent job preparing their students and keeping our programs connected with industries that are beneficial to our local community.

And I don’t want to leave our aquaculture and fisheries program because it is a signature program that we are well-known for. And we also have a couple of centers of excellence. One is in aquaculture and fisheries; the other is in regulatory sciences, where we have been recognized nationally for the work done in those departments and those areas. So those are some excellent, critical areas of focus for our university.

I also want to mention the growth in our fine arts, our art design department and our music department. Our music department is well-known because people get to see the band or they get to see our concert band, they get to hear our choir, and they get to see us.

But I hope they know that our art design department is doing some great things. So while we’re blossoming on the STEM side, I want to underscore that the arts and humanities at UAPB are doing quite well, too.

AMP: What have been some of the recent changes or points of growth on the campus of UAPB? Alexander: We’ve had several recent changes, and one of them we’ve already talked about is enrollment. Enrollment increased in 2020 by 8%, and we grew it by less than 1% last year. But our student success metrics continue improving, which is a good sign. Specifically, our graduation rate: Our six-year graduation rate moved up last year above 40% for the first time. And now it’s at approximately 41%. We’re having some success in graduating students on campus.

As a result of that success in student graduation retention, we’re getting increases in the state funding formula based on state success. Our cumulative growth over the last five years for us amounts to over $1.2 million, and that $1.2 million now is additional funds that UAPB will receive annually from the legislation unless it goes down. That’s a massive boost for us.

We have some changes in the physical plan itself. We currently have several construction and renovation projects that are underway. One of the big ones that we have underway is Larrison Hall.

That’s a building on campus that’s been dormant for a couple of decades. And now, we will do a total internal renovation of that building, which we will use for faculty and student research. We also have renovation projects in the old student union and some renovations were just completed in Douglas Residence Hall and Lewis Residence Hall. We’re also starting phase one of the renovation of the Hazzard Gym. It’s the home of our very successful ROTC program.

We’re also looking forward to reopening academic buildings damaged by the storm last year. We had three academic buildings that suffered damage to the power source. We’re excited about opening those this fall. Last year, we completed all three phases of the renovation of the Kountz-Kyle Hall, the biology building. And so it’s beautifully renovated.

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AMP: What should we be on the lookout for from UAPB this year?

Alexander: A couple of things are coming up this year: One is we’re going to begin construction. We got approval from the Board in May to construct a new student center. We’re calling it the Student Engagement Center, and we’re working with contractors now.

That’s a fascinating project, and it’s going to contain new facilities for student success, as well as new facilities for our career services offices. It’s going to have, of course, recreational facilities for our students, as well as health facilities, and a student counseling center inside the wellness center, an exercise facility, an international office center as well as a resource office for graduate professional schools — lots of things planned, as well as eateries, a large activity room and a theater. So we’ve got a lot of plans for that.

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Woman in

CHARGE

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By Angela Forsyth Photography by David Yerby

ennah Denney has been working in the electric vehicle (EV) industry for only six years, but you might as well call her a veteran. As the EV Infrastructure Program Manager for Todays Power, Inc. (TPI), Denney is a leader in a relatively new industry that continues to grow at a rapid pace. The federal government has promised to invest billions of dollars in supporting the rising electric vehicle market, and Asa Hutchinson has followed suit by also designating a large budget to EV infrastructure along Arkansas roads.

Fresh out of college in 2016, Denney entered the renewable energy market at its prime when she joined TPI as its first outside-hire. The company had been in business for merely a year when she became TPI’s ‘WOW Coordinator’ and fourth employee. Denney immediately began building the reputation and narrative of the young company. With a bachelor’s degree in public relations and marketing from the University of Central Arkansas, she used her communications skills to draw attention to the work TPI was accomplishing, and within two short years, Denney was promoted to manager of marketing and public relations for the company.

In 2022, Denney took on the role of EV Infrastructure Program Manager with a strong purpose in mind: The industry goal is to develop a statewide network of EV charging stations as part of the largest infrastructure build-out in decades. Although her transition from marketing to operations may seem strange, Denney had already worked on including EV charging in TPI’s service line in 2017, when the company added the new department. Since then, she has collaborated with utilities and organizations that serve the public to establish communitybased EV chargers.

“I’m excited to see EV charging continue to expand in Arkansas and have an impact on how the rural state travels and can save,” Denney said.

The electric vehicle industry has been heating up in the last few years across the country, and Arkansas is no exception. In a short amount of time, the United States has amassed more than 100,000 chargers on the road, as the federal government has promised to pour $7.5 billion into the country’s EV charging infrastructure. According to the White House, united automak-

“A goal of mine is to work hard and climb the ladder as high as I can to make sure there's space for women in the energy industry in the future.”

ers and autoworkers have set an ambitious target for 50% of new vehicles sold in 2030 to be electric. Gov. Hutchinson has also pressed for more EV installations, as the state is scheduled to receive $54 million over the next five years from the federal government for electric charging station infrastructure.

women into this dynamically growing technical industry.

“A goal of mine is to work hard and climb the ladder as high as I can to make sure there’s space for women in the energy industry in the future,” she emphasized. “Sometimes pursuing your aspirations or taking on hard jobs makes it possible for others to pursue theirs. I work to pave the way for future female leaders and professionals in the field of renewable energy and transportation as the first female at TPI.” Denney has already helped hire three women at her company, including backfilling her replacement in marketing. Although she acknowledges the need for more women in this space, she notes that the renewable energy sector has challenges for everyone, no matter the gender.

“We’ve all been familiar with electricity powering our lives for over 75 years,” Denney explained. “The advent of renewable energy vehicle and solar power is still new.

Someone like me who’s been in the industry for six years

Opportunity Breeds Opportunity Nearly seven years after the start of TPI, the company now has 20 employees. Denney describes the growth as “lean,” noting that over the years they have all “worn many hats.” EV charging is the newest department for TPI, which began with solar power and battery energy storage services.

“It’s exciting to see that growth, and not only in the solar sector but also in how it has transformed the transportation sector,” Denney noted.

New to her role as infrastructure manager, leading a department that is new to the company — in an industry that is new-ish itself — Denney is in a position to bring more

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is considered a veteran in the renewable energy industry.

There’s a large learning curve around technology that’s new and consistently advancing and changing. Being a thought leader in this industry takes a lot of time, dedication and research that doesn’t come naturally to many people.”

It’s up to Denney to charter new waters since the role of EV infrastructure program manager has no previous framework. The task at hand is to support the state following the release of the first generation of full battery electric vehicles within the last five years.

Building out a whole infrastructure in charging that is ubiquitous with gas stations has never been done before; Arkansas is currently experiencing the largest infrastructure build out in decades as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law. Denney is proud to be a part of that growth and create the programming that will help provide access to these new technologies at an affordable rate. She enjoys working closely with the Arkansas Energy Office, the Department of Transportation and various representatives to make them aware of renewable energy programs that can help support the state.

Being in this position, where there is very little precedence, has given Denney a unique perspective. As a result, the advice she offers to those who find themselves approaching similar circumstances is: “Recognize how little you actually know to begin with. Actually, recognize that you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s essential to surround yourself with knowledgeable people. Take their advice to heart, and just do it. Obstacles and problems are inevitable with any challenge, and facing them head on has given me a toolkit of resources and solutions for the future.”

On the Personal Side Denney, who has worked since she was 16 years old, can relate her current leadership position to her early days as a teenager working at Papa John’s. She started out in customer service, and now everything she does, whether it’s a marketing role or a program manager role, the mission is the same: to improve people’s quality of life.

“So anytime I feel challenged, I look back at what that mission is,” she explained. “I can list the impact — the quality of life — in those communities we support in a fiscally responsible and sustainable manner.”

When she’s not working, Denney likes to be in the center of what’s happening around her in downtown Little Rock. If she’s not traveling for work, she enjoys doing her own traveling or attending live music concerts in her area. She also has

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Denney demonstrates a Today’s Power EV charging station in Little Rock.

an energetic little wire-haired schnauzer whom she takes out for walks. His name is Ozzy, named for, Ozzy Osbourne.

A self-declared Army brat, Denney was born in Washington state and moved around quite a bit growing up. For years, she was a member of the Missouri Fox Trotters, an association that preserves a type of horse selectively bred in the Ozarks. Animals have long been an interest for her, as her grandparents once owned the farm where the horses were located. Someday in the future, when she’s retired, she hopes to move somewhere where she can have stable room and take up horses again.

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TODAYSPOWER.COM

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CONGRATULATIONS

QUINCY HURST ON BEING NAMED ONE OF AMP’S FUTURE 50 FOR 2022

(800) 951-9792 | superiorseniorcare.com

Congratulations Shelly York

Little Rock | Morrilton | Hot Springs | Fayetteville | Bentonville miracleearusa.com ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM

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FUTURE 50 DIGEST

Arkansas Money & Politics is proud to showcase its Future 50 for 2022. The Future 50 represents those Arkansans — business, political, cultural leaders — recognized by AMP readers as poised to do big things in their fields.

They could be up-and-comers, business leaders already established or industry veterans who have switched fields. But they all share one thing in common — from them, big things are expected. Highlighted by, the subject of this month’s cover, Today’s Power Inc.’s Jennah Denney, this year’s Future 50 installments runs the gamut of Arkansas industry from tech startups to government service.

These 50 exceptional Arkansans and what they do are highlighted in the pages that follow.

BRENT ASHCRAFT Owner, Northwind Holdings, LLC Brent Ashcraft graduated with a business degree from UCA in 2013. After graduation, he went to work in the financial services world on the business development team at a local NLR firm. Unable to contain his entrepreneurial spirit, Ashcraft left the firm to set out on his own. Alongside his brother, the two have had their hands in a variety of businesses over the years, ranging from heavy haul/specialized trucking to residential/recreational development projects. Recently, Ashcraft has sunk his teeth into the waste hauling business and has been fortunate to land contracts serving Gulf Coast hurricane recovery efforts, serving some of the nation’s largest retail brands and contractors. Above all business are his sons Riggs (3) and Rowan (1). While they drive him to seize business opportunities to benefit his family, they are his daily reminder to slow down and do what he can to be a bright spot in someone else’s day, and that success is worthless without character.

JOSH BAKER City President of Hot Springs, Citizens Bank Josh Baker serves as Citizens Bank’s city president in Hot Springs, where he oversees three banking centers and leads the bank’s Garland County expansion initiatives. Baker’s 15 years of financial industry experience includes management of multiple bank branches, helping create and execute successful operational banking strategies, building and maximizing important relationships with major business clients, and nurturing the capabilities of bank employees.

Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Central Arkansas and is a graduate of the Barrett School of Banking. He is active in his community and has served on several boards including the Maumelle Baseball Association board of directors. He is also a volunteer coach and enjoys mentoring the youth through sports and is on the advisory board at Majestic Park in Hot Springs He and his wife, Andrea, have three sons, Reed, Graham and Jax. BRANDON BARGER Chief Accounting Officer, BSR Real Estate Investment Trust Brandon Barger has served as chief accounting officer of BSR Trust, LLC since 2017. Prior to that period, Barger served as director of Financial Reporting of BSR Trust from 2014 to 2016. BSR REIT, a leading owner and operator of apartment communities in the US, is a growing Little Rock-based company that recently completed a successful international IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange in May 2018. Headquartered in Little Rock’s historic Union Station, BSR owns and manages 50 properties comprised of approximately 10,450 units in five states.

Barger was also previously the controller of Anchor Human Resources, LLC from 2013 to 2014, and held various positions in the audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC from 2009 to 2013. Barger is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting & Finance from the University of Central Arkansas.

AJIT BARIDUN Director of Business Development, Hytrol Ajit Baridun is an accomplished and goal-oriented U.S. Army veteran with 15+ years of leadership and management experience. Comprehensive background in business development, project management, engineering, operations management, and planning from leading domestic and global operations, serving as a professional mentor for nonprofit organizations helping military, veterans, and their families, also providing service for the PMI Honolulu chapter as a Director of Professional Development assisting the project management community. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Bhavnagar University with a Bachelor of Structural Engineering, he continued his educational career with multiple certificates in engineering, project management and economics. Baridun received two degrees, one a Master of Science in Computer Science and the other a Master of Business Administration and Management. For the last 4.5 years, Baridun has progressed quickly from program manager for systems engineering and project manager to Director of Business Development.

DEVIN BATES Attorney, Mitchell Williams Devin Bates is an attorney at Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. where he handles legal matters including education issues and business disputes. A native of New Hampshire, Bates graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in economics in 2009. Following graduation, he joined Teach for America, a nonprofit that placed him in the Lakeside School District in Lake Village. Following four years with the district, Bates attended William & Mary Law School and earned a Juris Doctor, graduating cum laude, in 2016. After law school, Bates served as a law clerk to chief district Judge P.K. Holmes, III, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. In 2020, Bates was the lead counsel for the Pulaski County School District in its four-decades-long desegregation case. Bates is president of the board of directors for AR Kids Read. He first became involved with the organization when he served as a volunteer reading tutor. He is a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock, Class XXXV, serves on the board of directors of Economics Arkansas, and previously on the board of directors of Create Little Rock, Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

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FUTURE 50 TIMOTHY BATY, DO UAMS Northcentral Family Medicine Residency Timothy Baty of UAMS Northcentral Family Medicine Residency was raised in a blue-collar family in Widener, Arkansas, a small town with a population of 300 people. His family eventually moved to Wynne, and after graduating high school, Baty went on to be a first-generation college student at the University of Central Arkansas and a medical student at the New York Institute College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University.

At the end of Baty’s first year of medical school, his father passed away of colon cancer at the age of 53. Baty believes that if his father had been educated and had access to medical care, he could still be here today. Baty chose family medicine to prevent families from losing their loved ones too soon, as his family did. After graduating from residency in June 2023, he plans to return to his hometown of Wynne to provide high-quality medical care at Wynne Medical Clinic.

CHARLES BLAKE Vice Principal, Think Rubix Charles Blake serves as vice principal at Think Rubix, where he leads the Government and Corporate Affairs division. Blake, a former legislator, is a skilled policy maker, political strategist, entrepreneur and civil servant.

Think Rubix is a diverse “culture first” public affairs and consulting firm that creates solutions for businesses, organizations and leaders seeking to drive innovative change through research and development in Equity and Inclusion, community and stakeholder engagement, and brand strategy and storytelling. Blake served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives and as Minority Leader of the Democratic Caucus. He was also elected Minority Whip as well as vice-chair of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus during his tenure. Most recently, Blake served as Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr.’s chief of staff. An Arkansas native, Blake graduated from Little Rock Central High School before earning his political science degree at Grinnell College in Iowa. Upon his return to Arkansas, he began a career in banking and financial services with Regions Bank and Morgan Keegan Co. He has also served as a founding administrator of the Little Rock Preparatory Academy and president of CenArk Transportation.

DR. AMANDA BLEDSOE Chief Executive Officer, Bledsoe Chiropractic When Dr. Amanda Bledsoe was 14, she was diagnosed with major scoliosis of the spine. At the time, it was recommended that she visit a chiropractor, but Bledsoe didn’t end up seeing one until she was 18. After experiencing firsthand how powerful chiropractic care was, coupled with the fact that she always wanted to work in health care, chiropractic became the perfect career path for her. “I missed out on critical years of chiropractic care between 14 and 18 years old; I want to help others who were afraid like I was, to experience just how amazing chiropractic care can be.” Dr. Bledsoe attended the Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City.

While there, she honed several different adjustment styles so that she’s able to offer patients options that fit their needs, including instrument adjusting for nervous or elderly patients. Dr. Bledsoe’s love for chiropractic seems to grow with each passing day.

One of her ultimate goals for patients is to make chiropractic care not just effective for all, but affordable. When she isn’t helping patients of all ages lead happier, healthier lives, she enjoys spending time with her two children, Audrey and Hunter. Dr. Bledsoe enjoys all that Conway has to offer and is an active part of her community, including being a part of a local business networking group and a member of United Way. She also finds ways to support many local organizations like Bethlehem House and Deliver Hope. Dr. Bledsoe’s family recently moved their home to Little Rock to be closer to their Pleasant Valley church family and they are excited to expand the clinic to the first satellite location in Maumelle this fall.

VONNICE BOONE Program Manager II- Associate Resource Groups, Walmart Vonnice Boone, MBA, is a transplant from the Washington, D.C. area. Boone is a proud graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting as a non-traditional student in 2007, and the University of Maryland, where she earned her MBA in 2012.

Boone is currently pursuing her doctorate in education with a focus on performance improvement process.

She will graduate with her EdD in June 2023. In addition, Boone is the CEO and President of Vonnice Boone Consulting, LLC, and co-owns a barbecue catering company, Avenue Smokers, in Northwest Arkansas with her husband, Dorian. She is a proud mom of two boys Darius (13) and Dylan (6). In the community, Boone serves as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, vice president of Compassion House Executive Board (a home for teen moms), a council member of the NWA MLK Council, a member of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Sam Walton College of Business, the president of Endo Black in Washington, D.C., and a charter member and first and current president of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the NBMBAA®.

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KYLE BREWER, BS, PRPS Peer Specialist Program Manager, NAADAC Kyle Brewer is the peer specialist program manager for NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, where he manages the Arkansas Peer Specialist program. Brewer oversees the development and implementation of a three-tier credentialing process (Core, Advanced, Supervision) for the Arkansas Peer Support Model. He earned a Bachelor of Science in addiction studies from the University of Central Arkansas in 2013.

He went on to use his lived experience with drug and alcohol addiction to become a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist and became the state’s first Peer Recovery Specialist stationed in an emergency department. He led the development and implementation of this position at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and multiple hospitals across the state.

In 2020, he became one of the first 10 Certified Peer Support Supervisors in Arkansas. Brewer is a trainer in Peer Support, Peer Supervision and Family Opioid Response Narcan Training. He serves on numerous committees and boards to develop and strengthen the Arkansas Model and improve peer support services across the U.S. Brewer was awarded the 2021 Arkansas Peer Leadership Award for his exemplary leadership in advancing the peer movement and practices of the peer support profession.

BEAU BRITTON Attorney, Schnipper, Britton & Stobaugh Beau Britton is a partner at Schnipper, Britton & Stobaugh, Arkansas’ second-oldest law firm, founded in 1875.

Britton received his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Arkansas and his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His practice primarily focuses on the areas of estate planning, probate, real estate, general business and civil litigation. Britton is a past president of the Garland County Bar Association and is very active in the Hot Springs community. He serves on the board of directors for the Hot Springs Area Community Foundation, Ouachita Children, Youth, & Family Services, Garland County Habitat for Humanity, and MidAmerica Science Museum. Britton lives in Hot Springs with his wife, Lauren, and their two boys, Briggs and Banks.

He and his family are active members of First United Methodist Church Hot Springs. Britton loves spending time with his wife and kids on Lake Hamilton, watching the Razorbacks play or enjoying one of the many local attractions in Hot Springs.

MADELINE BURKE Social Media and Communications, Women’s Foundation of Arkansas Madeline Burke helps create and publish content that strengthens the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas brand and raises awareness about organizational projects and initiatives. Burke is also a second-year master’s student at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. Her areas of interest are economic development and social justice. She graduated from the Donaghey Scholars Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. While earning her Bachelor of Arts in international studies with a minor in legal studies, Burke also received research grants and published several papers examining different legal or policy issues. After graduation and prior to attending the Clinton School of Public Service, she worked as a journalist covering stories on local politics and businesses at AY Media Group in Little Rock.

NICK COPAS Industrial Services President, Baldwin & Shell Nick Copas serves as the Industrial Services President for Baldwin & Shell Construction Company, where he manages the firm’s industrial portfolio and self-performed construction services. Copas has been instrumental in the growth and diversification of the company’s book of business since joining the firm in 2003. He is responsible for facilitating the company’s first joint-venture operation, expanding its self-performed construction capabilities and securing its largest design-build contracts to date. In 2019, he was appointed to Baldwin & Shell Board of Directors and is a current member of its Executive Management Team. Copas is a Leadership Greater Little Rock alumnus, Associated General Contractors of America member and past Chapter Officer of the American Society of Professional Estimators.

JENNAH DENNEY EV Infrastructure Program Manager, Today’s Power, Inc. Jennah Denney was named EV Charging Infrastructure program manager for North Little Rock solar company Today’s Power, Inc. in 2022. Denney was promoted from the company’s manager of marketing and public relations, a position she had held since Sep. 2021. In her new role, Denney serves as a member of the TPI operations team and works alongside utilities, cities, schools and businesses to evolve the EV charging economy. Denney joined TPI in 2016 and has successfully held several positions within the company since. She was appointed to the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF) in June 2021.

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Our growth is your growth.

It is with pride that we recognize Josh’s innovation as he goes Beyond Banking in Hot Springs and the surrounding communities.

Success is inevitable when you invest in People First.

Josh Baker SVP, City President Hot Springs

thecitizensbank.net

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FUTURE 50 SHERRA DUNKLIN CEO, RedSTAR Media Sherra Dunklin is a medical public relations and marketing professional with over a decade of experience leading her own firm, RedSTAR Media. She started her own media company after studying film and television production in Los Angeles and deciding to bring her talents back home to Arkansas. RedSTAR media primarily produces creative commercial advertisements for television, many of which are on-air currently.

Dunklin is intimately familiar with the needs of medical product marketing, having executed successful programs for a number of institutions, including Covenant Surgical Partners, Pathology Partners Laboratories, Arkansas Diagnostic Center, and Kanis Endoscopy Center. She has also developed messaging strategies for the Liver Wellness Center.

In addition to her wide medical marketing experience, Dunklin also runs a Colorectal Cancer Prevention Campaign, which she has been doing for over 10 years, and helps facilitate mental health fairs in partnership with Arkansas Behavioral Center and many other health care groups.

Dunklin is also a proud member of the Chi Eta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

JESSICA HUGHES FORD Chief Communications Officer, Arkansas Community Foundation Jessica Ford is the chief communications officer at Arkansas Community Foundation, where she oversees all communications, media relations and marketing. Starting her career as an advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, Ford has worked in the nonprofit sector for 17 years. Prior to the Community Foundation, she spent 12 years at Heifer International and is an alumna of the Thunderbird School of Global Management’s “Emerging Leaders in the Social Sector” program. When COVID hit Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson endorsed the Foundation as the best place to donate for pandemic relief. Ford and the Foundation team immediately leapt into action, and in four months raised more than $3.8 million for granting to 837 nonprofits statewide. A native of Redfield, Arkansas, Ford has a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from the University of Wyoming and is a recent graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock.

DEREK FISHER Commercial Banker, Bank OZK Derek Fisher knew that he wanted to be a banker for as long as he can remember. He jumped into the commercial lending space three years ago, in Bank OZK’s credit underwriting department — where he learned the ins-and-outs and back-office side of the business — and was recently promoted to commercial banker.

Fisher got into lending because it’s client-based, and he knew that he wanted to help and interface with people. Client communications, developing relationships and creating innovative ideas while figuring out the best lending solutions to make clients’ dreams come true is his passion. Single-family and multifamily properties while working directly with the builders are the projects that excite him the most. Fisher’s teammates love working with him because of his “can-do” attitude. He graduated from Arkansas State University with a Bachelor of Finance degree with an emphasis in banking. At the ripe old age of 25, he aspires to be a chief lending officer, running the lending department at a bank, preferably Bank OZK. GILBERTO GARCIA Financial Advisor, Garcia Wealth Management - Northwestern Mutual Gilberto Garcia is the co-founder and President of Garcia Wealth Management- Northwestern Mutual, where he works alongside the entire GWM team to serve clients in Arkansas and nationally through their core values of accountability, transparency and integrity. Helping put clients in the position of power is the firm’s mission statement, while also continuing to have an impact in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Prior to helping establish the firm, Gilberto was exposed to business and entrepreneurship through his upbringing. Football opened the door for him to be a four-year student athlete at the University of Central Arkansas where he obtained two undergraduate degrees in Finance and Risk Management & Insurance, an MBA, and he also obtained a financial field designation during his time at UCA. Garcia was recently appointed to the UCA Purple Circle Board of Directors on a five-year term and was the 2021 recipient of the Conway Chamber Area of Commerce’s Young Business Professional of the Year award.

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ALLYSON PITTMAN GATTIN, APR PR Director, The Peacock Group As a third-generation public relations professional, strategic storytelling runs in Allyson Pittman Gattin’s DNA. With 12 years of experience in both nonprofit and for-profit industries, Gattin has a proven track record of strengthening company brand and awareness, delivering engaging content strategies and increasing revenue growth. With a passion for people –– being around them, learning about them and helping them — Gattin enjoys supporting The Peacock Group’s clients and her community, daily. She also serves on the board of the Central Arkansas Diaper Bank, a community resource that provides diapers to families in need. As a graduate of the Leadership Greater Little Rock Class of XXXII, Gattin has previously served as chair of the City of Little Rock Arts and Culture Commission. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and recently earned her Accreditation of Public Relations (APR).

DR. MEGAN GODFREY State Representative, Arkansas House of Representatives SAVE10 Project Manager, Women’s Foundation of Arkansas Rep. Megan Godfrey is serving her second term in the Arkansas House. She represents District 89 which includes portions of Washington County in Northwest Arkansas. For the 93rd General Assembly, Godfrey serves on the House City, County & Local Affairs Committee, the House Education Committee, and the Joint Performance Review Committee. Godfrey is an experienced educator, policymaker, researcher, and team leader. She spent 14 years as a public school educator of immigrant students, has a PhD in curriculum and instruction, and served two terms in the Arkansas legislature. She is the founder of Room 100, an educational and political consultancy built on her core values of excellence, engagement, and empowerment. As SAVE10 Project Coordinator, Godfrey facilitates WFA’s initiative to empower Arkansas women to save for life and retirement. With her background in public education and her fierce commitment to expanding opportunity, she brings passion and purpose to her role of leading the SAVE10 for Arkansas Educators initiative and elevating the life-changing message of improved financial security for women across Arkansas.

LUIS GONZALEZ Communications Deputy Director, Walton Family Foundation Luis Gonzalez is the communications deputy director of the Walton Family Foundation. Prior to his work with the foundation, he served as the communications and marketing manager for the City of Little Rock. Gonzalez also has experience in advertising, previously working for CJRW as an account supervisor where he managed advertising campaigns in the higher education, economic development and public health sectors. Gonzalez attended the University of the Ozarks, where he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in marketing and business administration.

AARON GRIMES Co-owner/Manager, Capitol Glass Company, Inc. Pharmacist, CHI St. Vincent Infirmary Market/Social Media Director, Shiloh Marina on Greers Ferry Lake Aaron Grimes is a man who wears many hats. He spent his high school summers working at the family business, Capitol Glass Company, but while attending college at the University of Central Arkansas, he focused his time on wakeboarding and other watersports. Grimes competed in wakeboard competitions throughout most of the 2000s and was sponsored by Hyperlite Wakeboards. Once he graduated from UCA, Grimes helped his father get involved in the boating industry to open S&G Extreme Marine, and he opened his own skate shop with locations in Little Rock and Kansas City. The recession of 2008 resulted in the closing of both skate shops, and Grimes returned to the family business. In the years that followed, Grimes attended pharmacy school at UAMS, worked full time at CHI St. Vincent as a pharmacist, and now balances his time between Capitol Glass Company, the hospital, and helping his father when he can.

He says,“My main day-to-day focus right now is continuing to grow Capitol Glass Company and make sure that it is still the No. 1 auto glass company in the state.”

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FUTURE 50 SARA HECK President, Chief Executive Officer, Waco Title Arkansas native Sara Heck received her bachelor’s degree in business economics from the University of Arkansas and her J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Heck began her private practice career focusing on creditor and real estate law. She then served as corporate counsel for a regional property management company, after which she joined Arvest Bank in 2013. Her roles at Arvest have included Bankruptcy and Foreclosure supervisor, director of Mortgage Loan Servicing in default and customer experience, and director of operations for Consumer Lending. She now serves as the CEO of WACO Title and is passionate about her team and the customers they serve.

SARAH HEER Blogger and Host, “Arkie Travels” and “Hey Arkansas!” Podcast Sarah Heer is an award-winning travel enthusiast, celebrating all things Arkansas at “Arkie Travels” and in hosting the “Hey Arkansas!” podcast. Heer and her husband, Paul, travel the Natural State, visiting locally owned shops and restaurants, staying at unique Airbnbs and boutique hotels, exploring hidden waterfalls, trails and swimming holes, and showing off what makes Arkansas the best kept secret in the South. In 2020, the couple completed a YouTube video series on all 52 Arkansas State Parks, which led to the creation of the 52 Arkansas State Parks Challenge Scratch-Off Map, which can be found at visitors centers and shops all over the state as well as online at ArkansasAlley.com. Earlier this year, “Arkie Travels” was the proud recipient of the Rising Star Award for excellence in Arkansas tourism and, since then, Heer has added the “Hey Arkansas!” podcast to her lineup — shining a light on the amazing things Arkansans are doing statewide and beyond.

BURT HICKS President, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Encore Bank Burt Hicks has made a tremendous impact on the Arkansas banking world in just over a decade of working in finance. A native of Pearcy, Arkansas, Hicks first worked on Wall Street as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, before returning home to undertake management training with Simmons Bank and graduate law school from UALR and the Clinton School of Public Service. Hicks took invaluable experience he gained over several years with Simmons Bank with him when he made the leap to co-founding Encore Bank – joining with Chris Roberts and Philip Jett to buy out the shareholders of the Capital Bank, rebrand it, and raise an impressive $57 million in startup capital.

QUINCY HURST Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Superior Senior Care Quincy Hurst is the vice president and chief operating officer of Superior Senior Care, a statewide caregiver registry specializing in non-medical home care services since 1985. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, Hurst began working for Superior Senior Care as a billing specialist at the company’s Rogers branch. He worked his way up, founding and managing the largest Superior Senior Care office to date, before joining the corporate team in Hot Springs. After helping grow the business from 12 locations to 26, Hurst was promoted to chief operating officer in 2022. Hurst attributes the success of the company to a loyal team of hardworking individuals, many of whom have been with the company for over 20 years and says the company’s rich history in Arkansas is what sets it apart.

KEVIN KEEN Executive Broker, Mossy Oak Properties-Delta Land Management. Co. Kevin Keen started his real estate career with Mossy Oak Properties-Delta Land Management in 2013 and has been the acting executive broker since 2015. MOP-DLM is a farmland and recreational real estate brokerage that has consistently been one of the state’s top-producing vacant land firms. Keen is an Arkansas native who grew up in the farm fields of northeast Arkansas. He received a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology and management, followed by a master’s in biology with an emphasis on environmental education. Being tied to the land since his first steps, in conjunction with being a certified wildlife biologist, has helped Keen understand the needs of both buyers and sellers within the land market. He is best known by his family and friends as one who loves the outdoors and can never spend too much time outside hunting and fishing. He has row cropped, raised livestock, and been an educator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

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NICK KELLEY Executive VP and Partner, Kelley Commercial Partners Nick Kelley began his career in Georgia, where he attended the University of Georgia in Athens, and earned a bachelor’s degree in real estate and finance in 2006. In 2010, Kelley obtained a law degree from Georgia’s Mercer University. After several years working as a practicing attorney in Atlanta, he decided to return to Arkansas, where he began his career in commercial real estate, a field in which his father and grandfather found much success. Prior to joining Kelley Commercial Partners in 2017, Kelley worked at Little Rock’s Quattlebaum, Grooms, & Tull law firm. He now serves as executive vice president and partner at Kelley Commercial Partners. As an attorney specializing in real estate, Kelley’s expertise brings a high level of real estate services to the firm. In his work, he has represented real estate developers, Fortune 500 retailers, lenders, borrows and other clients on complex commercial transactions. In addition to his leadership roles at KCP, Kelley serves as a member of the Central Arkansas Executives Association as well as the Children’s Hospital Committee for the Future. He is a proud graduate of Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Leadership Class XXXV.

JARED LANDRUM Vice President of Growth, Bond.AI Jared Landrum attended the University of Arkansas, where he graduated in the summer of 2010. After earning his degree, Landrum moved to Little Rock, where he now serves as vice president of Growth at BOND.AI. Landrum has been employed at BOND.AI since 2018 and has been integral to the development of the company. In bringing the Empathy Engine® for financial health and chatbot technologies to key financial institutions across the United States and Latin America, Landrum has also fostered partnerships with companies such as FIS and Thales Group. During his tenure at BOND.AI, the company has helped present and win numerous industry accolades from Finovate, CFSI Money 20/20 and MED awards. Landrum serves at the 2022 Chair of Create Little Rock, the founder of the Little Rock Blockchain Meetup, and is an active member of Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Board, Hat Club of Little Rock and Easterseals’ Guardians.

BRAYDEN MALLETT Client Advisor, Arvest Wealth Management Brayden Mallett, a client advisor for Arvest Wealth Management, has made a clear plan for his future. He received his bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in management from the University of Central Arkansas.

Furthering his education, Mallett graduated in May 2022 from UCA with an MBA in business, and his next course of action is to obtain a CFP in the next few years. Having worked in the banking and financial services industry since 2014, Mallett is in his first full year of production with Arvest Wealth Management and has already generated close to $210,000 in revenue for the firm. Additionally, he manages almost $50 million in assets in over 410 unique households.

TARA B. MALLET Associate Vice President, Mortgage Loan Originator, First Community Bank Tara Mallett was born and raised in Central Arkansas and is a graduate of Greenbrier High School, Central Baptist College, and Conway Area Leadership Institute. Mallet began her 11-year banking career while attending college and has since become assistant vice president for First Community Bank as a mortgage loan originator.

She has accumulated extensive banking knowledge and experience over the years while also serving at various other banking institutions, including U.S. Bank, First Service Bank, and First Security Bank. She is passionate about building relationships and working closely with her clients to ensure their home buying experience is a positive one. Mallet is very involved in her community, serves on the Conway Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and is a member of the Conway Noon Rotary Club.

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Central Arkansas’s Home for through

775 Amity Road • Conway NEW LOCATION COMING!!

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DR. AMANDA BLEDSOE

Congratulations Bank of America recognizes Robyn Staggs, Global Commercial Banking Senior Relationship Manager, for being honored by Arkansas Money & Politics among the 2022 Future 50.

Helping the local economy thrive is just one of the many positive attributes you bring to our area. Extending your abilities and resources to the industry makes you a true leader.

We’re proud to call Robyn our teammate and celebrate the Future 50.

Visit us at bankofamerica.com/about.

©2022 Bank of America Corporation | MAP4117394 | ENT-217-AD

FUTURE 50 JERRY MARTIN Arkansas Water Team Manager, Garver Growing up in the River Valley, Jerry Martin found a passion for the environment and conservation early in life. He volunteered with organizations that exposed him to the critical role water plays in the day-to-day lives of people. Martin began his professional career with the U.S. Navy. After being introduced to water quality and treatment, he then pursued a career in water resources and environmental engineering. In 2011, he joined Garver, a multi-discipline engineering firm headquartered in North Little Rock. Martin has quickly climbed the ranks and now serves as the firm’s Arkansas Water team leader, leading an array of water and wastewater engineering experts working with municipalities across Arkansas and surrounding areas to deliver solutions to the most pressing water and wastewater infrastructure issues.

Committed to supporting his industry both in and outside of the office, Martin is a member of a multitude of industry organizations.

He is an elected member of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Public Health Advisory Board, serving as an advocate for the critical role that water and wastewater infrastructure play in public health. He also serves as vice president of the Arkansas Water Environment Association, has recently been named to the Arkansas 5S Society, and is an active member within several other industry organizations, including the Water Environment Federation, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Water Works Association and many more.

RYAN MOORE Vice President of Technologies, ARMI Contractors & ARMI Manufacturing As Vice President of Technologies at both ARMI Contractors and ARMI Manufacturing, Ryan Moore oversees all technical initiatives to help the companies operate as efficiently as possible, reflecting ARMI’s values of continuous improvement. Moore utilizes his leadership capabilities, problem-solving skills, calm demeanor, and relatability to help the company navigate difficult, high-impact decisions and situations. He is a proud supporter of the Ronald McDonald House of Arkoma, which provides a “home-away-from-home” in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley to families of children in long-term hospital care. Moore also has over 10 years of engineering management experience and a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

JESSICA JOHNSTON-MYERS Vice President of Sales Development, Apptegy Jessica Johnston-Myers serves as the vice president of Sales Development for Little Rock-based tech company, Apptegy, where she previously served as director of sales. Apptegy specializes in powering school districts with technology that helps K12 leaders build a strong digital brand, without adding work to their team. JohnstonMyers was born in Fayetteville, grew up in Little Rock and graduated from Hendrix in Conway with a theaterfocused liberal arts bachelor’s degree. She applies her theater skills to various sales and operations roles, often coaching high-performing sales teams.

MAGGIE NOGA Internal Communications Specialist, Travel Nurse Across America Before Maggie Noga was the internal communications specialist for Travel Nurse Across America, she attended college at the University of Central Arkansas. She received a Bachelor of Science in public relations and a Bachelor of Science in communications, preparing Noga for her blossoming career with Travel Nurse Across America. However, it was a senior project with Conway Regional Health Systems that officially steered Noga toward health care. At TNAA, Noga is in charge of ensuring that the TNAA core values, vision, mission statement and marketing strategy are understood among the internal employees. At only 23 years old, Noga has developed strong skills in communication, public relations, as well as in social media strategy and community outreach, and she plans to use these skills to advocate, promote and support health care workers.

AMANDA PROPST Senior Marketing Manager, Sam’s Club Amanda Propst recently joined Sam’s Club as a senior marketing manager. With a background of 12 years rooted in marketing technology and artificial intelligence at Arkansas-based tech firms Acxiom and Inuvo, where she built the corporate marketing department from the ground up to support new strategic acquisition of the company to shift focus of the business from publishing to programmatic media. Propst brings her experience in martech and data science to the Sam’s Customer Relationship Management team, helping to create personalized brand and performance strategies. She has knowledge and expetise in several different fields, including marketing, advertising, artificial intelligence, advertising technology, data, analytics, creativity, innovation and transformation. A University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumna, Propst brings her professional expertise in marketing to causes to which she has personal connections: Calvary Baptist Church, Ronald McDonald House, and supporting enrichment and STEM programs at her children’s schools.

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BROOKE PRYOR Director Of Marketing, Unity Health Brooke Pryor has served 12 years as the marketing leader for Unity Health, based in Searcy. Following her undergraduate degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in sociology from Arkansas State University, Pryor did not anticipate landing in health care on her career path. With excellent leadership skills, genuine empathy, and energy, Pryor seeks to lead her team with grace and poise. Her leadership duties include directing the marketing team, with additional leadership for the Community Health Department, Volunteer Services and Patient Experience. Pryor and her associates have been awarded Diamond Awards for marketing and advertising campaigns for multiple consecutive years through the Arkansas Hospital Association. As a member of the National Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development and the immediate past president of the Arkansas Society for Healthcare Marketing & PR, Pryor works to stay in tune with the needs and expectations of today’s health care consumers. She holds a philosophy that health care is about compassionate care and looks for ways to reach people where they are, with a message that means something to them personally. Pryor enjoys the ever-changing, fast-paced health care environment.

She successfully balances her time with living a healthy lifestyle and being a wife to Grant and mother to Stella (12) and Charlotte (9).

She is dedicated to her faith, family and the betterment of those she encounters through her work at Unity Health.

LAUREN RAMSEY Chief Creative Officer, Owner, Puzzle Piece Media, LLC Lauren Ramsey is the owner and founder of Arkansas PR firm Puzzle Piece Media, LLC. Ramsey received her Master of Science from the University of Central Arkansas and has 10-plus years of experience in marketing, promotion, social media management and event planning services. In 2020, Ramsey took a leap of faith, left her health care marketing career and founded Puzzle Piece Media, LLC. She aims to help small businesses exceed their social media marketing goals by creating original and creative strategies. By doing so, she can share her marketing and social media management expertise with companies across Arkansas. Ramsey was born and raised in Little Rock and now resides in Bryant with her husband and two sons.

MOLLY RAWN Chief Executive Officer, Experience Fayetteville Molly Rawn is the CEO of Experience Fayetteville, the destination marketing organization for Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the stewards of the city’s HMR tax. During her tenure, the city has seen unprecedented tourism growth, including its highest HMR collection month on record. Rawn led the team responsible for planning and executing the 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship – only the second time in 72 years the event was held on U.S. soil. Prior to leading Experience Fayetteville, Rawn was a member of the leadership staff that opened the Scott Family Amazeum, Northwest Arkansas’ first Children’s Museum, where she served as director of Development and Communication.

After growing up in Paragould and Little Rock, Rawn relocated to Fayetteville to attend the University of Arkansas and decided to make it her family’s permanent home. She is passionate about civic engagement, community building and expanding opportunities for women in civic leadership.

SUSIE REYNOLDS REECE Chief Executive Officer, SFA Consulting, LLC Susie Reynolds Reece is an international mental health advocate, national speaker, consultant, and activist.

Reece began her career as a grassroots organizer of suicide prevention efforts in Hot Springs, and over time, has championed and led multiple activism efforts revolving around suicide prevention, mental health, lived experience and inclusivity. Reece serves at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center as the Lived Experience engagement coordinator. In this role, she leads lived experience inclusivity efforts to ensure a spectrum of voices are included in prevention and social justice efforts across the nation. She is also the committee chair for Arkansas’ AFSP Corrections project — which is aimed at developing an implementation guide that can lead to efforts in reducing suicide within these settings — and serves on several national, state, and local boards.

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RedStar Media

CONGRATULATES

n i l k n u D Sherra for making AMP’s Future 50 List!

Congratulations Kevin Keen

You’ve been recognized as one of AMP’s Future 50!

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Congratulations Aaron Grimes to being named one of AMP’s Future 50 in 2022!

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FUTURE 50 MARLEE RAMIREZ SAFREED Market Sales Manager, Banco Sí (Signature Bank of Arkansas) Marlee Ramirez Safreed is the market sales manager for Signature Bank of Arkansas’ newest division, Banco Sí. Safreed was initially hired as the Banco Sí bank manager, but was quickly promoted to play a more strategic role in the development of this new and unique banking experience. From the beginning of her career, she has maintained a passion to serve the LatinX community. As a teenager, Safreed started a small business representing her Salvadoran culture while simultaneously starting her banking career and attending the University of Arkansas. Shortly after earning her degree, she was promoted to her first management role. Since then, Safreed has further developed her skills in financial services to a passion for leveraging her knowledge to serve women and the Hispanic community. She is engaging with the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter and the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas to volunteer and deepen her impact on the community, in addition to volunteering with the new Salvadoran consulate in Springdale.

CHRIS SHENEP Director of AU Foundation & Marketing, Arkansas Urology Little Rock native Chris Shenep has been serving as the director of the UA Foundation and Marketing for Arkansas Urology for a couple of years, but his skill and experience extend over a decade. Shenep graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Following graduation, Shenep served as the personal aide to the 45th Governor of Arkansas, Mike Beebe. Commitment to the community is just as important to Shenep as his work with the AU Foundation. He is a contributor on 103.7 The Buzz, an active member of Rotary Club 99, serves on the board of the Arkansas Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Hat Club and a Class XXV graduate of the Great Little Rock Leadership Program.

LES SMITH Chief Operating Officer, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education Les Smith joined Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) in 2019, after 20 years of growing with Arvest Bank. Smith began his career at Arvest in college as a bank teller. After many years of service and promotions within the organization, he was appointed executive vice president/loan manager. The affiliation/partnership between Arvest and ACHE allowed Smith to meet chief staff members of ACHE, and when offered the opportunity to join ACHE, he couldn’t say no. Smith’s involvement in the community is as extensive as his years with Arvest. He has previously served the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce as an ambassador; the Championship for Charities and the United Way Allocation Committee as president, vice president and secretary of United Way; LSU Banking School Board of Trustees; and as a board member for the Reynolds Cancer Support House. Currently, Smith is the United Way Endowment chair, a Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club board member, and he has also joined the Board of Directors for the Mercy Health Fort Smith Communities.

ROBYN STAGGS Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager, Bank of America Robyn Staggs is the senior vice president and senior relationship manager for the Combined Coverage market in Commercial Banking at Bank of America in Rogers. Staggs first joined Bank of America in 2005 in credit products in Kansas City, Missouri, before moving to Northwest Arkansas in 2011. Staggs has served mid-sized companies throughout the Midwest area in supporting their commercial banking needs. She continues her work in the communities she serves by volunteering with several not-for-profit organizations. Staggs is on the board of directors for Samaritan Community Center and Restoration Village, where she is the market integration executive for Arkansas, a member of the Arkansas Leadership team, and a member of the Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development Network for Women.

CALEB TALLEY Executive Director, Startup Junkie Foundation Caleb Talley is the Executive Director of Startup Junkie Foundation, where he and his team work to improve lives through innovation and entrepreneurship. Through their efforts, over 800 entrepreneurs and small business owners are assisted each year through no-cost consultations and access to resources. Talley joined the team in 2019 as the marketing and events director, where he was responsible for planning and carrying out the foundation’s portfolio of events and workshops, geared to serve the local entrepreneurial community. A native of Forrest City, Talley graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in journalism and political science. He worked as a reporter for the Times-Herald in Forrest City, and later at Vowell Inc., where he served as editor of AY Magazine and Arkansas Money & Politics.

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TYLER VAWSER Vice President of Marketing, Apptegy Tyler Vawser serves as the vice president of Marketing for Little Rock-based tech company, Apptegy. Vawser specializes in creating connections with people and growth in companies and says he is working on finding thoughtful people that find meaning in excellence at a great company. Before joining Apptegy in 2018, Vawser was a marketing consultant for Tvaw Marketing — where he built, executed and supported marketing for startups and businesses — and vice president of marketing for Sticker Mule in New York City –– where he was responsible for marketing the launch of new products, email marketing, customer acquisition, conversion optimization, internationalization, SEO and more. He volunteers on the Strategic Advisory Board for Restore NYC, a human rights organization. Vawser says he and his team at Apptegy want to create a company in a particular way, without compromise, and that Apptegy’s culture is visible, real and ever-growing.

KRYSTEN WAGNER Project Manager, Baldwin & Shell Construction Company Krysten Wagner joined Baldwin & Shell construction company in 2018 as a project manager for the central Arkansas team. Wagner entered the construction industry nearly 10 years ago, after receiving her master’s in civil engineering from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Florida Gulf Coast University. Her education and experience offer a strong base of knowledge, which she utilizes on every project. Most recently, Wagner was the project manager for Jacksonville North Pulaski School District’s new middle school as well as the new Rock City Harley-Davidson building in Little Rock. She received her Associated General Contractors Certificate of Management in Lean Construction in 2020. She is also very involved in Cabot Parks and Recreation, where she coaches soccer for her sons, Preston and Jordan.

ALLISHA WATKINS Chief Sales Officer, Paradox Allisha Watkins’ career has had many turns but has now developed her into a truly multifaceted marketer. Having gained invaluable experience with Walmart, Watkins learned how to manage vast amounts of data across multiple projects at once. Making a name for herself in the supplier world then led Watkins through both agency and CPG roles, landing at Mars Wrigley as the team lead for Shopper Marketing. Finding herself in a situation where the resume accomplishments were plenty, but displaced within the company, the mentorships gained previously proved fruitful. At that moment it was evident every role, project, person, and setback was simply a setup for the adventure of a lifetime to finally begin. In April 2019, Paradox was born. Watkins and her business partner Amanda Whittaker formed Paradox, a marketing agency, on the belief that there had to be a better agency model.

Not only did the company double its growth amid a global pandemic, but it also expanded capabilities across all retail channels and opened a physical office for its industry leaders to deliver amazing work together.

THOMAS WILLIAMS Head Distiller, Delta Dirt Distillery Thomas Williams is the head distiller at Delta Dirt Distillery, a family-owned craft distillery located in the richest farmland of the Arkansas Delta. Williams graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and was going to go on to pursue a medical profession. However, he attended distillery school in Kentucky and was introduced to the distilling business. After months of experimentation, the Williams family found the right balance of corn and sweet potatoes to create a vodka with unique characteristics and balance. They went into production, but with COVID-19 putting the brakes on both the renovation of their 6,500-SF space and their ability to serve foot traffic, they weren’t able to introduce the product to the public. The week before Christmas 2020, they were ready to launch. Now, Delta Dirt Distillery hopes to “Raise Spirits in the Delta,” one bottle at a time.

SHELLY YORK Owner, Miracle-Ear In 2014, Shelly York began her journey as a hearing care professional in Louisiana. Three years later, York and her husband moved to Little Rock, and fully invested in hearing care as Miracle-Ear franchise owners. York, with experience as a hearing care provider, and her husband with experience as a business owner, made a strong team. After two years, the couple expanded from their first Miracle-Ear location on Chenal Parkway in Little Rock with a service center in Morrilton. After the pandemic hit, the Yorks felt the weight of the world on their shoulders as small business owners. However, with York passionate about helping people and thriving in problem-solving environments, the couple opened their third location in Hot Springs. York wants to help people who suffer from hearing loss throughout the entire state. In efficiently facilitating their dreams, the Yorks partnered with Miracle-Ear Midwest, which is based in Missouri. Together, they hope to bring the Miracle-Ear difference to all of Arkansas.

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CONGRATULATIONS,

TARA MALLETT AVP | MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATOR

Offer of credit is subject to credit approval. | Bank NMLS #539634 | Tara Mallett NMLS#1726311

Brandon Barger, Chief Accounting Officer of BSR REIT and Future 50 Honoree.

Arkansas Based. Internationally Traded. Our People Are Our Strength.

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Congratulations

Les Smith, COO of ACHE, for being selected as one of AMP’s Future 50 for 2022!

7000 Chad Colley Blvd. • Fort Smith achehealth.edu ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM

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FUTURE 50

Apptegy provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for its employees

MAKING

CONNECTIONS 2022 AMP Future 50 Profiles: Jessica Johnston-Myers and Tyler Vawser with Apptegy

By Emily Beirne

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here are a variety of startup initiatives in Arkansas, some wellknown and some still getting their footing on the ever-changing business landscape. One Little Rock-based startup, however, has found its solid ground and is now setting its sights on new areas to cover.

Apptegy assists school districts in improving their communication through technology. With the use of Apptegy’s app “Thrillshare,” schools can send messages to multiple channels at once, update websites and apps and send alerts, even while on the go.

“Apptegy started back in 2015, and in the seven years we’ve been around, we now work with more than 2,500 school districts in all 50 states in the U.S. said Tyler Vawser, vice president of marketing for Apptegy. “It’s really exciting to be part of something that is nationwide but started here in Little Rock and is headquartered here in Little Rock. That’s something we take a lot of pride in.”

The company has around 350 employees, and according to Vawser, that number goes up every week. “[Apptegy] opened an office in Monterrey, Mexico, around two years ago and that has really helped us expand, especially in engineering,” Vawser shared. “Our engineering team has grown quite a bit in

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Jessica Johnston-Myers

Tyler Vawser

Little Rock, but in order to reach our goal, we need to be able to hire more engineers, specifically with knowledge of the technologies we use.”

Jessica Johnston-Myers witnessed the growth of Apptegy from its earliest beginnings.

“I have a really unique experience with Apptegy in that when it first started, Jeston, who is the founder and CEO, rented a co-working space at the Venture Center. I was running programs and operations for the Venture Center at that time, so I was able to see [Apptegy] grow from just one desk to the point where [the Venture Center] had to politely ask them to find a different space because there were no more desks, to what Apptegy is today. This has been a really fun journey to watch from the beginning,” Johnston-Myers said.

Johnston-Myers, like Vawser, is a leader in her position. She is vice president of sales development. The two employees are tasked with leading their teams to further Apptegy’s growth.

“I am responsible for generating all of the outbound leads for our sales process.

What my team does is basically call school leaders via cold call, but it’s not traditional cold calling. We’re really focused on generating intrigue and having a human connection,” Johnston-Myers said. “It’s a little bit different for most people when they think about sales — we’re not a traditional sales department. I have a team of about 20 who

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FUTURE 50

Apptegy opened an office in Monterrey, Mexico, around two years ago

are here in the U.S., and then we’re working on expanding our sales team in Monterrey, Mexico.”

“As VP of Marketing and Media, our teams are focused on helping us get our brand out there, but also providing really useful resources to our clients and others in the education space,” Vawser explained. “One of the ways that we do this is with a quarterly magazine called SchoolCEO, and that’s something we’ve created over the last four years. “[The magazine] goes out to more than 15,000 school leaders every three months, and it’s really focused on: How do we help schools build a strong brand? What are the ideas happening in the private sector that can help schools run their schools better? Who are those educators and leaders in K-12 that are doing something innovative, or those leaders that have a unique perspective that can help other leaders in the K-12 space?”

Both Vawser and Johnston-Myers find the Apptegy environment to be unique to other workplaces. As Vawser points out, startups aim to be fast-growing and continuously expanding, and he believes Apptegy’s success in this location is something for the company to be proud of.

“Most people think that to work for a startup, you still have to go to [Silicon] Valley, you’ve got to be in New York, or even in other parts of the state. There are plenty of people who think that there are only startups in Northwest Arkansas, and that’s just not true. We’re growing one of the fastest-

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growing startups in the country in Little Rock, Arkansas, and people don’t think that that’s even a possibility, or they think that they have to graduate and leave Arkansas to have opportunities,” Vawser said.

“There are huge opportunities at Apptegy, and one of the greatest things I think that is happening is that we’re retaining this amazing talent here, and we’re able to grow this amazing company. We are getting to a point where we’re bringing in people from other places because they are learning about us — they’re curious and they want to join.”

Next to Apptegy’s growth as a company, the personal growth within the company is what amazes Johnston-Myers the most.

“People find that they grow in a way they weren’t expecting. In pretty much all of the one-on-one meetings I have with people on my team, I hear about personal growth, even outside of their professional life. That is a direct result of the challenges that they have here and the way that we approach things. I just don’t think that there are many companies where this actually happens. Knowing that people can bring their whole selves to work and find a way to grow — and then in a kind of a happy accident, they find that they’re also growing personally — I just think that’s such a treasure,” JohnstonMyers said.

“I wish more people knew about this because I think more people would come here and fall in love with what they can do if they were just open to challenging themselves in that way.”

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While working for Apptegy, Vawser has found that there are a few misconceptions about startups. When searching for jobs, he asks that people don’t overlook a startup like Apptegy simply because of how fast it’s growing or because people might not be familiar.

“An important thing to know about a tech startup is that the high growth happens because we’re doing things differently: I think for us, it’s creativity, originality and hiring the right people.

“Don’t judge a startup by its cover,” Vawser joked. “Dig in and find out, why is it growing so fast? What is it like to work there? We always hear about Facebook and Google and these other companies, but how does a company with a really high growth trajectory with a great culture, how does that exist in Little Rock, and what are they doing? Be curious.”

Johnston-Myers explained that be-

“An important thing to know about a tech startup is that the high growth happens because we’re doing things differently: I think for us, it’s creativity, originality, and hiring the right people.”

cause of that rapid growth, Apptegy is usually hiring.

“We’re really looking for people who embody the tenets of our culture that we really hold strong. This is the only place that I’ve ever had the honor of working where the important things aren’t just those couple of bullet points that they paint on a wall and then perpetually ignore,” Johnston-Myers said. “We want to have really amazing humans that we get to work with every day who are really focused on doing really great work, and that’s how we’ve been able to grow as fast as we have and how we are planning to continue.”

Recent upgrades to the home offices are colorful and modern

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Named two of Arkansas Money & Politics 50 Future Leaders!

baldwinshell.com | 501.374.8677 Nick Copas President Industrial Services

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Krysten Wagner Project Manager Central Arkansas Team

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Beyond the design At Garver, our engineering experts like Jerry Martin know it goes beyond project design — it’s about delivering the innovative water and wastewater solutions that help Arkansas communities grow.

Because we don’t just work here — we live here, too.

Congratulations, Jerry, on being named one of AMP’s Future 50 leaders!

Jerry Martin, PE | Arkansas Water Team Leader

The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas congratulates Dr. Megan Godfrey and Madeline Burke on their Future 50 selection!

For nearly 25 years, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas has been committed to ensuring economic security for Arkansas women and girls through grant making, research, and our Girls of Promise® and Women Empowered initiatives. As the only statewide foundation that focuses solely on women and girls, WFA invests in real solutions that allow women and girls to move up the economic ladder and reach their full potential. Learn more at womensfoundationarkansas.org.

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FUTURE 50

THE FUTURE IS

FEMALE 2022 AMP Future 50 Profiles: Madeline Burke and Dr. Megan Godfrey with the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas

By Sarah Coleman

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ince 1998, The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas has been committed to providing tangible support for women pursuing education and careers, while fortifying the leaders of the next generation. In a world that strives more each day to celebrate women in all capacities, a sense of security is essential to women feeling encouraged and empowered in the workforce. Two of WFA’s own leaders, Madeline Burke and Megan Godfrey, are working every day to ensure the Foundation adheres to its supportive model and helping to expand its reach in the process. With Burke and Godfrey working with WFA, the future really is female.

Burke handles social media and communications for the Foundation, where she uses her background in journalism and public service to benefit the future of women in Arkansas by creating and publishing content for the WFA brand, as well as updates on the organization’s progress.

Godfrey, the project coordinator for the Foundation’s Save10 initiative, facilitates the WFA’s efforts to empower Arkansas women to save for life and retirement. With her background in public education and her fierce commitment to expanding opportunity, Godfrey brings passion and purpose to her role of leading the SAVE10 Initiative for Arkansas Educators initiative and elevating the lifechanging message of improved financial security for women across the state. As an educator and policymaker, she has worked extensively in research and team leadership. Godfrey obtained her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction while serving two terms in the Arkansas Legislature. She also founded Room 100 Consultancy, where she provided consulting services to Arkansas women and served as an education and political consultant.

The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas is involved a lot in helping Arkansas women. Whether it’s helping to educate, leading initiatives such as “Women Empowered” or “Girls of Promise,” or researching and providing necessary resources, the Foundation works closely with others to help further economic opportunity.

“I would say my favorite part of my job is not only working with an all-women team but also just being able to bring real change to women and girls in Arkansas,” Burke said.

In working to get the word of WFA opportunities out to the public, as well as news of its initiatives, endeavors and philanthropic work, Burke has been able to

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Megan Godfrey

Madeline Burke

experience living out her values, including her value of equity.

In her work, Burke works in helping what is traditionally referred to as “underserved” communities, but she likes to approach it differently — referring to disadvantaged communities as “under-

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The Foundation works closely with others to help educate and facilitate economic opportunity

estimated communities,” communities who are capable of achieving many things when resources are available.

“Equity, for me, means looking at the processes and outcomes to ensure they are fair. Usually that means seeing that underestimated individuals that need resources to get there, can get where they’re going,” Burke said.

Burke has been with the WFA since last September and has been working in everything the WFA does for communication initiatives. As a recent graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service, Burke also attended the University of Arkansas

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at Little Rock, where she was a Donaghey Scholar. Outside of the WFA, Burke works with ReMix Ideas and helps with the Black Founders Summit, which aligns with her desire to create racial equity.

The ReMix Ideas organization works in building a supportive ecosystem for Black-owned businesses, while working to see the desired outcomes of increased numbers of Black-owned businesses, increased access to capital and mar-

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kets, and to scale Black-owned businesses.

In addition to the Black Founders Summit, Burke also works closely with the Imani Fund, a partnership between ReMix Ideas and FORGE Community Loan Fund, allowing for an innovative loan product, which is rooted in equity, one of Burke’s core values.

Burke is passionate about philanthropy and promoting good work

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while helping women feel empowered.

“Honestly, I just love what I do, I love an opportunity I have to help others in the state,” she said. “[In the future,] I would like to continue to use my passion and skills to continue working toward racial equity, and I want to do this locally and across the nation and eventually internationally.”

According to Godfrey, her own personal and professional experiences as an educator-legislator have led her to the person that she is today. Godfrey has worked in district leadership — as an English Second Language teacher — and recently as a state representative with a vision for the community.

“As a consultant, I get connected to a lot of different areas, projects, and I get to be involved in things that have a lot of potential for impact,” she said.

Opened doors lead to new opportuni-

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ties, and the same is true for Godfrey’s most recent endeavor: her consultancy agency, Room 100. Named after her very first classroom as an educator, Godfrey explained how in classroom 100, she set out every single day to open doors for excellence, engagement and empowerment for her students and now, in her consultancy, she sets out to do the same thing for her clients.

Elevating others expanding opportunities, and inclusiveness were all values that Godfrey named as core values, which she holds close and has pursued her career. This includes her time spent as an educator, time in district leadership for Springdale School District, in the Democratic party, in creating and assessing ESL curriculum and in her work as the Save10 project coordinator for WFA. Save10 refers to the 10% of their income that WFA is encouraging women to put back in savings for retirement.

Godfrey, with passion and purpose, has had many opportunities with this project, including getting Arkansas educators involved. She has been able to partner with the Arkansas Department of Education in order to get the message out to teachers, and elevate Save10 among in-person and online educators.

The project essentially informs women how they can not only plan long-term, but also become more financially literate — empowering them to become financially aware and intentionally work toward savings, retirement and debt reduction.

Godfrey also explained that in working with educators, she has also been able to make options for student loan forgiveness for public servants, like some teachers, known — thus further elevating the message of debt reduction.

“Some educators, once they

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“My biggest piece of advice for women is that it’s not about the job you have, but the work you do.”

were aware, were able to have all or part of their student debt forgiven,” she explained.

Godfrey says the most meaningful part of her work is the opportunity her projects give to live out her core values. She recently earned her doctorate from the University of Arkansas and continues her work in curriculum and education.

“My biggest piece of advice for women is that it’s not about the job you have, but the work you do,” Godfrey said. “It’s less about what your actual job title is, and I would say to women this: Say yes to jobs that allow you to live out your values, regardless of what role you’re currently in — you can do work that matters to you and fulfills you and your values.”

As a native of Springdale, Godfrey is a mom to a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, visiting and eating at local taco stands and frequently attends Jazzercise.

Both Godfrey and Burke expressed gratitude for all of their opportunities, both involving WFA and outside endeavors, including being named as part of Arkansas Money & Politics’ 2022 Future 50.

Serving as two examples of the exemplary women who are involved in the WFA, the Foundation has team members and volunteers who are committed to creating a future for women in Arkansas.

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Congrats, Dr. Baty!

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University is incredibly proud of Dr. Tim Baty on being named one of AMP’s Future 50.

Dr. Baty was a member of the NYITCOM at A-State inaugural class, and we are happy to see him living the mission of servant leadership to others, especially those in rural and underserved areas of our state and region.

Training Physicians In Arkansas, For Arkansas

nyit.edu/arkansas | 870.680.8816 | ComjbAdmissions@nyit.edu

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Want to know what’s happening for the weekend?

Tune in on 103.7 The Buzz every Friday morning when AY Media Group President & Publisher Heather Baker is their guest! aymag.com aymag.com

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TOURISM/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

On A Roll:

Southland Casino Expansion Raises the Stakes for Arkansas Tourism

By Kenneth Heard

L

ocal officials are betting a $320 million expansion project at the Southland Casino in West Memphis will continue generating huge tax benefits and attract more businesses.

The 113,000-square-foot complex near the junction of Interstates 40 and 55, in the heart of the Crittenden County town, now boasts 2,400 slot machines, 50 live table games, sports betting and a new covered garage with over 1,400 parking spaces.

The expansion project also includes four new restaurants and two bars, and future plans call for com-

Photo courtesy of Southland Casino Racing

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Aerial view of Southland Casino Racing construction in West Memphis.

Photo courtesy of SOSHNY

pletion of a 300-room, 20-story, blueglass, high-rise hotel.

The casino held its ribbon cutting ceremony to open the new gaming area on May 3, and the hotel should open this month with a limited number of available rooms, with the remainder of the rooms opening later this summer, according to media spokesperson for Southland Casino Racing, Natalie Carlson.

“This is great for our city,” West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon said. “The casino helps show that our city offers something different for everyone.”

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More than 4.3 million people visited the casino each year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the mayor said. That resulted in the city earning $12 million a year in tax revenues related to the casino’s draw — food, lodging, hotel fares and other expenses by visitors. Before the facility offered gambling, West Memphis generally earned about $6.5 million a year in tax, McClendon said.

“The $12 million was just for starters,” he said. “On a good year now that COVID is not as bad, we’re hoping for $14 million a year in taxes.”

The facility has been a landmark

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Construction on the casino’s 20-story high-rise hotel is nearing completion

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Layout of Southland Casino expansion project.

Courtesy of Southland Casino Racing

The expansion will make Southland Casino Racing the region’s largest gaming facility, with 82,000 square feet.

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in the area for nearly three-quarters of a century. Southland, owned by the Upton family, first opened in 1956 and featured daily greyhound dog racing as the only track in the Midsouth region. It also offered pari-mutuel betting where wagers are placed against other bettors.

West Memphis and Hot Springs, with its Oaklawn Park horse racing track, were the two spots in Arkansas allowing for that type of gambling.

More than 600 were employed by Southland back then, and over 20,000 people would visit the track on an average weekend. Annual wages typi-

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cally exceeded $200 million, track officials said.

Southland was purchased by Delaware North Companies, Inc., based in Buffalo, New York in 1976.

The area fell onto hard times in the 1990s, though, when Mississippi voters favored legislation that would allow casino gambling on waterways. Tunica, Mississippi, about 30 miles south of Memphis, became a gambling mecca when several nationally known casino and resort companies like Bally’s and Gold Strike opened gaming centers on riverboats on the Mississippi River.

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Southland re-opening ceremony.

Photo courtesy of Delaware North

The area became the third-largest gambling spot in the country behind Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and revenues at Southland dropped from $200 million in the late 1980s to less than $35 million by the mid 1990s.

Half of Southland’s employees lost their jobs during that time, a timeline on the Southland Casino Racing’s website indicated.

But in 2005, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Arkansas Act 1151 that allowed race tracks in West Memphis and Hot Springs to install “games of skill” with voter approval. About 64

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Artist rendering of gaming area of Southland expansion.

Courtesy of SOSHNY.

“We’re confident this expansion will establish Southland as a destination for not only the Midsouth region, but for gaming enthusiasts from all across the country and around the world,” White said.

One of the casino’s new themed restaurants prepares for a grand opening.

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percent of the voters in West Memphis favored the measure. And by the end of 2006, Southland built a new entrance, a 55,000-square foot gaming area, a 400-seat event center, a 150-seat nightclub and a 280-seat buffet area with three themed restaurants.

Mother Nature also helped propel the West Memphis casino into a regional destination when flooding of the Mississippi River in 2008 forced closures of several Tunica riverboat casinos, sending gamblers northward, to Southland.

“We’re four miles from Beale Street in Memphis,” said McClendon, who was a West Memphis City Council member before becoming mayor in 2019, and worked with groups to pass the 2006 election measure.

“I think people see how close we are to so many other amenities,” he said.

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“Tunica is 30 miles from Memphis, and you only go there if you want to gamble. We have bike trails nearby, the river walk and other attractions.”

McClendon said he expects the casino expansion will lure new businesses and industry to the town of 25,000. A hotel developer has already indicated plans to build a new hotel in West Memphis.

“We’ll be seeing 20,000 to 30,000 people coming here a day,” he said.

“We’ll need more places for them to stay.”

Glen White, director of Delaware North’s corporate communications, said that the expansion will boost the area’s economy which will help improve the city’s public services and infrastructure.

“This expansion project has allowed Delaware North to continue and enhance the positive impact that Southland has on the state’s economy and the support it provides to many worthwhile community organizations in the region,” White said.

Southland donates to Arkansas State University’s Midsouth campus in West Memphis, the East Arkansas Family Health Center and the MidSouth Food Bank.

According to White, the total impact the casino has — including employment, operational spending, charitable giving and taxes — is $311 million.

The facility also expects to hire an additional 400 people for the gaming area and hotel.

“We’re confident this expansion will establish Southland as a destination for not only the Midsouth region, but for gaming enthusiasts from all across the country and around the world,” White said.

The expansion will make South-

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land Casino Racing the region’s largest gaming facility, with 82,000 square feet. Horseshoe Casino in Tunica is the second largest in the region with 63,000 square feet of gaming area.

The hotel’s 20 stories makes it one of the top 10 tallest buildings in the state. Simmons Tower in Little Rock, with 40 stories and 546 feet tall, is Arkansas’ tallest structure to date.

The future hotel will feature 231 standard rooms, 58 suites and 11 penthouse suites on the top floor.

“We cannot be grateful enough for the philanthropic efforts Southland does,” Mayor McClendon said. “They have helped so many organizations and people.

“This is an exciting time, Southland has been part of the fiber of West Memphis for a long time.”

“More than 4.3 million people visited the casino each year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.”

Photos courtesy of Southland Casino Racing

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IF WALLS COULD TALK

The Old State House in Little Rock (Photo courtesy of Arkansas Heritage)

THE OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM STILL HAS A LOT TO SAY

By Katie Zakrzewski

O

verlooking the juxtaposition of bustling downtown Little Rock and the serenity of the Arkansas River stands the Old State House Museum.

Preserved from the withering touch of the hands of time, the Old State House Museum is the original state Capitol building of Arkansas and is the oldest state Capitol building still standing west of the Mississippi River. Since construction began in 1833, the Old State House building and its grounds have witnessed many of the most important events in Arkansas history. ************ In 1833, Arkansas Territorial Governor John Pope could feel it in his bones: Arkansas would soon reach statehood. The territory had boomed since its settlement with no signs of stopping. Pope hired architect Gideon Shyrock, who had drawn the blueprints for the Kentucky state Capitol, to design a state Capitol building for Arkansas,

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overlooking the river.

Shyrock drew up plans with the help of his associate, George Weigart. Construction was well underway by 1836 when Arkansas became a state. The legislative branch of the state government was located in the center of the building, with the executive branch in the west wing and the judicial branch in the east wing.

The Arkansas General Assembly met in the building for the first time in 1836 while construction continued. Gov. Archibald Yell declared the building complete in 1842, as covered walkways were added to connect the three wings.

The State House was expanded in 1885 to create more room for the larger House of Representatives as Arkansas’ population grew. Some more modernized interior and exterior designs were added as well, in addition to statues of the Three Graces on top of the building.

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The Lady Baxter cannon

Over the span of the 19th century, the Old State House’s walls witnessed events that would be discussed for years to come.

In 1837, on the floor of the Old State House, Speaker of the House John Wilson stabbed Representative Joseph J. Anthony to death after a debate over taxes. Anthony had made a derogatory comment about Wilson’s company, Real Estate Bank, while Wilson was debating another bill on the floor — and Wilson took that personally.

Anthony explained that the comment was not directed at Wilson, but Wilson de-

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The Old State House Museum is the original state Capitol building of Arkansas and is the oldest state Capitol building still standing west of the Mississippi River. scended into the chamber with his Bowie knife drawn, where Anthony drew his as well. With Anthony being killed in the chamber, the House voted to expel Wilson.

However, Wilson was put on trial and found not guilty. A jury decided that Anthony’s comments justified his murder, according to a 200-year-old newspaper excerpt from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette dug up by Jeanne Lewis.

Decades later, with the spread of the Civil War in May of 1861, all but one delegate of the House of Representatives, Isaac Murphy, voted to secede from the Union.

The building was affiliated with the Confederacy until Union forces took Little Rock in September of 1863. This led the Confederate government to relocate southward to Hempstead County. In a stunning turn of events, Issac Murphy was sworn in as governor of the Union-controlled Natural State, writes Georganne Sisco with the Old State House Museum.

Even the end of the Civil War would not bring peace to the steps of Arkansas’ Old State House. In 1872, the building was the scene of the Brooks-Baxter War, where gubernatorial candidates Joseph Brooks and Elisha Baxter fought over who had won, leading to clashes between the candidates’ supporters.

By 1911, the Old State House was in dire need of repair, as the state’s government had outgrown the building and many legislators didn’t want to spend money on a building that was already too small. As the new and current state Capitol building was completed in 1912, all government offices moved. The University of Arkansas Medical Department (now known as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) moved into the Old State House from 1913 to 1935. During this time, the Old State House was entrusted to the Arkansas Department of the American Legion and was renamed the Arkansas War Memorial in 1921. The building offered services for veterans, and was home to a host of pa-

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triotic and civic organizations such as the Arkansas Veterans Service Bureau, the Arkansas Pioneers Association, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. This was in conjunction with the building’s usage by UAMS. These patriotic organizations lobbied the Arkansas General Assembly to preserve the Old State House by turning it into a museum for Arkansas history. In 1947, legislation was passed that did just that — costing $350,000 to carry out a series of renovations that opened to the public on Feb. 14, 1951. The Old State House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 3, 1969. The building housed the Arkansas History Commission until 1979.

The museum’s first curator, Agnes Loewer, initiated a donation and collection policy. As a result, the museum has collected materials, such as items related to Arkansas’ first families, 19th-and-20th century politics, architecture, quilts made

by Black Arkansans, art pottery, 19thcentury battle flags and memorabilia of the Arkansas State Police, writes Sisco.

The museum also sponsors and publishes original research as part of the permanent and changing exhibitions.

In the 1990s, Gov. Bill Clinton announced his run for the presidency on the front lawn of the Old State House. He also held watch parties there on election night in 1992 and 1996.

On Dec. 9, 1997, the Old State House was made a National Historic Landmark, which is the highest recognition a building can receive, due to the medical experiments that took place in the building during UAMS’ tenure.

Today, the grounds of the Old State House maintain several famous land-

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3rd Minnesota Regiment outside of The Old State House, 1864

marks. The three-tiered fountain adorned with cranes is a recast of the original fountain from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The original fountain traveled by train to Arkansas after the exposition and was installed in front of the Old State House a year later. The Lady Baxter cannon that rests on the front lawn of the Old State House is a Civil War-era cannon used against Union troops during the siege of Little Rock. The cannon was moved to the Old State House during the Brooks-Baxter War, where it was used by Elisha Baxter’s supporters, and has remained ever since.

Today, the Old State House Museum is open all but four days of the year, free of charge, with exhibits from the territorial days to the present. Some of the permanent exhibits feature memorabilia from the first families of Arkansas, the first state’s first House of Representatives, and architectural changes over time. The museum offers hourly on-site tours and provides free onsite programming for visitors of all ages, including gallery talks and lectures, musical concerts, family programs, summer youth camps, hands-on activities for K-12 audiences, and living history. ************ The Old State House has seen the history of Arkansas from the territorial days to the present. Her eyes have laid witness to war, disease, political upheaval, economic upset and several civil rights movements.

Today, the Old State House stands proudly and silently amid the hotels and skyscrapers downtown, serving as a dutiful reminder of Arkansas’ past and the promise of the future.

JULY 2022

TITLE IX:

50

YEARS, and

BEYOND Simmons Bank Partnerships Boost Women’s College Athletics

By Becky Gillette Photos by David Yerby

Elizabeth Machen

S

immons Bank, the largest bank based in Arkansas, has established relationships with 10 universities across the bank’s footprint to be a presenting sponsor of women’s athletics at each of the universities.

“With women’s athletics, we looked at sponsorships for universities across our footprint and realized we had an exciting opportunity,” said Simmons Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications Elizabeth Machen. “No company had previously partnered with these organizations to support allfemale teams and their athletes. This sponsorship not only aligns Simmons’ brand with notable universities in our markets, it also allows us to support students’ athletic and business careers in a meaningful way.”

Acknowledging the skills they gain while playing sports serve them well in future careers, Simmons Bank is expanding beyond traditional elements to emphasize career and leadership opportunities for female student athletes.

Simmons is collaborating with each university to create distinct programs that range from financial education curriculum to mentoring, internship opportunities, and womenin-business development initiatives.

“We have our first group of female interns joining us this summer as a part of the partnership,” Machen said.

The bank’s partners include University of Central Arkansas, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Arkansas State University, Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, Oklahoma State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Memphis and University of Missouri. Sponsorship assets include signage, in-game entitlements, special events with athletes and coaches, and game tickets.

“Simmons invests in brand

The Simmons Bank women’s athletic program is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

Betty Hayes-Anthony

partnerships that help us connect with customers on a personal level — we want to support causes they’re passionate about,” Machen said.

“Sports marketing matches our values of teamwork and high performance, plus it allows us to make a difference for athletes and our wider communities.”

Machen said training that focuses on leadership and business development will open a wider door for female students as they prepare for their next step, while giving Simmons Bank a front-row seat to identify talent.

“In banking, career possibilities are endless,” Machen said.

“Opportunities span beyond traditional banking roles to include IT, cybersecurity, data warehousing, marketing, HR and on and on. Our customized programming reflects this breadth and helps young women tap into their unique skillsets.”

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) Maggie Bailey played softball as a catcher for the University of Wisconsin during the 2009-2013 seasons.

“Our academic assistance and support were unparalleled and, because of the experience I had, it catapulted me into the career path I have chosen,” Bailey said. “However, I know that without all of the Title IX trail blazers, my collegiate experience could have been very different.”

This year is the 50th anniversary of Title IX federal legislation requiring gender equality in college athletics. Bailey said that over the past 50 years, there has been significant progress towards equality in financial and athletic opportunities across genders in college athletics.

“But we still have so far to go,” Bailey said. “It is important to note, equality is hard to achieve. College athletics is not all about women’s programs.

Nor is it all about the men’s programs. There needs to be a balance. I feel if we were in a perfect world, we would have equal viewership to support equal exposure of athletes on TV and equal opportunities for all athletes across the board.”

Bailey said the partnership with Simmons Bank has really aided them in creating an atmosphere that promotes equal opportunities in ways that their university has never seen.

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Department of Athletics SWA Betty HayesAnthony said UAPB appreciates the visMaggie Bailey

ible support for the Simmons Bank football stadium and the facility upgrades at the softball and baseball complex.

“These observable improvements are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional,” Hayes-Anthony said. “Because of the added amenities for students, more diverse students, especially female athletes, have selected UAPB for sports including soccer, volleyball as well as softball. College and university historical research show that students who feel good about their surroundings perform better in their sports, community and academically.”

Hayes-Anthony said they look forward to continuing their collaboration with the new groundbreaking opportunities for female student-athletes through the multi-university initiative sponsorship program from Simmons Bank.

“It is my professional belief that this upcoming program will emphasize customized programming and enhanced career options,” Hayes-Anthony said. “Further, I know that female student-athletes who learn on and off their respective courts of competition are self-confident, self-disciplined and use their life skills to maneuver and successfully adapt through those challenges and become productive career professionals.”

Arkansas State University Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director and SWA Amy Hall Holt said being a former coach and now an administrator helping student athletes is her passion.

“What Simmons Bank is

“Women’s sports are getting a lot of national TV coverage, and people are watching.

The general public is finding out that females can also be great athletes, and the product is worth the time and effort.”

Amy Hall Holt

doing with sponsoring internships is absolutely amazing,” Holt said. “It helps them with developing confidence in a workplace and can help with balancing a schedule and building relationships. What Simmons Bank is doing for women is wonderful — giving them a chance to explore a career and a chance for them to see all the possibilities available in banking.”

University of Central Arkansas Associate Athletic Director for Compliance/SWA Natalie Shock said women’s athletics has made a lot of progress over the past 50 years.

“The opportunity for young women to play sports has exploded over the last few years,” Shock said. “Women’s sports are getting a lot of national TV coverage, and people are watching. The general public is finding out that females can also be great athletes, and the product is worth the time and effort.”

However, as much as things have improved over the last 50 years, there are still things to be done.

“The professional leagues for women need to get bigger and better, with more money invested in the sport and especially in the salaries,” she said. “Women work just as hard as the men do to perfect their sport, and they need to be rewarded for it.”

The Simmons Bank women’s athletic program is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. Shock said that is huge, and it puts a spotlight on women’s athletics and allows people to see the value women’s athletics can bring to an overall athletic program. And Simmons Bank being able to provide internships, financial education curriculum, leadership training and women in business initiatives is also very beneficial for female student-athletes.

“Allowing female student-athletes to be a part of programs while they are still in school allows them to make a smoother transition to the workforce,” Shock said. “All skills that athletes possess are very transferable to the workforce: time management, learning to work together as a team, integrity, work ethic, learning to handle criticism, learning how to handle failure and setbacks, learning what it takes to perfect a skill, learning how to show up every day and put the work in, working after hours if necessary, knowing the chain of command and how to work within that chain.”

Shock said there is tremendous value of the incubator programs offered by Simmons Bank.

“We are on the ground floor right now, but I am extremely excited about what Simmons Bank is doing for the female student-athlete,” Shock said. “The future is bright!”

Natalie Shock

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JULY 2022

POLITICS

?

HISTORY in the MAKING Primaries Set Up Potentially Groundbreaking ‘22 Vote

By AMP Staff

I

f the last five years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. But this year, barring events that would defy logic, Arkansas is expected to swear in a new governor and lieutenant governor, neither of whom will be a white male.

In other words, history will be made.

Term-limited Gov. Asa Hutchinson will pass the symbolic baton, in all likelihood, to either a woman or a Black man.

Fellow Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee and former press secretary for the Trump administration, is the frontrunner to replace Hutchinson.

In the Nov. 8 general election, Sanders will face Democrat Chris Jones, the state’s first major-party Black gubernatorial candidate. A Pine Bluff native, Jones

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la;lkd kajdoie aldk fka eoa; ;lakdjoiur a;lkdjkffue8da dlfk rky/ta’ (Photos provided)

Photo courtesy of Andrew Demillo/Associated Press.

is an ordained minister who was educated at MIT, worked as a physicist and previously served as executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub. Another kicker to the 2022 governor’s race in Arkansas: Neither major party candidate has held office before.

Sanders, of course, has lived a political life, but she’s never been elected to office.

Nor has Jones.

Ricky Dale Harrington Jr., who is also African American, is carrying the Libertarian banner in the gubernatorial race. And while Harrington developed some name recognition in 2020 by challenging U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, as a Libertarian, the race likely is Sanders’ to lose. She disposed of primary challenger Doc Washburn by tak-

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ing 83% of the vote in the GOP primary.

Jones, meanwhile, won 70 percent of the vote in the five-candidate Democratic primary. Now, the question begs — how close can he make it in November?

So far, polls indicate it won’t be close.

The Arkansas gubernatorial race is listed as “safe or solid Republican” by several poll watchers, including Real Clear Politics, Larry Sabato and The Cook Political Report, as well as the Arkansas-based TBP/Hendrix College poll. Such a rating means the race is not expected to be competitive. Remington Research Group on Feb. 27 gave Sanders a 30-point lead over Jones in a prospective general-election matchup. Its poll had Sanders at 58%, Jones at 28%, and Harrington at 3%.

Sanders also holds a fundraising edge, having raised roughly $15 million. The Jones campaign had raised $1.8 million as of mid-May. Lack of name recognition outside of Central Arkansas represents just one issue for Jones, who is running his first campaign. Robert Coon of Impact Management told Talk Business & Politics ear-

The Arkansas gubernatorial race is listed as “safe or solid Republican” by several poll watchers. lier this year that the likely ceiling for a statewide Democrat in Arkansas right now is 34% to 36%. Indeed, the state has become one of the deepest red states in the country.

Republicans represent the state’s entire congressional delegation, as well as all of its constitutional officers. The GOP holds 76 of 100 seats in the state House of Representatives and 27 of 35 seats in the state Senate. Arkansans last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1996, when native son Bill Clinton ran for re-election.

Ballotpedia reports that 80.4% of Arkansans live in one of the state’s 66 “solid Republican” counties — those counties that voted for the GOP presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020.

Eight counties are listed as “solid Democrat” with Woodruff County — whose

voters went with Barack Obama in 2012 and Trump in ῾16 and ῾20 — considered “trending Republican.”

Meanwhile, the presumptive lieutenant governor-elect is a Sanders ally, who withdrew from the 2022 governor’s race when Sanders entered it. Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge took 54 percent of the vote in a GOP lieutenant governor primary that featured six candidates. The GOP nominee was expected to win election in November, but the fact Rutledge won her primary without a runoff is a testament to her statewide strength.

Rutledge will face another female, Democrat Kelly Krout — who didn’t face a primary opponent — and Libertarian Frank Gilbert in the general election.

The state’s four U.S. House seats are up for re-election, and none of them are ex-

Governor Candidates

In other words, history will be made.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

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Ricky Dale Harrington Jr.

Chris Jones

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POLITICS Lieutenant Governor

pected to have competitive races. GOP incumbents Rick Crawford (First District), French Hill (Second), Steve Womack (Third) and Bruce Westerman (Fourth) seem destined for re-election. The same applies for Arkansas’ senior U.S. senator, Republican John Boozman, who held off three challengers in the GOP primary with 58% of the vote.

Crawford will face Democrat Monte Hodges and independent Roger Daugherty in November; challenging Hill will be Quintessa Hathaway and Libertarian Michael White; Womack is up against Democrat Lauren Mallett-Hays and Libertarian Michael Kalagias; and Westerman’s general-election opponents are Democrat John White and Libertarian Gregory Maxwell.

Elsewhere, Republicans are expected to hold each of the state’s constitutional offices. Current Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin will face Democrat Jesse Gibson to be the next Arkansas attorney general; incumbent Secretary of State John Thurston will be challenged by Democrat Anna Beth Gorman; Republican state Rep. Mark Lowery, who upset state Sen. Mathew Pitsch in the primary, will face Democrat Pam Whitaker for state treasurer; current State Treasurer Dennis Milligan will vie for state auditor against Democrat Diamond Arnold-Johnson and Libertarian Simeon Snow; and incumbent Public Lands Commissioner Tommy Land will face Democrat Goldi Gaines.

In the Arkansas legislature, the party breakdown is not expected to remain dominated by Republicans. Thirty-two open seats are up for election in November. Thanks in part to redistricting, 52 Republican primaries were contested compared to 10 Democratic primaries.

Of the 263 major-party legislative candidates filed to run in Arkansas this year, 189 of them were Republicans, according to Ballotpedia.

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Leslie Rutledge

Kelly Krout

Frank Gilbert

U.S. House (First District)

Rick Crawford

Monte Hodges

Roger Daugherty

U.S. House (Second District)

French Hill

Quintessa Hathaway

Michael White

U.S. House (Third District)

Steve Womack

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Lauren Mallett-Hays

Michael Kalagias

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U.S. House (Fourth District)

Bruce Westerman

Gregory Maxwell

John White

Arkansas Attorney General

Tim Griffin

State Treasurer

Mark Lowery

Jesse Gibson

Pam Whitaker

State Auditor

Dennis Milligan

Diamond Arnold-Johnson

Secretary of State

John Thurston

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Simeon Snow

Public Lands Commissioner

Tommy Land

Anna Beth Gorman

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Goldi Gaines

JULY 2022

THE LAST WORD

RELEGATION RUMINATIONS

By Dustin Jayroe

A

s the 2022 NBA Draft unfolded last month, two things were top of mind for me: When and where would Arkansas native and Hog hooper Jaylin Williams go, and why professional sports in America are treading water.

For the latter, that’s probably not what you think it means.

There are a lot of hot-button issues surrounding the sports world today, and this isn’t really about any of those. No, no. I’d rather talk about relegation.

Relegation is basically when, at the end of a season, a select number of teams that are at the bottom of the final standings get demoted down a division. It’s accompanied by promotion, where then the same number of teams at the top of the standings in that division move upward. It’s a parity-producing system used by most professional soccer leagues throughout the world.

In England, the most notable promotion/relegation concerns the Premier League, the top dog, and the Championship, the next flight down. A quasi-comp in American sports might be the NBA and the G League. Except for the fact that there’s no pro/rel between those two. That’s why we’re here. It just seems like we could be doing more to encourage full-season entertainment in American sports — at the top and the bottom of the standings.

Every year, the draft — be it the NBA, NFL, or otherwise — begins with the season’s worst teams being given the first selections and, theoretically the best incoming talents. That system rewards poor performance. So much so, that it’s become a fairly common and effective strategy for teams to “tank,” or lose games on purpose, late in the season for an early-round draft pick.

Shouldn’t we relegate them instead? And then, perhaps, reward the newly promoted teams from the lesser division with the first picks?

If this already sounds like a preferred system to you, it gets even better.

Coming into the home stretch of this past Premier League season, a tense horse race was unfolding on both sides of the table. Two teams — Liverpool and Manchester City — were

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neck and neck to win the league. Each won four of their last five games, but Manchester City inched out the title by one point.

At the other end, two teams were already decidedly relegated, but another three (or four) more were dangerously close to that third and final relegation spot. There was no tanking for these teams. Each was at risk of being demoted for an entire season, which would mean they’d have to claw their way back to promotion. In the end, Burnley was the one to fill that last relegation spot, with Leeds United and Everton barely safe above them by three and four points, respectively.

Promoted from the Championship for their performances were Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.

It’s a pretty basic fundamental of life, really: Reward and encourage those who do good; punish and discourage those who do bad.

With promotion and relegation, more games matter. That makes things more interesting all year, but especially at the end of the season.

Advantage soccer. Play on.

Dustin Jayroe is the former editor of AY About You and the Arkansas Mental Health Guide. The Arkansas native is an expert on all things soccer and Batman, and is now a regular contributor to all of AY Media Group’s properties.

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NURSING & REHABILITATION LIVING PROFILE

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