Standing from left: Lindsey Ollar, Leigh Ann Biernat, Kevin Faught, Dennis Hunt (Executive Vice President and Head of Public Finance), Michael McBryde, Jason Holsclaw Seated from left: Michele Casavechia, Jack Truemper
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JULY CONTENTS
6 | Editor/publisher letters 8 | Viewpoint 10 | Discovery Economics 30 | Exec Q&A 18 | Shelter in the storm
UCA’s Dr. Houston Davis wanted to make sure his school was there to meet students’ needs during the pandemic.
22 | Private schools surging
Despite obstacles stacked against them, private schools in Arkansas are growing in popularity as parents explore their options.
28 | Boosting broadband
12 | WELCOME BACK College administrators in Arkansas are optimistic for a strong return to campus this fall after 2020’s year of disruption.
Many Arkansas public school districts, especially those in rural areas, could benefit the most for increased access to broadband.
86 | Lithium laboratory
Standard Lithium is using its south Arkansas plant in El Dorado as a test case for sustainable lithium extraction.
96 | The Last Word
Katie Zakrzewski visited Morocco and is happy to remind us that many Western feminists have lost sight of the goal.
ON THE COV E R 68 | ROAD SHOW The Old State House Museum in Little Rock is hosting an exhibit that tells the rockin’ history of Little Rock’s venerable Barton Coliseum. J U LY 2 02 1
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Kristi Crum of Rock Dental Brands was photographed in her Little Rock office by Jamison Mosley. Crum is the new CEO at Rock Dental Brands and included in this year’s installment of Future 50.
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ARMON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM
JULY CONTENTS PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER
Heather Baker | hbaker@armoneyandpolitics.com EDITOR Mark Carter | mcarter@armoneyandpolitics.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Katie Zakrzewski | katie@armoneyandpolitics.com ART DIRECTOR Jamison Mosley | jmosley@armoneyandpolitics.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Rebecca Robertson | rrobertson@armoneyandpolitics.com DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Kellie McAnulty | kmcanulty@armoneyandpolitics.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lora Puls | lpuls@armoneyandpolitics.com COPY EDITOR Lisa Fischer | lfischer@armoneyandpolitics.com
62 | INCREASING ACCESS Arkansas Urology has been in financial-growth mode the past several years, but its priority remains increasing access to services.
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dustin Jayroe | djayroe@armoneyandpolitics.com STAFF WRITER Emily Beirne | ebeirne@armoneyandpolitics.com 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 Kyle May | kyle@armoneyandpolitics.com Shasta Ballard | sballard@armoneyandpolitics.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Jessica Everson | jeverson@armoneyandpolitics.com ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Jacob Carpenter | ads@armoneyandpolitics.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Ginger Roell | groell@armoneyandpolitics.com ADMINISTRATION Casandra Moore | admin@armoneyandpolitics.com
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call 501-244-9700 email hbaker@armoneyandpolitics.com TO SUBSCRIBE | 501-244-9700
80 | COMMON GROUND
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Joyce Elliott, Arkansas State Senator; Gretchen Hall, CEO, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau; Stacy Hurst, Secretary, Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism; Heather Larkin, CEO, Arkansas Community Foundation; Elizabeth Pulley, CEO, Children’s Advocacy Centers; Gina Radke, CEO, Galley Support Innovations; Steve Straessle, Principal, Little Rock Catholic High School; Kathy Webb, Representative, Little Rock City Board
This month’s Digs of the Deal visits the original Homer’s diner, a unique spot where white and blue collars mingle.
EDITORIAL INTERN Kayla McCall
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Christina Drale, Angela Forsyth, Becky Gillette, Kelley Bass, Kenneth Heard, Dwain Hebda, Dr. David Rankin
90 | MARKETING ATHLETES How might NCAA athletes being able to market themselves for profit impact college sports, and can Arkansas benefit? ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM
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AMP magazine is published monthly, Volume IV, 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.
JULY 2021
PLUGGED IN
Casey Jones of Little Rock’s Janet Jones Co. took to the June cover of Arkansas Money & Politics. AMP looked at the real estate markets in Arkansas, and Jones has long been one of the state’s top residential sellers. Stone Bank has promoted Patrick Hum to financial planner and analyst.
FEEDBACK
DYNAMIC DUOS: GINA AND WADE RADKE “Congratulations to Gina Radke and Wade S. Radke!” Lori L. Burrows “Wow! What an honor!” Sandy Burns POUR IT, AND THEY WILL COME: MOUNTAIN HOME’S TRAILBLAZING ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT DRAWING CROWDS “It’s a shame that people can’t enjoy the beauty of God’s creation in such a scenic spot without alcohol.” Jim Simpson “Great beer and food... One of my favorite spots.” Willy Kristin
State Rep. Fred Love of Little Rock announced his 2022 candidacy for the District 31 seat in the Arkansas State Senate.
“Glad Mtn Home coming into 21 century.” Denise H. Dickinson DYNAMIC DUOS: ASHTON AND AUSTIN SAMUELSON “Put [a Tacos 4 Life] in Forrest City, Arkansas.” Kevin Hall SURVEY FINDS GEN Z OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS So according to the story, 13- to 18-year-olds are concerned about affordable housing? Mine are concerned about Xbox and iPhones. John Austin
TOP ONLINE ARTICLES 1. Pour It, and They Will Come: Mountain Home’s Trailblazing Entertainment District Drawing Crowds 2. Walmart Extends COVID-19 Emergency Leave Policy to July 2021 3. The Last Word: The Difference Between Wealthy and Rich 5. Arkansas, Nebraska Get Bad Draw for Both in NCAA Baseball Regional 6. A Model Community in the Delta: An Old Company Town Re-emerges as a Tourism Draw
Conway Corporation announced that Trevor Voegele has been appointed to the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Aesthetic Quality and Perceptions Committee. Beth-Anne Bygum, chief security and compliance officer for Acxiom, has been named to the Forge Institute Advisory Board.
7. For Agrowponics, the Sky Literally Is the Limit 8. AMP’s Most Admired Companies 2021 9. Late July Opening Scheduled for Costco in West Little Rock 10. The Digs of the Deal: The Capital Hotel June 6 — July 6
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@AMPPOB ARM ON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM
Angel Warren, L.M.S.W. Director of Utilization Review
An advocate for mental health treatment and awareness, Angel Warren has worked with middle school children and continues to help Arkansans through her position with The BridgeWay. How did you get to the position where you are now with The BridgeWay? After graduating with my master’s degree from The University of Arkansas, I began my career as a mental health therapist with middle school children. It was a very rewarding experience and pushed me to want to grow and help improve the continuum of care across the state. I then spent eight years in managed care doing utilization management and quality, which eventually led me to The BridgeWay. What is your favorite quote? “Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” — Mary McLeod Bethune What are some traits that you admire in others? Empathy, integrity, accountability and consistency. What are some goals that you have for The BridgeWay’s continued success? My biggest goal for The BridgeWay is that we continue to grow in our substance-abuse treatment. We treat mental health issues across the spectrum, so my biggest goal would be to have substance-abuse programs for all ages. What are some goals that you have to build a better future here in Arkansas? To help improve the state’s mental health system for everyone, make mental health more accessible to all Arkansans and encourage the importance of seeking help for mental health issues.
EDITOR’S LETTER
By Mark Carter
FINDING YOUR INNER BLUTO
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ollege campuses across the state are preparing to welcome back a full contingent of students, faculty and staff starting next month, and it makes me wonder — will the maples radiate more vibrantly come November? I think they will. Very few contemporary American institutions resonate in the public consciousness as much as the one so famously modeled by drunken degenerateturned-U.S. senator, John Blutarski. Bluto, of course, may represent the most iconic college character ever from what certainly is the most iconic movie about college. (Those among you who bothered to study in advance for exams — or at all — probably just hung your head in a moment of disappointment flavored ever so slightly with acknowledgement.) That movie, Animal House, was released in 1978. I was only 12 or 13, and it was rated R. (Ratings used to mean something.) But this time, I drew an “advance directly to Go” card — my mom and stepdad wanted to see it. My stepdad — let’s call him Jack — now rests in peace but then was a prominent Little Rock attorney. And a little bit to
my surprise (and much to my relief ), he and Mom hee-hawed through the whole picture. Turns out, Jack’s experience as a Sigma Nu on the Hill in the early ’50s wasn’t too far removed from some of the Delta exploits in Animal House. And John Belushi’s Bluto reminded him of a particular fraternity brother. (If in the wee hours any Sigma Nus caused the death of a horse inside the old president’s office in Vol Walker, my stepdad was mum.)
By Heather Baker
PUBLISHER’S LETTER
W
CAN’T WAIT FOR PACKED STADIUMS IN THE FALL
hat am I looking forward to the most this fall? That’s easy. Hearing a packed Razorback Stadium call the Hogs. In a lot of ways, things will be somewhat back to normal by the time football season rolls around. But having high school and college stadiums across the state back at capacity will represent a symbolic sigh of relief. It’ll be an assurance that even though trying times will always be there to challenge us, the trying times known as COVID-19 are, for all intents and purposes, behind us. This month’s issue of AMP looks at higher education in the state, and how colleges and universities adapted to 2020. What will a traditional college education look like in the future? Some of Arkansas’ education leaders share their thoughts with us inside. Plus, we unveil our second installment of Future 50, a list of
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Jack’s “Bluto” was none other than a young man who would go on to run one of Northwest Arkansas’ Fortune 500s, a global leader in its field. Let’s call him Dave. And everybody loved Dave. On the drive home, Jack shared a story from his Sigma Nu days, one he would often retell, that helped explain why the movie had so strongly resonated. One Sadie Hawkins Night, as brothers milled around the house waiting to be picked up, Dave was nowhere to be found. In fact, no one had seen him for a couple of days. Eventually, Dave’s date arrived. A couple minutes of searching seemed to confirm the general consensus, that he wasn’t in the house. But then a loud commotion from upstairs drew everyone’s attention. Seconds later, Dave came flying out of the groundfloor laundry chute, headfirst. Bellowing out something not unlike a maniacal scream, he burst through the front door and out into the cold Fayetteville night. Not naked… but not fully clothed. And that was the last they ever saw of Dave — as a student. See LETTER, page 11
those Arkansas leaders our readers think are poised for big things in their industries, whether they’re still paying some dues or taking on a new endeavor years into their career. Also, Kelley Bass takes us on a trip back to Barton Coliseum’s heyday. Barton with its storied music history is the subject of an awesome exhibit at the Old State House Museum in downtown Little Rock. Even if you’re not “of a certain age” (like some of my colleagues…not me, of course), this is a great read. And be sure to read Katie Z’s latest Digs of the Deal, on the venerable Homer’s in Little Rock. This month, AMP also takes us to Mountain Home, El Dorado and Fayetteville. We appreciate you reading our little business pub, as always. Share your story ideas with me at HBaker@ARMoneyandPolitics. com. 6
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VIEWPOINT
BACK TO THE FUTURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION BY DR. CHRISTINA DRALE
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ow that America’s institutions of higher education are beginning to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, a natural question for many is, what now? Will higher education go back to the way it was before the pandemic, or will it be fundamentally changed? It is tempting to assume that our universities were relatively static until this recent disruption and that with a few tweaks, we can go back to business as usual. While the rapid spread of COVID-19 did require a quick and dramatic pivot to the virtual environment and engendered tremendous budget uncertainties, it is not the fundamental reason for structural changes in higher education in the 21st century. Let’s take a few steps back and look at what was going on before the pandemic. Online education has been an important component of university offerings since the 1990s. In the last two decades, online courses and degrees have become commonly available at nearly every university in the country. Growth in online education has been driven entirely by demand, not just from working professionals and single parents, but from all types of students who want more flexibility and more options. The pandemic didn’t change that so much as accelerate it. By necessity, we found creative ways to convert “hard-to-convert” learning experiences like music instruction and science labs to the virtual environment. Now there is more available in the online modality, and the modality itself has more variety with hybrid and synchronous options. As we return to campus this fall, our curriculum will have more versatility with 100 percent of our instructional workforce able to deliver it in any format. In recent years, shifting demographics nationwide have meant that in most states, the number of high school students in the pipeline is either declining or growing at slower rates. Even before the so-called J U LY 2 02 1
“enrollment cliff” was looming, competition for students was heating up due to the rising costs of technology (particularly for online education) and other infrastructure needs of the modern university. The recession of 2008 caused many states to make deep cuts in higher education investment. Institutions sought additional revenue from more enrollment and higher tuition and fees. As the cost of a college education increased, some young people and their families began to question the value proposition of the investment. They no longer take it for granted that a college education will provide upward mobility and a better quality of life, even when statistical analysis clearly shows that it does. Furthermore, due in part to the Internet and changes in communication patterns, our cultural zeitgeist has trended toward immediacy and short-term gain, making a four-year commitment seem like an eternity. In response to these pressures, institutions like the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have reassessed how we fulfill our mission. We began by questioning traditional assumptions in the higher-education business model. We cannot assume continuous growth of enrollment, nor can we assume that the market will bear a continuously rising price point. We also can no longer assume that all students are ready to commit to a long-term proposition or that everyone needs the same bundle of services. Thus, we have recalibrated our approach to providing a college education. Though we have always provided quality programs, we are continually assessing the right mix of programs that give students the critical skills they need to be successful in any field, and major programs of study for which there is both demand and need. We know that students need to see the connections to a future career, so we emphasize different ways to connect the dots, including career mentoring, intern8
ships, client-based projects and a wide variety of research and field work opportunities tied to potential employers. We also know that the students we serve come to us at different stages of their learning trajectory, so we must provide multiple entry points as students transition from high school, two-year technical colleges, other prior learning experiences, and for professionals returning to upgrade credentials. The student market is highly varied and expects our offerings to be “unbundled” for greater flexibility. We do this by structuring our curriculum as stackable credentials — smaller chunks of learning that give you a usable credential, but can also be stacked together to attain a traditional college degree. As UA Little Rock adapts to the new realities of the 21st century learning environment, we have held fast to the importance of community connection for an institution such as ours. Our students still want to connect to us and to each other in a welcoming physical environment. Our industry and community partners want to be involved with us in a relationship of mutual support and enhancement. One important lesson we have all learned from the pandemic is that there is no substitute for meaningful human engagement. Dr. Christina Drale is the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. ARMON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM
VIEWPOINT
ACADEMIC SURVIVAL IN A PANDEMIC BY DR. DAVID F. RANKIN
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n February 2020, higher education was on a roll. Students were in classes, the economy was growing, state budgets were looking good, and academia was a great place to be. Enter the virus. By mid-March and early-April, everything changed. Campuses closed, residence halls emptied, courses converted to various forms of distance learning, and graduation ceremonies were cancelled. This was a situation none of us in academia had ever experienced or even imagined, and yet it was here. Colleges and universities handled this unprecedented turmoil about as well as anyone could expect. The pandemic had arrived, and the course of the virus was uncertain. The drive to protect students, faculty and staff was both appropriate and reasonable. Fortunately, forward-thinking campuses had already been moving dramatically in the direction of high-quality distance learning. Zoom, Teams and other software platforms were swiftly catching on as academic content-delivery vehicles. For the business class I taught, it proved a quick and simple adjustment to Zoom to complete the semester. What was lost was a scheduled trip to New York City, a visit to the New York Stock Exchange and the camaraderie that trips like this entail. All of that went away, and my students were disappointed. Academic life had changed. And so it was all over the country and, indeed, around the world. Summer school was easier to handle. Students had already been gravitating for years toward distance learning in the summer to allow for trips and employment. Colleges and universities had adjusted to this new reality with a bevy of distance offerings. It worked well and continued to do so in the summer of 2020. By fall, COVID-19 numbers began to be more available. The data indicated that ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM
the virus posed little danger to the traditional college-age individual. Faculty and staff were a different matter. Although the numbers indicated that the over-65 and pre-existing condition groups were in the most danger, things could not just return to normal in the fall. Lots of distance learning, masks, virus testing, quarantines and many other measures became the order of the day. Faculty, students and staff rose to the occasion. Fall semesters moved forward at most institutions, and college educations continued. In December 2020, in the midst of shutdowns, masks and quarantines, I appeared on Roby Brock’s Talk Business and Politics show and stated that the country would begin returning to normal in March 2021. I stuck my neck out on that prediction, but I’ll explain my reasoning below. Bear in mind, I am not a medical person. I am an economist. But economists love numbers, and this is the way I saw it. In November 2020, a vaccine for the virus was approved. Wisely, supplies of the vaccine had been produced ahead of time for distribution beginning in December. Projections indicated that more than 100 million citizens would receive at least one dose by the end of March. By that time, more than 30 million Americans would have been documented to have had the virus and therefore have antibodies. Moreover, some medical experts estimated that two or three times as many may have actually had the virus. Add to this more than 110 million citizens aged 24 or below in the low-risk category, and the numbers would be inching toward 300 million in a country of 331 million. Certainly, there is some double counting, but the number of Americans still susceptible to the virus at that point would be small. As it turned out, the economy did actually begin to gather steam in March and is now surging. 9
This means that colleges and universities should be full speed ahead for the fall. Most have already made this decision. But things are going to be different. Students have adopted Zoom and many other virtual delivery mechanisms. Many will want to continue in a digital landscape. However, the on-campus experience is extremely valuable, and most students will want to avail themselves of all the campus has to offer. Clubs, organizations, athletic teams, bands and student-faculty relationships will carry the day because they are essential to the complete college experience. Students will return. What we learned is how to better deal with an emergency like this in the future. The wheels of academia cannot just stop. We must carry on, and here in Arkansas, we did. I take my hat off to all who made it happen during an uncertain time and kept the students progressing toward their degrees. David F. Rankin, Ph.D., MBA, CFA, is the president emeritus of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, where he has served for 46 years. He is a former professor of finance and economics and dean of the College of Business at SAU, which now bears his name. An award-winning economist, Rankin is the author of What Every American Needs to Know About Economics, published in 2018. He still teaches classes at the university. JULY 2021
DISCOVERY ECONOMICS
THE “WHAT IFS” OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH By Bryan Barnhouse
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y dad suffered a massive stroke two months after this picture was taken. Eighteen months later, he walked unassisted across a room for the first time. Despite reclaiming some abilities, his cognition, communication and motor skills will never be what they once were. Don’t get the wrong idea; he is by no means helpless. He is still a card shark who will rob you blind. Ironically, after I became CEO of the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA), a public-private partnership founded in 2008 that invests in research that stimulates innovation, encourages collaboration and strengthens economic opportunity, a proposal for a research project came across my desk. The proposal was from a couple of the members of the ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows — strategic, scientific leaders selected to the ARA Academy by the chancellors of Arkansas research universities. The researchers were seeking ARA Impact Grant funds to design, prove and scale-up a blood-clot removal device. It could not help but make me wonder, “What if?” The ARA Impact Grant program was created as a pilot to accelerate research discovery and development. The process takes years and big-time money to bring a medical product to the bedside. The traditional federal agencies (such as the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health) that provide major grants to aid this process require preliminary research data before they will even consider backing a project. Obtaining that data takes funding. Sounds like a catch-22. Enter ARA Impact Grants. These are targeted, 12-month projects between $25,000 and $75,000. Academy members use them to generate preliminary data that better position them to compete for larger research grants.
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Bryan Barnhouse and his dad, Michael Barnhouse.
They are paying off, too. The pilot round invested $1 million across 15 projects, which included the blood-clot removal device. There was a 60/40 funding split between ARA and the researcher’s host institution. Despite pandemic delays and with about 60 percent of the projects reporting, they have returned close to $13 million in follow-up federal funding. The program proved so effective that ARA launched a second round of roughly the same scale this past March. It is energizing the ARA Academy researchers and seeks to validate the pilot round. Looking ahead, Impact Grants have the potential to be central to the future of research in Arkansas. What if, heaven forbid, you or a loved one were one of the 795,000 people who experience a new or recurrent stroke annually? What if that stroke fell into the 87 percent of strokes caused by a mass or blood clot in an
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artery of the brain? Considering Arkansas and our surrounding states host the highest death rate from cardiovascular disease, the odds are not in our favor. But, what if all this research and development on the blood clot dissolving device started 10 years ago? Then maybe the odds would be more in our favor. This is why ARA wants to bring these research leaders to you through this Discovery Economics column. Over the next several months, we want you to imagine the “what ifs” with us. We will present you with another sampling of Academy members. These five-star researchers leave no stone unturned when it comes to the Arkansas economy. They are leading the fight in helping agricultural production withstand higher night-time temperatures (Argelia Lorence, Arkansas State University), forging new applications for artificial intelligence in the food supply chain (Justin Zhan, University of Arkansas), preventing bacterial infection during and after surgery (Mark Smeltzer, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) and helping the U.S. Food and Drug Administration keep our bodies and food sources safe (Steve Foley, National Center for Toxicological Research). Other surprises are in store. We will be treated to the musings of Douglas Hutchings, director of the ARA Academy. We also plan to unveil a new research tool designed to leverage the presence of high-end research instrumentation here in the state. Please continue to check this space each month as we imagine together, “What if.” Bryan Barnhouse is CEO of the Arkansas Research Alliance. Before joining ARA, he worked with the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
ARM ON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM
LETTER
Continued from page 6 So the story goes, anyway. Like Bluto, Dave had a backup plan. He didn’t need a classic college education to grow his family operation into a Fortune 500 giant. Many of us are strong and wise enough to bypass the traditional college path and recognize early on what lies ahead. Many more aren’t and don’t. We need molding and heaping helpings of knowledge. While certainly not perfect, and cafeteria food fights aside, the on-campus/in-person model can provide those things. Or at least the opportunity to attain them. Wisdom, on the other hand… Despite some of the crazy things one hears about academia, and there are some mind-blowing things straight off the pages of Orwell, it’s good to have campuses preparing for students’ return this fall. We need a place for Blutos to find their wisdom. *** I’m still not quite ready to fully revisit this past college baseball season and the cold, dark reality of its finish in Fayetteville. But Kevin Kopps is a Mount Rushmore Razorback, not just for baseball, but for all sports. That said, football can’t get here fast enough. *** A recent trip to Kansas City included a visit to Leavenworth, Kansas, where my wife, Anne, has strong family connections. Her maternal grandfather, a World War II veteran and former administrator for the VA medical center there, is buried in Leavenworth National Cemetery. Anne, of course, spent lots of time in Leavenworth as a kid when visiting her grandparents, who lived on the VA campus next to the cemetery. I had been looking forward to seeing it, and my expectations were exceeded. Leavenworth — not the fort or the penitentiary, but the cemetery — is Arlington on a smaller scale. Something all Americans should experience. So often, those ideals for which so many have been willing to sacrifice their lives simply outpace our increasingly material, individual natures. And we’ll never catch up to them. Not on this earth, anyway. But isn’t it nice to live in a country that, at the very least, aspires to do so?
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*** Back to Orwell and with a nod to his cautionary fable, 1984, the word of the month for July certainly is recognized by some self-processed warriors, at least in theory, if not just yet by Webster, et al: “crimethink”. Crimethink in the novel is committed by having “unorthodox or unofficial thoughts.” It and other party-isms from the book — doublethink, newspeak and unperson among them — seem to have found in this day and age an inviting laboratory. *** As always, thank you for reading. Let me know how we’re doing, good or bad. Hit me up anytime at MCarter@ARMoneyandPolitics.com.
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JULY 2021
EDUCATION
CAMPUS CALLING By Mark Carter and Kenneth Heard
College officials anticipate a strong return to traditional model
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ollege” as we know it isn’t going anywhere. Like their counterparts across the United States, Arkansas colleges and universities adapted and survived to see the light of day — a planned return of something like pre-pandemic normal this fall — at the end of the 2020 tunnel. The bands will march, and classrooms will be occupied once more this fall, but will the traditional college model return un-
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Students at the University of Arkansas and other colleges and universities in the state will have the opportunity to leave the masks at home this fall. (Photo courtesy of UA)
scathed? In Arkansas, higher education leaders believe it will — with some tweaks. For one, online classes are expected to become a more common component to the on-campus experience, as hybrid class schedules remain an option. And as Arkansans continue to shake off the 2020 economic doldrums related to COVID-19, students are expected to seek more efficient degree paths and more tightly tailor their schedules to meet specific needs. So, students are returning to campus this fall. But how much
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“I believe that higher education will be more adaptable in the years to come as a result of COVID-19...” will the pandemic year have altered their consumer behavior? Dr. Robin Bowen, president of Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, told Arkansas Money & Politics that institutions of higher learning will need to keep adapting for their consumers. “Higher education was already evolving before the onset of COVID-19. The pandemic has accelerated that evolution and made it necessary for universities across the nation to become nimble,” Bowen said. “Data reveals two truths: There will be fewer traditional college-age students in the years to come, and many of those seeking higher education will look for flexible options that allow them to stack credentials while simultaneously advancing their careers. I believe there will always be a place for the traditional, four-year undergraduate education and experience. “However, the demographics of the coming years require Arkansas Tech University and like-minded institutions to prepare themselves to provide an increasingly diverse group of prospective students with an increasingly diverse range of educational options.” Tech is positioned to serve a wide range of students, Bowen said. It offers the full range of degree options, from technical certificates and associate degrees at its satellite campus in Ozark to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the main campus in Russellville. “I believe that higher education will be more adaptable in the years to come as a result of COVID-19,” Bowen said. “At Arkansas Tech, we’ve enhanced our capacity and our confidence as it relates to the delivery of content online. It will be interesting to watch the trends in coming years. How many students now pre-
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fer online learning after experiencing it during the pandemic? How can we serve those students while simultaneously providing for the needs of in-person learners? These will be important questions, and the students will provide the answers. Our responsibility is to be responsive to their educational needs.” Of course, colleges would love to inherit more needs to meet this fall. School officials are optimistic for increased on-campus enrollment after 2020 fall headcounts fell by 4.2 percent from 2019, according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. At the state’s 22 public two-year colleges, enrollment fell by 9.9 percent from fall 2019 to fall 2020. The drop in enrollment at four-year schools was less than expected, but officials want to make sure it doesn’t become a trend. Projected losses related to the pandemic for the state’s 12 four-year colleges and universities were estimated at $23 million. In the spring semester of 2020, the Arkansas State University System closed its campuses including the main campus in Jonesboro, and instead only offered online instruction. Of the 3,000 living on campus, 900 who were either international students or had nowhere else to go were all that remained. Students who moved out were refunded room and board costs, creating what Kelly Damphousse, chancellor of the main Jonesboro campus, called a significant financial loss. Enrollment for this year also declined as a result of COVID-19, he said. More than 250 freshmen, who Damphousse counted on to enroll this fall, are not coming. At first, he thought they may have opted to go to other universities. Instead, he discovered, they simply were not going to any school because of the pandemic. “That affects us,” he said. “Today’s freshmen are next year’s sophomores and the following year’s juniors. You
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Dr. Robin Bowen
Kelly Damphousse
John Thomas
Dr. Houston Davis
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EDUCATION
“I think that the pandemic showed that our students longed for the face-to-face operations and relationships that are formed on campus.”
University of Arkansas
live with that class [coming through] a long time. “ He said revenue from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and other federal aid has helped ASU recoup most of its losses, and the university didn’t have to dip into its reserve funds. Some schools are expecting big bumps in freshman enrollment this fall, as students anticipate a return to the traditional, on-campus experience. The University of Arkansas forecasts a school record 5,800 on-campus freshmen this fall, including 200 students who deferred a year so they could attend class in-person. UA spokesperson John Thomas said university officials believe the traditional model is as strong as ever. “If there’s one thing this past year has shown us, it’s that students and faculty alike want to be back on campus in a face-toface environment,” he said. “Face-to-face classes are an important part of the energy and atmosphere of campus, as well as the uniqueness of both the college experience and the University of
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University of Central Arkansas
Arkansas experience.” University of Central Arkansas President Dr. Houston Davis is expecting a robust incoming freshman class that should outpace pre-COVID numbers. UCA’s 2020 enrollment fell by a modest 3.9 percent, above budget projections. “As of today, we are encouraged that freshman applications and admittance numbers are running 12 percent higher than last year’s class at this time and are projected to be slightly higher than our entering freshman class in fall of 2019,” he said. “We also see a big increase in first-time graduate students, so that portion of enrollment will likely see a boost come fall. While we will not know official enrollment numbers until early September, all signs point to UCA’s overall enrollment being at healthy levels as we reclaim normal beyond the pandemic.” Financially, UCA was able to smoothly navigate the COVID storm, thanks to its $15 million resource optimization initiative (ROI) launched four years ago, Davis said. The university’s bud-
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Arkansas Tech University
geted educational and general (E&G) reserves — those funds allocated from the state legislature and received through tuition fees — increased from 1.8 percent of the overall E&G budget in fiscal year 2020 to 3.5 percent for FY22 — well above the “best practice standard in higher education of 3 percent,” he noted. “And despite having to refund $2.5 million in auxiliary revenues related to COVID housing closures in spring of 2020, the budgeted auxiliary reserves have been built from 3.9 percent of auxiliaries in FY20 to 7 percent in FY22,” Davis said. “Building upon reserves has allowed us to begin a sequence of planned pay improvements that includes a cost-of-living adjustment for all UCA employees of 2 percent as of July 1, 2021, and more funds placed into our market and equity pool to address pay disparities throughout the year.” After the mid-semester pivot in the spring of 2020, schools were able to plan for an unconventional 2020-21 school year. Harding University in Searcy, for example, affiliated with the
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Church of Christ and the state’s largest private college, finished the 2020-21 academic year in the black, a spokesperson said. Officials agree that schools will be better equipped in the future to adapt to drastic market changes. For some, the disruption represented a potential silver lining. At UCA, Davis insisted that “momentum was maintained” and progress made with its ROI allocations and investments. The pandemic pause forced school officials to buckle down and “make decisions with clear thinking and a long-term view.” The UCA oper ating position is stronger than it was in 2017, he said. And despite the growth
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Campuses, and all their ancillary events including graduations, should begin to look a lot more like they did pre-COVID when classes commence in August. (Photos provided)
JULY 2021
EDUCATION of online learning exacerbated by the pandemic, Davis doesn’t think the on-campus model lost any of its value. “I think that the pandemic showed that our students longed for the face-to-face operations and relationships that are formed on campus,” he said. “As we worked toward a close to normal operation last spring, the energy of campus really picked up and got us excited about the fall of this year.” As the UA prepares to mark 150 years this fall and launch a search for a new chancellor, tuition and fees at the Fayetteville flagship campus will go up slightly after being frozen for the 2020-21 school year. And masks will still be required, for now, inside student health centers. Otherwise, Thomas said, the campus should look very much like it did pre-pandemic with the understanding that the school could return to a remote environment again if necessary. “Our entire campus community was remarkable in staying flexible and showing the ability to pivot when it was needed to keep our academic mission moving forward,” he said. “However, we knew the shift would not be without its challenges. Faculty had the unprecedented task of shifting the format of their classes mid-semester to remote and hybrid delivery. The university made significant investments into technology that allowed streaming from classrooms for a full remote learning
Arkansas State University
experience. Our students had to adapt, as well, and it wasn’t easy for them as they shifted to remote learning and missed out on the campus experience. “If anything, the last year has shown us how important the traditional model is, but it has also shown us that we have to be flexible.”
COVID OR NO, AT UAPB, IT’S GROW, GROW, GROW
T
share the benefits of attending the school. he University of Arkansas at Pine “One of the great things about UAPB is our Bluff is the only institution of higher affordability; we continue to rank as one of the learning in the state to experience most affordable institutions in the state, and enrollment increases since the fall of 2019. our extensive scholarship offerings assist in UAPB’s student headcount has grown from making a college education affordable,” Alex2,498 students to 2,668 in the fall of 2020 as COander said. “Most importantly, we always offer VID-19 raged, to 2,793 this past spring. students the assurance of a safe, familial enviDr. Laurence Alexander, chancellor of the ronment and a solid foundation for matriculahistorically Black school, expects another tion and growth.” bump this coming fall. He told Arkansas Money With students, faculty and staff returning & Politics that UAPB saw growth in both underto campus en masse this fall for traditional ingraduate and graduate student populations. person learning, Alexander expects another “We are extremely proud of the hard work Laurence Alexander enrollment increase but knows COVID could over the last several years to offer students a still have a say in how the semester plays out. But he admitted quality education at an incredible value,” he said. “Particularly to “cautious optimism.” for the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, it was important to conThe traditional, in-person model, after all, still has value, nect with incoming and returning students early and often he said. to share information about our COVID-19 protocols and our “If there is one lesson learned during the pandemic, it is commitment to protecting students’ health and welfare, while that in-person engagement is a necessary component for the also making the majority of our undergrad and graduate profull exploration of ideas. Immersion through a traditional ongrams available online during this challenging period.” campus model is extremely important for student growth and Through the pandemic, the school continued its strategic development, because not only do students have access to acamessaging to students and “influencers” highlighting top prodemic facilities, such as laboratories, but they also learn intergrams and student success, he added. UAPB’s Division of Enpersonal skills needed for the workforce and society,” he said. rollment Management and Student Success created systems — Mark Carter to connect with high school students early in their search and J U LY 2 02 1
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EDUCATION
ARKANSAS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ENROLLMENT (Fall 2019)
ENROLLMENT (Fall 2020)
ENROLLMENT (Spring 2021)
COLLEGE
LOCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
Fayetteville
27,559
27,562
25,847
ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Jonesboro
13,891
13,106
12,241
ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY
Russellville
11,829
10,829
9,254
Conway
10,869
10,335
9,251
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK
Little Rock
9,581
8,899
8,101
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FORT SMITH
Fort Smith
6,265
5,887
5,002
Searcy
4,793
4,579
4,239
Magnolia
4,475
4,432
4,008
Arkadelphia
4,037
3,163
2,711
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO
Monticello
2,855
2,645
2,479
NIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR U MEDICAL SCIENCES
Little Rock
2,727
2,907
2,781
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF
Pine Bluff
2,498
2,668
2,781
Siloam Springs
2,318
2,278
2,034
Arkadelphia
1,633
1,705
1,619
Conway
1,121
1,076
1,050
PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE
Little Rock
996
799
767
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Clarksville
824
839
799
LYON COLLEGE
Batesville
661
661
598
WILLIAMS BAPTIST COLLEGE
Walnut Ridge
554
614
552
CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE
Conway
518
631
581
ARKANSAS COLLEGES OF HEALTH EDUCATION
Fort Smith
515
678
654
ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE
Little Rock
515
432
353
ECCLESIA COLLEGE
Springdale
194
214
218
CROWLEY’S RIDGE COLLEGE
Paragould
185
192
162
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE AT ASU
Jonesboro
115
115
115
Hot Springs
80
66
69
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS
HARDING UNIVERSITY SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY OUACHITA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY HENDRIX COLLEGE
CHAMPION CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education
EDUCATION
FOR UCA’S HOUSTON DAVIS,
COVID REPRESENTED OPPORTUNITY By Angela Forsyth
little more than a year ago, during the height of the pandemic, colleges were forced into a difficult decision. In order to help slow the spread of COVID-19, they closed their doors to inperson learning — not only closing classrooms, but shutting the doors to cafeterias and housing as well. This, however, was not a viable option for University of Central Arkansas President Dr. Houston Davis and his staff. “Some of our students had a place to go, but we made it clear that anybody who needed some of these basic needs taken care of — we were going to look out for them,” Davis said. According to the president, the instant he made the decision to stay open, it was a “critical gut check” for him. At that moment, he had to ask himself: “Does our campus really buy into student success? Does our campus really know our student body and know what they need?” With these questions in mind, he knew he couldn’t close the residence halls, even in the months of March, April and May, which became the pivot point for all schools. “The reason we never closed is we had a lot of students on this campus who worked for UCA, and we’re the closest thing to home they’ve got. It’s not as simple as shutting the doors and sending them home.” Putting students first may sound like a no-brainer for a university president, but it’s a notion Davis truly takes to heart. It is
Dr. Houston Davis (Photo by Ebony Blevins)
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also the primary reason he accepted the position with UCA four years ago. Davis was drawn to the school’s culture, which he describes as rooted in fostering student success. “It’s the lynchpin of our planning, the guiding star of our financial decisions and the leading question as I work with the board or the cabinet,” he said. With each decision he asks administrators to consider how the choice at hand would help ensure students get their degree. “There are a lot of things that can distract you in leadership, and it’s good to come back to that focus.” Under Davis’ leadership, UCA has funneled every financial decision of the last three years through its Resource Optimization Initiative (ROI). The campus-wide program is designed to prepare the school for fluctuating enrollment and unforeseen cuts in government funding. It enlists administrators to examine the budget, put a name and function to each dollar spent and make certain every expenditure is directly related to furthering student success. Through the program, UCA was able to identify almost $15 million (about 11 percent of the overall budget) that could be redirected. No one could have predicted COVID but fortunately, the reserved money allowed the campus to weather the pandemic without too big of a hit when faced with a $7.2 million reduction in state appropriations. “Nothing about the last year has been an overwhelming challenge because we had a three-year head start to think clearly and make good decisions without having
to cast about for last-minute solutions,” Davis said. As much as Davis has made it his mission to lead UCA as a student-centered school, he is quick to credit others for a joint effort, saying he was blessed to land in a place where student focus was already “baked into the cake.” He also acknowledges two remarkable mentors who helped shape him in both his career and his personal life. One is Dr. Donald Carson, retired vice president for student affairs at the University of Memphis, whom
vis, Huckaby was able to make the hard decisions while prioritizing the people involved. “It was not just the business of higher education but also about the people in higher education,” Davis noted. “He was modeling. He showed me how to treat everyone with respect, and that’s all in the back of my mind every day.” From kindergarten to university, the last two academic years have certainly tested the toughness and determination of schools across the country. Fortunately for Davis, during every graduation, he gets to experience his favorite part of the job. When students’ names are read, the president is usually the first set of eyes they lock onto as they come across the stage to receive their diploma. From a distance, parents aren’t able to see students’ faces beam when their names are called. “I almost feel sorry for everyone else because I get that moment, and I get that perspective,” he said. This year’s ceremonies were a little different but still a happy occasion. Instead of shaking hands, Davis offered fist bumps with a gloved hand as he handed out diplomas. On a larger scale, the best part of the job for Davis is the emotional reward he receives on a daily basis. “For anyone working in education, you’re making a difference in the world,” he said. “Whatever your job is, you’re part of an enterprise that is changing family trees, especially for students who are firstgeneration graduates. That is going to create ripples across many, many lives.”
“For anyone working in education, you’re making a difference in the world. Whatever your job is, you’re part of an enterprise that is changing family trees, especially for students who are first-generation graduates. That is going to create ripples across many, many lives.”
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he described as “kind yet firm” in his expectations. Carson treated people with respect and was an excellent listener, always prioritizing the person standing in front of him. “He truly took the time — and still does — to get to know people and to get to know what their struggles are and what their happiness is.” His other mentor passed away a couple months ago. The former chancellor of the University System of Georgia, Henry “Hank” Huckaby, was Davis’ most recent boss before his post at UCA. He worked under him for five years. According to Da-
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JULY 2021
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JULY 2021
EDUCATION
BUCKING THE ODDS By Dwain Hebda
Private school popularity surging in Arkansas Little Rock Christian Academy
eith McDaniel is not new to the private school space, nor to the administration of same, having served as teacher, coach and principal at Shiloh Christian School over the past eight years. Nonetheless, having just ascended to president and superintendent of the largest private Christian school in Northwest Arkansas about six months ago, he still exudes that new-kid-in-town excitement when talking about the school’s mission, families and outlook. “We have over 1,000 K-12 students, and we’re looking to hit record enrollment this year,” he said. “We’re grateful for that
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blessing. It’s a family here; it takes everyone to make the school a special place, and we ultimately celebrate that. We love for our parents to be involved in our school and to make an impact on our students alongside our teachers. “Ultimately, we know the kids we’re helping raise are going to be the light across not only the nation but the world. From what I see, I think that’s what people are looking for from us and what sets us apart.” Sensing his enthusiasm is approaching boastfulness, the unfailingly polite McDaniel quickly backs up to spread a little love
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to his fellow private schools. “I think it’s exciting for private education across Arkansas,” he said. “There’s a lot of interest all over the state.” In fact, private elementary and high schools in Arkansas are enjoying a surge as pronounced as it is puzzling to industry experts. When COVID-19 entered the state in March 2020, causing the premature shuttering of the school year within weeks, prevailing wisdom predicted hard times for private schools. On the cusp of the 2021-2022 school year, things couldn’t be farther from that dire forecast. “Demand for the option of nonpublic education increased this year in many parts of the country,” said Dr. Gary Arnold, president and head of school for Little Rock Christian Academy. “Our experience with remote learning in the spring of 2020 taught us quickly that our families need us, and our students want to do school in community, not alone. The reality of our waiting lists for the coming year reinforces this lesson.” In April 2020, with the arrival of the pandemic still fresh and frightening, Neal McCluskey penned an article for The CATO Institute with the not-so-subtle headline, “Private Schools Face an Existential Threat.” In it, McCluskey outlined the economic factors that portended wholesale and permanent shuttering of private schools was imminent. It was an argument not completely without merit. From a peak national enrollment of 6.3 million in 2001 to 5.3 million in 2011, private schools had taken it on the chin for a decade. Moreover, this roughly 15 percent slide was touched off by the 2001 economic recession rippling from bursting the dotcom bubble, accelerated by the recession of 2008-2009. And while enrollment had crept back up headed into 2020, McCluskey reasoned the pandemic’s worldwide economic fallout would hit harder and damage more deeply the nation’s private schools. But, oh, what a difference a year makes. Contrary to previous economic cause-and-effect cycles, private schools throughout the United States are thriving. In August, the National Association of Independent Schools reported 58 percent of its member institutions had reported an increase in interest from the previous summer, as written in The New York Times. Then in November, The Hill reported statistics gleaned from 160 independent schools in 15 states and the District of Columbia, whereby 78 schools reported increases in headcount, and 34 reported unchanged enrollments (14 of which, it’s worth noting, stayed static because of being at capacity). “Most people seek out private schools for several reasons,” McDaniel said. “Primarily, they are looking for an outstanding educational experience, smaller learning environment, more personalized educational approach, the ability to connect within the educational community itself, and their parents want to feel involved with their child’s educational process. That’s what I’ve found in my time as an educator.” The real irony of the situation, experts agree, is how quickly the pandemic itself shifted from private education’s death knell
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to its pied piper. Private schools’ quick and successful mitigation protocols for COVID-related safety issues passed the litmus test of many parents. These protocols, in turn, allowed private schools to offer widespread in-person classes, a lure families found hard to resist. As Axios.com noted in January, just 5 percent of U.S. private institutions were virtual on the first day of school last fall while 62 percent of public school students signed into Zoom classes to start the year. Add to that data showing COVID infection rates were more than 40 percent lower in private and parochial schools, per The Hill, and the choice for many parents became immediately clear. “The cause of this [surge in] demand was availability; in many areas, nonpublic schools found ways to comply with CDC guidelines with fewer encumbrances,” Arnold said. “In the enrollment rebound, we elected to add class sections, especially in the elementary school, instead of necessarily expanding the size of the class roster. “Our stellar faculty rose to the occasion and prepared dual lesson plans for their students — virtual and inperson — for 178 school days with one relief day to receive a vaccination and one other relief day for rest. Someone remarked it would have normally taken three years of professional development and $150,000 in training to accomplish what we did in one summer with no budget.” Private schools have also been seen as more academically progressive and dynamic, able to respond quickly to changing educational pedagogy due to smaller size, more direct decisionmaking, access to resources or some combination of the three. A few years ago, for example, when Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock noticed a technology gap among the student body, it unilaterally launched an initiative to provide laptops for every student to be kept after graduation. It would take years, billions in federal funding and a
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Keith McDaniel
Dr. Gary Arnold
Pattie Davis
Steve Straessle
JULY 2021
EDUCATION
Shiloh Christian School
pandemic (which revealed 17 million students nationwide lacked basic internet and technology needed to access online learning) for the public school system to follow suit. Pattie Davis, MSM president, said even though the Mount is the oldest continually operating private school in Arkansas, it tries very hard not to think like it. “We’re always looking three to five years out for where we’re going with our school and the focus of these young women, to develop and prepare them for a world where we don’t even know some of the jobs that will exist yet,” she said. “We’re working on programs like STREAM to give focus to the future, for the needs of the school and the girls. “Today, our programs are also geared toward the student where she is and where she wants to go. We have alumni all over the world with outstanding careers in engineering and math and science and the liberal arts. But we’re not just exclusively college prep; we discover where a student is headed, whether that’s public service or the military or a skilled career, and we work to prepare her just as rigorously. I was very proud to say that walking across the stage this past year were students with all different journeys ahead of them.” Current enrollment trends aside, administrators admit that private education still faces dogged elitist stereotypes — a widespread public perception of educational privilege reserved nearly exclusively for the affluent and white. Such perceptions have long been fodder for critics, as an April piece by the left-leaning Washington think tank Niskanen Center demonstrates: “Private schools are less racially diverse than public schools, enrolling far more White students (67 percent compared to 48 percent White students in public schools) than Black or Latino students. Perhaps obviously, private school parents do not attend local school board meetings or join public school PTAs,” Didi
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Kou wrote. “Parents whose kids are in private schools are also buying the privilege of not having to worry about what schools are like for the vast majority of American kids. “While only 2 percent of American students attend independent schools, 24 to 29 percent of students at universities like Yale, Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth come from such schools. Although not all private schools are [identically] selective and well-endowed, it is nonetheless worth considering the radical counterfactual of a society in which all parental educational investments went into public, rather than private, schools.” Little Rock Catholic High Principal Steve Straessle disagreed, saying while diversity continues to be a work in progress, outreach and scholarship efforts have been in place for a long time and are showing substantial results. “My comment about diversity is that a healthy growing private school is not looking for students and families who are running away from something,” he said. “Healthy and vibrant private schools are looking for families who are running to something, and that is an important distinction. Obviously with Little Rock’s history with racial politics in regard to education, that is something we have all grown up with and are attuned to. “CHS in particular has a growing Hispanic population. These are our people; these are Catholic families, families who value the characteristics we have like hard work and doing one’s duty. We have increased our outreach to them, everything from producing our materials in Spanish to hiring Spanish-speaking administrative and faculty members going into Hispanic churches to make sure they know Catholic High is essentially their school.” As a result of these efforts, Straessle said CHS’ student body is now 20 percent nonwhite, with most in this category of Hispanic descent. He said attracting other groups is also a priority, but has yet to gain similar traction. “That has been an uphill battle for us; there are not many Black Catholics, and we are facing the same limitations that the Catholic Church in Arkansas is facing,” he said. “We’ve advertised places we know the Black community will hear us and get to know us better. We have also reached out to and spoken at Black churches and opened the door for education for the families who want it for their sons. “The important thing is we know it’s not as simple as opening the door and saying, ‘You’re welcome here.’ We are going out and informing and making sure the parents understand this is an education that would benefit their children, one they would be proud of and that we’d be proud to have their sons with us.”
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Little Rock Catholic High School
Arnold, who noted students of color had grown from 3 percent to 13 percent of the student body at LRCA over the past 12 years, said elements such as religious affiliation and socio-economic standing also define LRCA’s diversity beyond race. “People would be surprised to learn that over 100 churches are represented in our school community. Or that many of our families struggle with tuition and might even qualify for a free and reduced lunch at their neighborhood school or another school of choice,” he said. “Yet, the spiritual and educational value they find at LRCA makes the difference for their family. They find a way to make it work.” Another negative perception is that being in direct competition, private schools and public schools do not positively affect or interact with one another. Also not true, said administrators, at least not at the local level. “We don’t do anything alone; it’s a partnership with the community,” Davis said. “When I came on board, we started this partnership with the Little Rock School District, and it really has helped to hear from different principals and leadership on what families need. It takes us out of that competitive role and focuses on the good of the community.” Straessle added, “The reality is, in a healthy society, in a healthy community, private schools are a branch of the big tree of education. Private schools help to provide balance. I bristle sometimes when people draw lines in the sand and pick teams — these are the private school kids, those are the public school kids — when it should be a symbiotic relationship. “Those in private education understand fully that a vibrant public school system is necessary in order for everyone to thrive. Private schools in general find a niche where we’re going to fill a need in the community. I don’t think private schools have been needed to replace a public school system; I think private schools have been needed to support and buttress a community and its education system as a whole.” Arkansas’ private schools also speak with one voice when it comes to the issue of government-enabled school choice. Last session, the Arkansas legislature created the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program, signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson on May 19. The new program provides tax credit scholarships for
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students whose families are well below the federal poverty line. About 250 K-12 students are expected to benefit initially, and school administrators hope the state program, one of 20 in the country, is the first step toward farther-reaching assistance to Arkansas families. “It goes without saying that private schools and LRCA support the right of parents to choose the education that is best for their children,” Arnold said. “It may be a school for special needs, a faithbased school, a charter school, an independent school or a public school. One school model does not fit all children. “Since all Arkansans invest in our schools by way of taxes and civic support, it is not unreasonable or unpatriotic to expect that all families should be able to use their educational investment in a manner that helps their children the most. The money should follow the student.” McDaniel said there are economic barriers that make it difficult across all generations. “There are some families who are first-generation here in the U.S.,” he said. “We want to be a reflection of our community. For a student who wants to go to a private Christian school, we don’t want family finances to be the barrier to that. If vouchers get passed, hopefully we’ll be able to access more students and be an even greater reflection of what our community looks like. “Being a private Christian school, we look through the lens of Scripture. We want to try to reach all people.”
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“The reality is, in a healthy society, in a healthy community, private schools are a branch of the big tree of education. Private schools help to provide balance. I bristle sometimes when people draw lines in the sand and pick teams — these are the private school kids, those are the public school kids — when it should be a symbiotic relationship.”
JULY 2021
EDUCATION
ARKANSAS PRIVATE SCHOOLS SCHOOL
LOCATION
GRADES
Baptist Preparatory School
Little Rock
PK - 12
Blessed Sacrament School
Jonesboro
PreK3 - 6
Catholic High School for Boys
Little Rock
9 - 12
North Little Rock
PreK3 - 12
Christ Lutheran School
Little Rock
NS - 8
Christ the King School
Little Rock
PreK4 - 8
Christ the King School
Fort Smith
NS - 6th
Christian Ministries Academy
Hot Springs Village
K - 12
Clear Spring School
Eureka Springs
NS - 8
Magnolia
PK - 12
Little Rock
PreK3 - 12
First Academy
Rogers
NS - 5
Grace Lutheran Academy
Lowell
PK - 8
Fort Smith
NS - 8
Holy Rosary School
Stuttgart
PreK3 - 6
Immaculate Conception School
North Little Rock
PreK3 - 8
Immaculate Conception School
Fort Smith
NS - 6th
North Little Rock
PK - 8
Jacksonville
PK - 12
Life Way Christian School
Centerton
PK - 12
Little Rock Christian Academy
Little Rock
NS - 12
The Montessori School of Fort Smith
Fort Smith
PK - 7
Little Rock Montessori School
Little Rock
PK - 3
Maranatha Baptist Christian School
El Dorado
PK - 12
Central Arkansas Christian
Columbia Christian School Episcopal Collegiate School
Harvest Time Academy
Immaculate Heart of Mary School Jacksonville Christian Academy
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SCHOOL
LOCATION
GRADES
Mount St. Mary Academy
Little Rock
9 - 12
The New School
Fayetteville
PK - 10
North Little Rock Catholic Academy Our Lady of Fatima School
North Little Rock
PreK3 - 8
Benton
NS - 8
Our Lady of the Holy Souls School
Little Rock
PreK4 - 8
Ozark Catholic Academy
Tontitown
9 - 12
Pulaski Academy
Little Rock
NS - 12
Ridgway Christian School
Pine Bluff
PK - 12
Sacred Heart School
Morrilton
PreK3 - 12
Springdale
NS - PK
South Arkansas Christian School
Lewisville
K - 12
Southwest Christian Academy
Little Rock
NS - 12
St. James Day School
Texarkana
PK - 8
St. John School
Russellville
PreK3 - 5
St. John School
Hot Springs
PreK2 - 8
St. Joseph School
Fayetteville
PreK3 - 8
St. Joseph School
Conway
PreK3 - 12
Paragould
PreK3 - 6
West Memphis
PreK3 - 6
St. Paul School
Pocahontas
PreK3 - 6
St. Theresa School
Little Rock
PreK3 - 8
St. Vincent De Paul School
Rogers
PK - 8
Subiaco Academy
Subiaco
7 - 12
Trinity Junior High School
Fort Smith
7-9
Valley Christian School
Russellville
NS - 12
Salem Lutheran School
St. Mary School St. Michael School
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EDUCATION
REPORT FINDS ARKANSAS STUDENTS IN NEED OF MORE CONNECTIVITY By Emily Beirne
W
ity to afford to ith each adhave broadband. vancement Those issues have in education techbeen consistent nology, classrooms throughout. find innovative “Even before the ways to combine pandemic, a lot of curriculum with people had to resort the digital world. to all sorts of ways The reliance to access internet on connectivity connection without and software was having the benefit highlighted durof total availability, ing the pandemic, so I would say that as students were in The Pulaski County Special School District provided Chromebooks for all its this issue has been the physical classwith us for quite room one day and students in 2020. some time. The pandemic forced us to recognize how important in the Zoom classroom the next. One issue that arose from this broadband access is as a fundamental element for infrastrucnew classroom setting was the lack of broadband access faced by ture programs throughout the United States.” many students. As part of the Biden Administration’s America Dr. Jay Barth, professor emeritus of politics at Hendrix ColJobs Plan, the White House recently released reports for each lege, is another face in the mission to bring connectivity to all of state highlighting infrastructure and broadband needs. Arkansas, especially local schools. Barth is the chief education Its report for Arkansas found: officer for the city of Little Rock and a former member of the • More than 27 percent of Arkansans reside in an area where state board of education. He said students living in rural areas there is no broadband internet at minimally acceptable speeds. of the state face the issue of limited access to internet providers • 54 percent of Arkansans have access to only one internet and connection speed, partly because of Arkansas’ landscape. provider capable of providing an internet connection that “A lot of the state is struggling with access because of the geruns at minimally acceptable speeds. ography of the state,” he said. “Some of the most mountainous • 20 percent of Arkansas households do not have an internet areas are very challenging; parts of west Arkansas are particusubscription at all — likely due to affordability. larly challenging because of disconnect from some of the big Many prominent Arkansans are working to fix the problem. providers, and the Delta is challenged with the combination of Former Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola is working with the location and poverty there. We’re a challenged state in a lot of Kauffman Foundation Mayors’ Council to improve and create different ways, and that’s been the case for a good while. There policies for broadband access. are very few places in Arkansas that have all the answers, and “The availability of broadband is really a major infrastructhat’s why this project requires a really nuanced approach, rathture pillar,” Stodola told Arkansas Money & Politics. “I think we’ve er than a one-size-fits-all approach. This is a complicated state known that access in two different contexts has been critically in terms of our geography and our issues of poverty.” important. One is access in rural Arkansas and having adequate Students living in urban areas are likewise at disadvantages broadband that is usable, and then in the urban areas, the abilJ U LY 2 02 1
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emergency connectivity funds are going to reimburse us for some of the resources we’ve been providing for our students, and there are several [programs] on the horizon that are going to be real benefits to our students.” With potential changes and improvements on the way, cohesive relationships among officials, schools and individuals are necessary to make the transition to more connectivity a smooth one. “There’s going to be a critical need to coordinate from the state to the county to the locals on how they spend the money and make sure that we’re being as effective as we can,” Barth said. “We don’t need to be tripping over everyone; we really need a coordinated effort. This is important to create a more vibrant 21st century teaching and learning environment. For homework, for staying in touch with the school and ongoing research, we’re in for the long haul. Families sitting in their cars on a school parking lot to do homework is not a way in which our citizens should live. These programs are so crucial to transform education and educational opportunities.” Arkansas is rated 41st in the country in broadband access, and that needs to change, Stodola said. “The internet is the great equalizer from an educational standpoint, and we can eliminate the digital divide and get everybody on an equal playing field for middle and rural America as opposed to the high-density areas of the country,” Stodola said. “The educational capacity this could give is really exciting and a critical piece of infrastructure. Sure, we need roads and bridges and repairs, but we also need the ability to bring internet to everyone in a way that is accessible and usable. “What electricity was in the 1930s in terms of expanding access to society is what expanding access to the internet is in the 2020s — transformative. Electricity was transformative for communities all across the South, and we’re going to see that same transformation soon with broadband.”
for connections and affordability. Many assume that students and families living in the city have ample access to fast internet speeds and availability, but the reality is quite the opposite. The poverty rate in Little Rock is at 17.8 percent, or one out of every 5.6 residents, and 23.9 percent of the Fayetteville population lives below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “The focus in Arkansas has been on rural access, getting broadband to places it’s not always been, but it’s also crucial to note that there is an urban issue, and that is affordability, and being sure that there is sustainable and affordable connectivity, even in urban areas,” Barth said. “We have really good broadband that is available across the city of Little Rock, but what we need to do is make [broadband] affordable for everyone to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities that come with it and promote digital.” The challenge of affordability and lack of access in Little Rock was highlighted by the pandemic as students were quarantined for many months. Jimmy Hogg, director of technology for the Pulaski County Special School District, said around 2,000 district students were without internet access when schools were closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic. He said the district did everything it could to help, including installing Wi-Fi, purchasing hotspots and even providing each student a Chromebook. “We had a lot of the same struggles that most districts around the state did, with students not having access to internet due to a lack of funding connections not offered in the area,” he said. Arkansas isn’t the only state facing these issues. Local districts are receiving state and federal help. And President Joe Biden’s controversial America Rescue Plan would devote billions to infrastructure needs across the country including broadband access. “The White House has recognized [the problem], and actions are in place,” Stodola said. “The American Rescue Plan has around $3.2 billion dedicated to expanding digital broadband, $7 billion for better broadband connectivity, $350 billion going toward state and local governments for infrastructure improvements, including broadband, and another $7.1 billion for internet at schools and libraries. If this plan passes, we’re going to see a lot of what we have been talking about.” Partnerships between state officials and the community will be driving forces in the broadband expansion. Hogg said schools in the PCSSD went from 30 percent technology usage in the classroom to 100 percent during the pandemic, and with advancements in technology, he foresees continued reliance on connectivity. “The majority of our students are going to go back to the traditional classroom. But I think now that we opened Pandora’s box on technology, we’re going to see more technology moving forward,” Hogg said. “A lot of what the government is proposing will be helpful for us. [State officials] are working with community partners to drive down the cost of bandwidth for students that don’t have the financial means to pay for connection. The 29
Mark Stodola
Dr. Jay Barth
JULY 2021
EXEC
Q&A BY MARK CARTER
C
ue the bands. From high schools to college campuses across the Natural State, some semblance of normal — from marching bands at football games to crowded halls and quads — is scheduled to resume when classes commence in August.
Dr. Mike Hernandez
Springdale
Lake Hamilton
Cabot
AAEA’s Mike Hernandez inherits COVID-19, legislative session
O
ne veteran Arkansas educational leader is ready for things to look like they did pre-pandemic. In January, Dr. Mike Hernandez assumed the role of executive director for the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA), an advocacy group for administrators in state school districts. All while COVID-19 raged and the Arkansas legislature prepared to embark on a new session. Needless to say, Hernandez hit the ground running. He previously served in various executive roles with the Arkansas Department of Education and is a former principal at Western Yell County High School in Havana and superintendent for the Hot Springs and Danville school districts. Hernandez recently visited with AMP J U LY 2 02 1
about his first few months on the job and what the state education landscape looks like post-pandemic. AMP: When you stepped into this new role with AAEA, there was a lot going on. What was first on your agenda? Hernandez: The first thing on my agenda was to get through a rather extraordinary legislative session. COVID-19 limited the face-to-face interaction between us and policymakers. It also limited face-to-face interaction with our members. I believe we were successful in keeping our members engaged and informed of pending legislative issues and advocating with legislators in a meaningful way. Now that the session has recessed, the 30
organization will continue its primary mission of growing leaders through professional development leading to highquality education for students. Our summers are spent providing training throughout the state for our various constituent groups, including finance training, leadership development, school facilities training and a host of other topics. AMP: Overall, how did school leaders in Arkansas navigate COVID? Hernandez: I thought our school leaders, teachers, school support staff, state leaders, parents and students did an outstanding job in dealing with COVID-19. As I speak to my colleagues around the country, we seem to be miles ahead of schools that have just started to open up to ARMON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM
on-site instruction. From the minute the announcement was made to move to online instruction, school leaders began collaborating with teachers to stand up a virtual education system. I cannot say enough about the Arkansas Department of Education’s role in providing guidance and support to schools during this time. The classroom teachers had a heavy lift to ensure that students could have access to learning, whether on-site or virtual. My kids were quarantined but continued to receive support from their teachers while learning from home. I am proud of the team effort that Arkansans took to keep the education flowing in our state. There were some bumps along the way, but vital educational stakeholders rose to the occasion. AMP: What is the most important thing school administrators can take away from this past unprecedented year?
Hernandez: To communicate and collaborate with numerous stakeholders. I feel like school leaders did some of the best community engagement that has been done in quite some time. During the past year and a half, it became necessary to ensure that students’ needs were met and parents were supported while at home. I heard countless stories about schools working with community partners to provide internet, deliver meals, tutoring efforts and many other supports. At AAEA, we alone hosted over 400 Zoom calls this year to aid in the communication and collaboration process between school administrators to ensure that they had a solid network to lean on during the pandemic and get the resources they needed on time. I think this type of engagement by schools and parents should be continued after the pandemic is over. AMP: What challenges can school administrators expect to face in a postpandemic landscape?
Hernandez: When the latest round of assessment data comes back, it may show some drops in overall student achievement. I think this will be a challenge for our schools as a whole. However, efforts across our state to promote professional learning communities (PLCs) will be considerable support to mitigate these learning losses. I have seen many school leaders on fire for building collaborative teams that look at each child and ensure that they are getting equity in their schools. Are we there yet? No, but we are making strides in Arkansas. Another issue will be responding to enrollment changes. We have seen drastic drops this year, especially in the early grades. Hopefully, these students will return in the fall of 2021, but above-average enrollment numbers in the early grade levels will strain schools to respond. However, I am sure schools would love to see all the extra smiling faces back next year.
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JULY 2021
FUTURE 50
STAY THE
Kristi Crum took over as CEO of Rock Dental Brands on July 1. ARM O NEYA ND P O L I T I C S .COM
M A R C H 2020
FUTURE FIFTY
COURSE
ALLTEL ALUM, VERIZON VET KRISTI CRUM PLANS TO KEEP GROWING AT ROCK DENTAL BY MARK CARTER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMISON MOSLEY
risti Crum’s short tenure at Rock Dental Brands in Little Rock hasn’t been quiet. Roughly a year after she was recruited to the firm as chief operating officer, COVID-19 made land and changed everything. And then in June of this year, Crum was announced as the company’s new CEO effective July 1, taking over for Rock Dental co-founder Merritt Dake, with whom she worked to navigate the firm through the pandemic. Dake, who co-founded the dental practice management firm with his father, Dr. Mark Dake, will remain on the board and serve as a strategic advisor. Mark Dake remains on staff as chief dental officer. But the Rock Dental ship is Crum’s to captain now. It’s a natural transition for Crum and represents her first chief executive gig after a successful career as a member of executive leadership teams. She’s a 16-year veteran of Alltel and Verizon who held multiple executive positions with both telecommunications companies and even helped lay the groundwork for two Verizon patents. The role with Verizon took Crum from her native Arkansas to the company’s corporate headquarters in Basking Ridge, N.J., just outside New York. But the call of home was strong, and the Hendrix College graduate returned to Arkansas in 2018 as chief operating officer for Charles Morgan’s tech startupturned-success story, First Orion. Now at Rock Dental’s helm, Crum is determined to continue the firm’s impressive pre-pandemic growth. Launched in 2016, Rock Dental now encompasses four brands — Rock Family Dental, Impact Oral Surgery, Leap Kids Pediatric Dental and Westrock Orthodontics — employing more than
ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM
600 across 85 offices in Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri. Crum’s first missive upon sliding over to the CEO chair on July 1? Stay the course. “Rock Dental Brands is in a very strong position and will continue to grow its multispecialty footprint to deliver on our mission to create access to quality oral health care,” she told Arkansas Money & Politics. “You will not see sweeping changes, but you will continue to see investment, evolution and innovation in our patient experiences and our people.” Rock Dental’s model is familiar ground in the medical practice industry but relatively new to dental. It consolidates and manages every aspect of a dental practice, comprehensive administrative support such as billing, human resources, IT, compliance and much more. Everything but the actual treatment. Krum described Rock Dental’s services, modestly, as robust. “Where Rock Dental Brands differentiates is our focus on compliance and quality,” she said. “We administer the most comprehensive peerreview program where affiliated doctors share, discuss and evaluate each other’s clinical performance. Our goal is to have the most advanced systems for tracking and measuring quality as we continue to evolve the patient experience. This collaborative approach to treatment creates innovation in care and leads the way in our mission to create greater access and outcomes in the communities we serve.” Crum worked closely with Dake to map out a strategy once COVID hit. They accounted not just for short-term survival but planned for long-term growth.
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JULY 2021
FUTURE 50
Crum believes good leaders inspire and then “get out of the way.”
“Our industry, like most, was rocked by the events of 2020,” Crum said. “We decided on the front end to take a leadership stance. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were all in unfamiliar territory as we waited for government agencies to provide direction. We knew there was too much risk in waiting, so we made the bold decision to shut down our clinics to protect our employees.” Crum and the leadership team used this time to open emergency dental clinics offering dental services regardless of ability to pay with a goal of keep-
J U LY 2 02 1
ing dental emergencies out of overburdened emergency rooms. She said opening the emergency clinics helped prepare Rock Dental for operating a business during a shutdown. “We also leveraged the time to reframe our business and build new capabilities. When we were able to safely bring our staff back, our business was stronger and better than before the pandemic. A special thank-you to our team who worked countless hours to reimagine and rebuild a stronger Rock Dental Brands.”
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Crum spent almost four years at Verizon corporate in New Jersey, leading, in turn, its channel and distribution strategy, consumer wireless products and finally, content operations. This, after multiple years of other leadership roles at Alltel and then Verizon. And during her 15 months at First Orion in 2018 and 2019, the company planned and began construction on its new corporate headquarters anchoring Argenta Plaza in downtown North Little Rock. Crum is ready for her turn in the captain’s chair. Her experience has prepared her to lead, beginning with her time at Alltel, Joe Ford’s homegrown telecom firm that grew into one of the nation’s top wireless carriers before its sale to Verizon for $28.1 billion in 2008. Many Arkansas business leaders got their start with Ford at Alltel and laud the company for its outstanding culture. Crum got her start at Alltel in 2001. She wants to model the Rock Dental corporate culture on her experiences at Alltel and Verizon, and even jokes that Alltel still has a cult following among former employees. “The traits I learned there around humble leadership — passion for exceeding customer expectations and accountability — prepared me for my next chapters at Verizon, where they had a strong you-touch-it-you-own-it mentality, and there was no room for lazy leadership,” she said. “The sentence that all Verizon team members are engrained with is, ‘We know our best was good for today — tomorrow, we’ll do better.’ It is a high-performance environment that encourages you to continuously evolve, and that has served me well over the years.” A strong corporate culture is an “obsessive focus” at Rock Dental, Krum said. “We have a mission to improve the communities we serve, as well as maintain the family feel each and every day.” Krum credited others whose influence helped place her in a position to go from executive leadership role to executive leader, period. “I need to write a book on that topic alone,” she said. “A good reminder — you may be doing something small for someone, but for that person, it may
be life-changing. I would be amiss if I did not recognize Merritt Dake, who patiently taught me this industry, as well as showed all of us at Rock Dental Brands the importance of not thinking incrementally, but making big bets. After all, he made a big bet by hiring me and now entrusting me with Rock Dental Brand’s next chapter. “I would also thank [former Verizon EVP] Marni Walden who does not talk about the need for more diversity in the workforce, she actually does something about it. She has helped countless numbers of women I know. She modeled great and expected the best. When I was interviewing for the region president role at Verizon, I received an email from her in the middle of the night making recommendations on how to prepare for the interview. The EVP of a Fortune 15 company has many demands on their shoulders, and her willingness to stay up late and assist me will never be forgotten. She is fearless and a force for women. “Last is a lesson in being a great colleague. Allisa Van Volkom approached me on my first day in a new role at Verizon and said, ‘You don’t know me yet, but we will be best friends.’ She took me under her wing and invested countless hours helping me. Many people devote time to managing up and miss the opportunity to create a strong peer network.” The growth trajectory of Rock Dental Brands may have flown under the radar for many Arkansans. But the firm is an emerging player on the Arkansas business scene. Chances are, many Arkansans drive by a Rock Dental clinic every day. Readers of Arkansas Money & Politics recognized Crum’s legacy of leadership, though, voting her to AMP’s second Future 50 list, which recognizes Arkansans poised to make a difference in their fields. Simply put, Crum wants her Rock Dental team to keep doing its thing. “Leadership is not a title. In fact, the best leaders don’t need a title at all to lead,” she said. “Great leaders inspire, demand, develop and unleash the best, and then they get out of the way. You will be amazed at what you will get in return.”
GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE, DEMAND, DEVELOP AND UNLEASH THE BEST, AND THEN THEY GET OUT OF THE WAY. YOU WILL BE AMAZED AT WHAT YOU WILL GET IN RETURN.
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JULY 2021
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JULY 2021
FUTURE 50
DIGEST
Arkansas Money & Politics is proud to showcase its Future 50 for 2021. 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, Rock Dental Brands CEO Kristi Crum, this year’s Future 50 installment 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.
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JORDON ADDISON Stone Creek Solar/ Universal Power, Little Rock Jordon Addison is director of marketing and sales for Stone Creek Solar and Universal Power, both renewable energy companies based in northeast Arkansas. Addison oversees all communications, promotional efforts, media relations, trade association management, event planning, marketing and sales strategies for both companies. Previously, she worked in marketing for several industries including corporate retail, health care, agriculture and finance for companies such as Dillard’s (at its corporate headquarters), Stone Ward and Rabo AgriFinance. She also owns Rosemary Way Creative, a fine art and graphic design studio for commissioned artwork and freelance graphic design.
LAUREN BLANCO Markham & Fitz, Bentonville Lauren Blanco is the co-founder and CEO of Markham & Fitz, a small-batch chocolate manufacturing business and dessert bar in Bentonville. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, and before founding the chocolate company in her early 20s, Blanco spent five years working in grassroots economic development in war-torn countries, where she witnessed business as a force of good and encountered her first cacao farm. Driven to make a positive difference in the cacao supply chain, she leads the company to achieve higher environmental and social impact goals, while receiving national recognition for her products in Oprah Magazine and on The Today Show.
AUSTIN BOOTH Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock At 34 years of age, Booth is the youngest director chosen to lead the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The former United States Marine Corps captain most recently served as chief of staff and chief financial officer for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. Born in Little Rock and raised in Scott, Booth received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina and served his country in many capacities from 2011-2019, including a 2015-16 deployment to Afghanistan. His passion for promoting “common man and common woman conservation” promises to increase the AGFC’s efforts to recruit, retain and reactivate the next generation of Arkansas’ outdoors enthusiasts.
ANDREW BRANCH Northwest Arkansas National Airport, Bentonville Andrew Branch joined Northwest Arkansas National Airport in 2019 as chief business development officer after working for the state of Arkansas in a variety of roles. Branch previously served as CFO for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, vice president of housing for the Arkansas Development Finance Authority and director of finance for the Arkansas Department of Human Services. An attorney, Branch also worked as an accountant, project manager and account manager for Caterpillar Global Mining. He received a degree in accounting from LeTourneau University, an MBA from Texas A&M University and his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
DAVID BREWER Wilson Real Estate Auctioneers, Hot Springs Before being named president earlier this year, David Brewer did it all for Wilson Real Estate Auctioneers. A licensed broker and auctioneer since 2011, Brewer served as the firm’s vice president of operations, and prior to that, was responsible for implementing several new systems and technologies, including a new auction-day clerking, inventory and customer system. Brewer has sold farms, ranches, cropland, estates, lake properties and commercial properties in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Prior to joining Wilson, he was a field industrial engineer for Sears Holdings, responsible for systems integration and work-methods development for the western U.S. distribution centers. He also interned for Walmart’s industrial engineer department.
LUKE BROWN Crews and Associates, Little Rock Luke Brown joined Crews and Associates in 2010 as an analyst for the public finance group and was later named a senior analyst for the group. He currently leads a team of 15 analysts and developers. His team supports Crews’ public finance division in municipal bond underwriting, assists sales brokers and traders in secondary market transactions, and it provides companywide reporting and analysis. Brown has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Central Arkansas along with a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Oklahoma.
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FUTURE 50 KRISTI CRUM Rock Dental Brands, Little Rock As CEO of Rock Dental Brands, Kristi Crum leads more than 600 employees and 85 affiliate dental clinics across Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. Prior to joining Rock Dental Brands in 2019, Crum spent 17 years successfully climbing the ranks at Verizon, the largest telecom company in the United States, ultimately holding numerous executive-level positions, including region president and vice president of marketing and distribution strategy. Crum is a North Little Rock native and earned a bachelor’s in biology from Hendrix College in Conway.
TAYLOR DENNISTON Fort Thompson Sporting Goods, Sherwood Taylor Denniston joined Sherwood’s venerable Fort Thompson Sporting Goods as vice president in 2014 and has helped the company maintain its status as one of Arkansas’ premier outlets for firearms and outdoors sporting equipment. Under his leadership, the company launched its own line of clothing and gear. Prior to joining the Fort Thompson team, Denniston was a regional sales manager in Central Arkansas for Sig Sauer. He received his BBA in finance from the University of Arkansas Walton Business College in 2010 and his MBA from UA Little Rock in 2011.
MIHIR DESAI Welspun Tubular, Little Rock Mihir Desai is the director of supply chain management at Welspun Tubular, where he manages the company’s logistics, procurement, planning and contract management and inventory management. Known for his versatility in project management, Desai is a team builder who believes leadership succeeds when
CONNOR DONOVAN Me Mentor, Little Rock Connor Donovan graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 2013, earned his BBA in international business and Chinese from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as the university’s “Top Graduating Senior” in 2017, and then went on to earn his MPS from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in 2019. He has worked on various international relations, education and business development projects in Arkansas, France and China. Connor is the founder and CEO of the social enterprise startup, Me Mentor, which provides an online platform where students and young adults can connect with mentors for education and career support.
COREY DUNN Ducks Unlimited, Little Rock Corey Dunn, a native Arkansan and alumni of Southern Arkansas University, developed a passion for the outdoors at an early age that led to a 16-year career in conservation. As director of development for DU in Arkansas, Dunn aligns donors with projects that benefit wildlife, habitat, and people. Partnering with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and AGFC Foundation to restore quality habitat on public greentree reservoirs has been a primary focus for Dunn. Driven by the collaboration of Corey, his co-workers, volunteers and supporters, Arkansas Ducks Unlimited is recognized nationally as a leader in wetlands conservation.
STEPHANIE FERRARA Empowered Creativity, Little Rock Stephanie Ferrara is a business coach and the host of the streamed The Empowered Creativity Show. As a Christ-centered business coach, she helps women entrepreneurs in the early stages of their coaching practice who are feeling stuck, frustrated and overwhelmed with lack of business growth. She helps them develop strong foundations for a healthy, thriving, God-driven business as they create group-coaching programs and online courses. Empowered Creativity Inc. exists to empower women to break through barriers so they can achieve success in life and business. Ferrara is also a certified project management professional who spent the last 20 years in the financial services industry as a business analyst and project/program manager.
a team is motivated. Desai’s leadership has helped Welspun earn a reputation for delivering a product before time and above quality. He supports the Harmony Health Clinic, which serves the health needs of the underserved in Arkansas, and is serving as vice chair of Arkansas District Export Council. Desai holds a mechanical engineering degree from Bhavnagar University and a master’s degree from Syracuse University.
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REBEKAH FINCHER Conway Regional Health System As chief administrative officer, Rebekah Fincher is responsible for strategy, growth and business development for Conway Regional Health System. Since Fincher was named CAO, Conway Regional has seen a net-revenue increase of roughly 60 percent. Fincher also recruited more than 45 physicians to the hospital and initiated residency programs that created 33 residency slots. In her role, Rebekah provides executive oversight of the organization’s physician enterprise including 21 clinic sites, medical staff affairs, physician relations and recruitment, corporate health services and marketing and public relations. Fincher received her undergraduate degrees in political science and public relations from the University of Central Arkansas and holds a master’s degree from University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
RYAN FLYNN Network Services Group, North Little Rock Ryan Flynn was named president of Network Services Group in late 2013. Network Services Group provides IT support and voice-over IP telephony solutions for many businesses across the state. Under his leadership, NSG has grown from 11 employees and a single location in North Little Rock to 65 employees and three locations in Arkansas. Flynn also has served in many civic and volunteer roles including former president of the Cabot Rotary Club, two terms on the city council of Cabot, on the Cabot Parks and Recreation Commission and on the Lonoke County Election Commission.
NICK GRIFFIN ArcBest, Fort Smith Nick is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer and worked as a consulting engineer for 12 years prior to joining ArcBest in 2016. The largest project he managed as a consultant was the Lake Fort Smith 48” water transmission line. At ArcBest, Nick applies his skills and experience to help manage the ArcBest real estate portfolio of more than 250 freight dock, warehouse and general office facilities across the United States and Canada. He also serves on the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee, bringing a unique perspective to the team. Nick holds an MBA from Harding University and is an alumnus of the 2018-2019 ArcBest Leadership Academy.
DAVID HALL Goff Group, Hot Springs Born and raised in Hot Springs, David Hall is the principal broker for Goff Group. Hall graduated from the University of Arkansas and worked in the corporate world for Walmart, but his hometown roots led him to a career in Hot Springs real estate. The move allowed him to directly impact his community. Hall’s passion for real estate is evident in the work that he does and the relationships he builds with his clients. Hall enjoys getting to connect with clients and making their dreams a reality.
HAZEL HERNANDEZ Experience Fayetteville A California transplant, Hazel Hernandez, moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2013 to accept a convention sales position for the Fayetteville Convention & Visitors Bureau, which has since been rebranded to Experience Fayetteville. Hernandez was charged with Experience Fayetteville’s rebranding — launched in 2017 — and marketing campaign “Find Away.” Since the rebrand, website traffic increased 35 percent in 2019, and Advertising & Promotion tax collections rose to a record of $3.7 million. She was promoted to her current role of director of marketing and communications in 2016. She oversees the marketing team, manages the marketing plan and ad buys and ensures the organization remains on brand.
RORY HERNDON Xpress Boats, Hot Springs Rory Herndon took over the reins of the family business, Xpress Boats, from his father, Rodney, in 2015. The company was founded as Aluma-Weld in 1966 by his granddad, Kermit, and Herndon has grown Xpress Boats and its sister company, Veranda Luxury Pontoons, into one of the state’s big players in the manufacturing sector. In 2019, Herndon opened a new 40,000-squarefoot manufacturing plant for the Veranda line. Herndon, who succeeded his father as company president in 2016, knew he would eventually lead the family business from a young age, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Herndon plans to keep Xpress in the family, handing over the reins to his two young sons one day.
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Conway Regional Health System congratulates our Chief Administrative Officer
REBEKAH FINCHER for being recognized as one of Arkansas Money and Politics’ Future 50. Rebekah is a forward-thinking visionary and a well-deserving Future 50 honoree.
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CONGRATULATIONS,
GABE ROBERTS!
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BUILDER CONGRATULATIONS JOHN STRACK Thank you for building our company, community, and clients’ dream facilities.
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Congratulations to all Future 50 leaders, including our own George Makris, III and Daniel Robinson. As a community bank that’s been dedicated to moving Arkansas forward for the past 118 years, we’re especially honored to have our Executive VP & General Counsel and Regional Community Bank President included in the prestigious Arkansas Money & Politics list of leaders who are poised to shape the future of our great state.
George Makris, III
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CONGRATULATIONS
STEVEN WEBB UNITY HEALTH PRESIDENT / CEO
on being named among the 2021 Arkansas Money & Politics Future 50. An award given to Arkansas business leaders poised to shape the future.
HOSPITALS • CLINICS • SPECIALISTS
Unity-Health.org
ARKANSAS
CONGRATULATIONS ANDREW BRANCH Andrew joined the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority in April 2019 as Chief Business Development Officer after working for the State of Arkansas in a variety of roles including CFO for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, Vice President of Housing at the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, and Director of Finance with the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Northwest Arkansas National Airport Bentonville, Arkansas flyxna.com • 479-205-1000
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FUTURE 50 PARKER HIGGS Entegrity Energy Partners, Little Rock As the regional director of energy services, Parker Higgs plays a fundamental role in the development and execution of energy savings and sustainability contracts for Entegrity Energy Partners. Primarily, his responsibility is to work with Entegrity engineers and facility owners to efficiently guide projects from opportunity to reality. These projects allow clients to fund facility improvements while reducing their environmental impact. Higgs is a licensed Professional Engineer, Certified Energy Manager and graduate of the University of Arkansas College of Engineering, where he received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. Locally, he is involved in many community organizations and is a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock.
ANNA KAY HILBURN The Razorback Foundation, Fayetteville A native of Kennett, Mo., Anna Kay Hilburn is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in higher education. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate career, she was involved in campus activities and with Razorback athletics. Hired by the Razorback Foundation in 2018, Hilburn oversees all parking for the Foundation and manages the seat selection processes for football, men’s basketball and baseball. She oversees the RF Collegiate Board and Young Alumni membership and serves as the sport liaison for women’s basketball and softball. Hilburn says she is passionate about doing all she can to help Razorback student-athletes and coaches succeed.
KANDI HUGHES Southwest Power Pool, Little Rock Kandi Hughes is an attorney at Southwest Power Pool, where she oversees vendor contracts, provides legal support on human resources matters, serves as liaison to state regulators across SPP’s footprint and on groups related to SPP’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Prior to joining SPP, Hughes served as associate general counsel at the University of Central Arkansas and as assistant city attorney for the city of Little Rock. Hughes recently was appointed to a four-year term to the Arkansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and is the immediate past chair of the Central Arkansas Water Board of Commissioners. She is the 2018 recipient of the Irma Hunter Brown Women’s Leadership Award.
KELLI HUNTLEY Mercy Health Northwest Arkansas, Rogers Kelli Huntley serves her community as vice president of finance for Mercy Hospital and Mercy Clinic in Northwest Arkansas. During her time at Mercy, Huntley has helped lead strategic planning for Mercy’s $277 million expansion including the addition of seven clinics around the region and a seven-story tower to Mercy Hospital. Huntley has 15 years of financial management experience spanning manufacturing, nonprofit ministry and health care. She earned an accounting degree from the University of Arkansas and an MBA from Texas A&M University.
WES HYMER LTD Connect/TracTru, Little Rock Wes Hymer is the president and principal at LTD Connect and TracTru in Little Rock. He is a leader in tech and innovation in the automotive and agriculture marketing spaces. Hymer increased his digital footprint in 2019 by starting both LTD Connect and TracTru, and he oversees all sales and operations for both companies. He is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia and has served as a musician at Fellowship Bible Church for more than a decade.
DR. JOHN JAYROE Little Rock Family Practice Clinic Dr. John Jayroe launched his family medicine practice at Little Rock Family Practice Clinic after completing his residency in 2019 at the University of Missouri. He earned his medical degree, as well as a master’s in physiology, from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2016, and his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Central Arkansas. Jayroe is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Pulaski County Medical Society.
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THOMAS KNIGHT Sowell Management, North Little Rock After graduating from the University of Texas in 2004 with a degree in economics and philosophy, it didn’t take Thomas Knight, CFP®, long to hop the fast track. He joined NFP Securities in Austin as a newly minted college graduate, and within six years had risen from financial planning analyst to assistant vice president for recruiting. In 2012, he began his journey to Little Rock, where he continued to fine-tune his craft and rose quickly in several Arkansas wealth management firms, serving as vice president for strategic growth and as well as COO. In 2017, Knight joined Sowell Management, overseeing its strategic data and technology initiatives. As managing director of data and technology, Knight is responsible for all of Sowell’s data, technology and automation strategies.
CARA LANK Stone Bank, Little Rock Cara Lank was born in Louisiana but has spent most of her life in Arkansas. She is a graduate of Newport Public Schools, Harding University and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado in Boulder. As senior vice president and chief credit officer, Lank oversees all aspects of credit and lending for
Stone Bank. She began her 21-year banking career as a safety and soundness examiner and later as a financial analyst with the Arkansas State Bank Department. Lank has been essential to Stone Bank’s rise as a regional powerhouse in the government guaranteed lending area.
GEORGE MAKRIS III Simmons First National Corp./ Simmons Bank, Little Rock George Makris III joined his father at Simmons in 2015 and now serves as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for the Pine Bluff-based bank and its holding company. Before ascending to his current position, he served as senior vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary. Before joining Simmons, he was an attorney in private practice and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Makris received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York, his juris doctor from Vanderbilt and his master of laws from Georgetown.
JOHN MARTIN Newmark Moses Tucker, Little Rock John Martin, CCIM, is a principal and vice president of brokerage with Newmark Moses Tucker Partners. Martin is responsible for oversight of the firm’s brokerage activities and currently serves as the project leasing agent for more than 1 million square feet of office space. Martin has 19 years of commercial brokerage experience and has worked at Moses Tucker Real Estate for 16 years. He focuses primarily on landlord and tenant representation and has closed more than $250 million in lease and sale transactions. He has been responsible for more than 4.2 million square feet in transactions in Arkansas and has represented Fortune 500 companies. Martin currently serves as the real estate advisor for two nonprofits and a charter school.
SAM MAY Travel Nurses Across America, North Little Rock A Greenbrier native and University of Central Arkansas graduate, Sam May has established a notable career in social media marketing by connecting people online. May turned a tragic childhood experience into an opportunity to share and teach safe online practices. Her experience includes overseeing online profiles for nonprofits, TV personalities and national brands, and traveling the country as a speaker to educate audiences on the potential dangers of social media. As social media creative manager at Travel Nurses Across America, May works to create results-driven social media strategies through relatable content, relevant conversations and engaging graphics.
KEVIN MCCOLLUM Flake & Company, Little Rock Kevin McCollum is the senior property manager and a licensed agent for Flake & Company. His primary focus is commercial property management and leasing. McCollum is a native of Little Rock and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a degree in marketing. Prior to joining Flake & Company, he managed more than 925,000 square feet with a mixed use of retail, office and medical for the firm previously known as Flake & Kelley Commercial. He has managed and negotiated leases for tenants such as Regal Cinemas, AT&T, GNC, UAMS, MedExpress and Tropical Smoothie.
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FUTURE 50 DIANA MCDANIEL Arkansas Children’s Northwest, Springdale Diana McDaniel, MPA, FACMPE, is board-certified as a Fellow of the American College of Medical Practice Executives, and currently is serving as vice president of Arkansas Children’s Northwest. She is responsible for oversight of the facility, business operations and an-
CASEY MIKULA Apptegy, Little Rock Fort Smith native Casey Mikula found a home at Apptegy, which builds mobile apps and websites for schools. After graduating with distinguished honors from the University of Central Arkansas in 2012 with a degree in economics and international trade, and then earning his MBA from Auburn University the following year, he worked with a nursing home community in China. Mikula was a graduate research assistant at Auburn and a consultant for a software firm in California before returning home to Arkansas to work as director of sales for Apptegy. He was promoted to chief sales officer in 2018.
JEREMIAH MOORE Wellons Real Estate, Clarendon Jeremiah Moore is a resident of Clarendon and works as a land real-estate agent and consultant with Wellons Real Estate. Coming from a Monroe County farm family dating back to the 1850s, Moore’s personal and professional experience has led him to help clients buy and sell millions of dollars in land transactions annually and oversee multiple agricultural and recreational development projects in the Arkansas Delta. He also serves as a commissioner on the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, is a member of the board of trustees for the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas and is an active member in the Stuttgart Rotary Club.
NICK MORGAN Marco’s Pizza/Jersey Mike’s franchises, Northwest Arkansas Nick Morgan owns and operates three Marco’s Pizza and three Jersey Mike’s restaurants in the Northwest Arkansas region, employing 90 people at six locations. He spurred the fast-paced growth of his company by partnering strategic financial planning with a people focused approach that values personal growth over profit at all costs. He holds an MBA from John Brown University, a BBA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an associate degree from UAPulaski Technical College. Morgan serves as a board member for Junior Achievement of Northwest Arkansas.
EDWIN ORTIZ Luncher/Rejoicy, Little Rock Born in Mexico City but an Arkansan at heart, Edwin Ortiz started working in the family’s small public-transport business at age 12, where he pioneered a process that increased efficiencies and cut costs by streamlining trips. Ortiz is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s Idaho campus and has worked with several Fortune 500 companies in eight countries in the areas of supply chain, technology and retail. These experiences led Ortiz to start his own companies, Luncher and then Rejoicy, after recognizing that technology and efficiency allow goods and services to be democratized and benefit both businesses and their customers.
MATT PAULUS USAble Life, Little Rock Matt Paulus leads the marketing efforts of USAble Life’s dental insurance business, which serves more than 1 million members across three states — Arkansas, Florida and Hawaii. He works closely with USAble Life’s health plan partners to create and implement joint marketing strategies and campaigns that promote Blue Cross Blue Shield-branded dental plans. Before joining USAble Life, Paulus was a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, and he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. A Little Rock native, Paulus attended Vanderbilt University, where he majored in history, and he earned an MBA at New York University.
cillary services. McDaniel recently served as president of the Arkansas Medical Group Management Association, and is currently serving as vice chair of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. McDaniel’s leadership focuses on growing young leaders, inspiring health care careers and health care workforce development. She attended the University of Arkansas and obtained MPA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
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ANGEL WARREN, L.C.S.W. The BridgeWay, North Little Rock As director of utilization review education at The BridgeWay, a mental health hospital and drug addiction treatment center in North Little Rock, Angel Warren, L.C.S.W., works with insurance companies to ensure that patients receive the appropriate level of care. Angel is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and joined The BridgeWay in 2019.
ANTWAN PHILLIPS Wright Lindsey Jennings, Little Rock An attorney with the Wright Lindsey Jennings firm, Antwan Phillips is an alumnus of the Arkansas Commitment program and is the past board president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas. He is also president of the Public Education Foundation of Little Rock and a member of the Little Rock Area Public Education Stakeholders Group, as appointed by the state board of education. Phillips previously served as an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law, where he taught a course on sports law. In 2020, Phillips was elected as a city director for the city of Little Rock. As an at-large member of the city board, Phillips represents constituents across the entire city.
GABE W. ROBERTS First Community Bank, Jonesboro A Jonesboro native, Gabe Roberts always knew he wanted to pursue a banking career. He accepted his first banking job in Paragould while pursuing his degree from Arkansas State in 2012. During his senior year, he took an internship in the loan department which led to his being hired as loan officer after graduation in 2014. In 2016, Roberts joined First Community Bank, a move he called a “perfect fit.” He is now the bank’s Vice President Loan Officer. Roberts was a member of Leadership Jonesboro 2017 and graduated from Barret Graduate School of Banking in Memphis earlier this year. Roberts currently serves on numerous local boards including two committees for the city of Jonesboro and the advisory board for Jonesboro High School.
DANIEL ROBINSON Simmons Bank, Pine Bluff Daniel Robinson serves as regional community president for Simmons Bank’s South-Central Arkansas region, leading the company’s Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and Saline County communities. He previously served as Simmons Bank’s Pine Bluff community president, overseeing strategy, operations and client relationships for Simmons’ market headquarters. A University of Arkansas alumnus, Robinson serves as a board member for United Way of Southeast Arkansas (where he was campaign chair in fall 2019), Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Pine Bluff Downtown Development and Southeast Arkansas College Foundation. Robinson also serves on Jefferson County Hospital’s Board of Governors.
BRANDON STAFFORD Lile Real Estate, Little Rock Brandon Stafford came to work for Lile Real Estate in the spring of 2004 and quickly made a name for himself originating and selling agriculture, recreational and timberland properties. Stafford holds a degree in marketing from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and is no stranger to the rural real-estate business. He grew up on a farm that has been in his family for more than 162 years with the original deed dating back to July 1, 1859. In the fall of 2006, Stafford purchased his first farm. This initial purchase led to multiple transactions with his personal land-ownership portfolio consisting of row crop farmland, timberland and lands enrolled in conservation programs.
JEN SNOW Winrock International, Little Rock Jen Snow has more than two decades of experience in management and leadership roles, including 17 years at Winrock in both the New Business Services Unit and the Agriculture & Volunteer Programs team. Snow oversees more than $80 million in projects in Asia and Africa – including the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, which engages experts from Arkansas and other states to share their expertise as volunteers on enriching short-term assignments worldwide. Snow is passionate about helping farmers, women and youth adopt sustainable, innovative practices to improve their livelihoods through knowledge exchange, improved access to education and training and market systems development.
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THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING When you buy a hunting and
ARKANSAS GAME
AND
FISH COMMISSION
Licenses and Permits
fishing license, you are giving the gift of the great outdoors. Hunting and fishing licenses fund conservation, so that wildlife and wild places are available for everyone to enjoy.
Bo Archer CID: #000-000-001 HE Verified DOB: 05/24/1972
BUY A GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR A HUNTING OR FISHING LICENSE AT AGFC.COM
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C.C.Jones
Celebrating
TRUCKING
75 YEARS
CONGRATULATIONS
GABE!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE AND COMMITMENT TO THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF C.C. JONES TRUCKING
ccjonestrucking.com Post Office Box 714 • North Little Rock, Arkansas 72115 • (501) 945-4516
Congratulations
Xpress Boats and Veranda Luxury Pontoons congratulate our very own Rory Herndon on his selection to the Arkansas Money & Politics Future 50.
RORY HERNDON
PRESIDENT
xpressboats.com
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FUTURE 50 GABE STEPHENS C.C. Jones Trucking, North Little Rock Gabe Stephens graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in transportation. He immediately went to work for C.C. Jones Trucking, founded by his grandfather, and worked in different departments filling in as needed. When a dispatcher had emergency surgery, he was moved to dispatch and was hooked. In January 1996, he bought out his mother’s business partner, bringing the company back to 100 percent family ownership. His grandfather, C.C. “Shorty” Jones, lived long enough to see his daughter and grandson run the business that he had spent his life building. Stephens serves on the boards of the Arkansas Trucking Association, the North Little Rock Wastewater Commission, the NLR Wildcat Foundation and NLR Young Life.
BENTLEY STORY AEDC, Little Rock Bentley Story is the director of the Business Development Division for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). A native of Forrest City, Story began working at AEDC in 2007 as a project manager working with companies such as Hewlett-Packard (now DXC), Dillard’s and Windstream. In 2012, he was promoted to division director, where he oversaw the work of a professional team of project managers and international representatives. Under Story’s leadership, the Business Development Division has seen immense success with an increase in in-state jobs and the expansion of companies into Arkansas. Story is a graduate of the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas with a degree in business administration and an MBA.
JOHN STRACK Nabholz Construction, Fayetteville In the almost 20 years John Strack has worked for Conway-based Nabholz Construction, he has worked his way up the ladder from project manager to senior project manager to project executive. Based in Nabholz’s Northwest Arkansas office, Strack has been involved with some of the state’s most prominent construction projects including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville, the ArcBest corporate headquarters in Fort Smith and the Stadium Drive residence halls on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Strack graduated from UA Little Rock in 2003 with a degree in construction management.
CRANDALL STREETT Signature Bank, Fayetteville Crandall Streett is the executive vice president and loan manager for Signature Bank of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She was born and raised in Yellville and attended the University of Central Arkansas, where she graduated with honors. Streett joined Signature Bank in 2007 and worked her way through the Loan Operations and Risk Management departments before becoming a lender. She currently manages the largest lending team at Signature’s flagship branch in Fayetteville while simultaneously carrying one of the bank’s largest loan portfolios, comprising of one third of total branch lending activity.
LEE STROTHER Colliers Arkansas, Little Rock A principal and vice president of brokerage in the Little Rock office of Colliers Arkansas, Lee Strother is active in retail, industrial, office and investment brokerage. He also handles consulting assignments for individual and corporate clients. A former banker, Strother coordinates with local and regional banking institutions for financing a large volume of investment properties. After receiving his BBA in finance with a concentration in commercial banking from the University of Arkansas, he joined Signature Bank in Northwest Arkansas in a lending capacity. In early 2008, Strother joined Colliers’ brokerage staff. He was named principal in 2015. Strother is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
MARY-TIPTON THALHEIMER Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull, Little Rock Mary-Tipton Thalheimer, an associate with the Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull firm, practices law in the areas of debtor and creditor rights and bankruptcy. She earned a degree in business administration from Washington & Lee University in 2007 and her J.D., with high honors, from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law in 2011. While attending Bowen, Thalheimer served as an assistant editor for the Law Review. After obtaining her law degree, she attended St. John’s University, where she earned an LL.M. in bankruptcy and served on the Duberstein Moot Court Planning Committee.
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STEVEN WEBB Unity Health, Searcy After more than 11 years of experience in health-care administration, Webb joined Unity Health as president and chief executive officer in 2018. In this role, Webb drives Unity’s mission to improve the quality of health and well-being for the communities Unity Health serves through compassionate care. Under his leadership, Unity Health has grown into additional counties and now has four hospital locations and 47 total locations in an eight-county area in north-central Arkansas. Webb is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).
CHAD YOUNG WDD Architects, Little Rock Chad Young of WDD Architects is the sixth president in the firm’s 102-year history. During his tenure with the firm, he has served as designer for signature projects including Arkansas Heart Hospital: Encore, Bryant; ATA World Headquarters, Little Rock; First National Bank, Jonesboro; Ronald McDonald House, Little Rock; and Mid-America Science Museum, Hot Springs. A graduate of the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, he is a member of the American Institute of Architects and U.S. Green Building Council LEED Accredited Professional. He is a member of the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design Dean’s Circle, Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council and Cabot Panther Foundation. J U LY 2 02 1
Congratulations, Kristi Crum! Everyone at Rock Dental Brands congratulates Kristi Crum, our chief executive officer, for her well-deserved recognition among the Future 50 who shape our state. We are proud to have your leadership.
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JULY 2021
2020 Forty Under 40
Hazel Hernandez VP of Marketing and Communications Congratulations from your Experience Fayetteville work family on this well-deserved honor. Experience Fayetteville.com J U LY 2 02 1
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JULY 2021
HEALTH CARE
WHATEVER IT TAKES From blue foam fingers to big screen TVs, LR firm emphasizing men’s health awareness
By Dwain Hebda
Arkansas Urology opened the Arkansas Prostate Cancer to give in-state patients another local option for treatment. (Photos provided)
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very autumn, Arkansas Urology hosts its Kickoff to Men’s Health promotion to coincide with National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The premise of the event is simple — get men to take more ownership over prostate health as a way to head off prostate cancer. The process of achieving that goal, however, is anything but easy, which is why the Little Rock-based health care provider resorts to myriad gimmicks to lure men in. Giving away big screen TVs is one, messaging appealing to a man’s mate is another. And then there are CEO Scot Davis’ personal favorites, the marketing tactics straight out of the male
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mind that have included handing each fella who attends a blue foam finger. “Our marketing team wasn’t initially real crazy about this one blue foam finger, but it was funny,” Davis said. “Give prostate cancer the finger! “We make a lot of fun of the exam, and I think that helps. There’s a great, what’s that series? Family Guy. There’s a great little skit there where he goes to get a prostate exam, and it is hilarious. Every now and then, I have to show that to our doctors and our team. Don’t take everything so seriously.” Davis will do just about anything to get men over their discomfort with a digital rectal exam, the method for detecting
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prostate abnormalities. Knowing his audience and knowing what’s at stake, he’ll take a little implied crudity in the name of saving lives. “I think that kind of messaging around it is not that big of a deal,” he said in between chuckles. “The key thing is we are finding guys who have early prostate cancer with these screenings. We’ve been doing them for 16 years, and we will find either an abnormal PSA or an abnormal DRE 10 percent of the time. “With prostate cancer, if we catch it early, it’s almost a 99 percent cure rate. Once you become metastatic, you have about five years or less to live. So, to us, the number of screenings is some-
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what important, just because we want to have an impact. But the reality is, if we found one guy with prostate cancer, we feel like we’ve done something very, very important.” But for Arkansas Urology, men’s health issues in Arkansas would likely be far more muted than they are now, to say nothing of how many men (and women) might go wanting for treatment of urological issues of the bladder, prostate and in areas of sexual health. Through its 14 clinics statewide, the company sees about 110,000 patients a year, performs 10,000 procedures annually and has grown to $60 million in revenue in the process. All of which is double that of just eight years ago. More than that, the company has helped bring specialized medical expertise closer than ever to Arkansas residents wherever they may live. Arkansas Urology employs 19 physicians, 17 physician extenders and 300 clinical and business staff systemwide. “We’ve created this vision of being within a 45-minute drive of anybody who wants access to an Arkansas Urology physician or Arkansas Urology technology,” Davis said. “When we look at the state, we look at the heat maps and say, ‘Where are the people? Where are we going to have the most impact taking care of people?’ And that is exactly what we’ve done.” Expansion has come by way of building new practices from the ground up, replacing urologists who are retiring or inviting current practitioners to join the fold. Attracting sufficient medical expertise is one of the hardest things to do, especially in rural health care, and one
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Arkansas Urology CEO Scot Davis (center) during a pre-COVID appearance on The Buzz 103.7’s morning show with (from left) David Bazzel, Roger Scott, Joe Kleine and Tommy Smith.
of the key accomplishments of the company’s rapid growth. “In this state, we don’t have enough urologists. The average age of urologists in Arkansas is over 55 years old,” Davis said. “We got ahead of that. We’ve hired a lot of younger physicians, just out of training, so the average age of our physicians here is probably 47. And that’s including some of our older physicians, so we’ve got a whole crop of younger doctors who are below 40 right now, just starting their careers.”
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Like nearly all health care providers, the company has spent the better part of 2021 running to stay ahead of patients who had put off exams and treatment out of fear of COVID-19 last year. Davis said this has not only taxed the company’s manpower and resources, but it likely endangered many men unnecessarily as well. “‘Too busy’ is always better than ‘not busy,’ but the unfortunate side effect of ‘too busy’ is patients wait to get in to see us, and they generally have to wait longer
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HEALTH CARE
“We have the latest technology in the state, stuff most groups don’t have, in terms of treating prostate cancer. We have three robotic surgeons who have done more robotic prostate procedures, what we call RPs, than anyone in the region.” when do they come and see us,” he said. “New patient appointments for us right now are probably about four weeks out. “I was on a call yesterday, and the Journal of American Medical Association oncology division reported that during COVID, 10 million cancer screenings were missed. And it’s not just us; I think all health care providers in the market are seeing this resurgence of people trying to get in to get checked out. We’re definitely seeing it at our practice.” Parsing actual need from pent-up demand complicates matters concerning new locations. Davis said the company is getting nearer to the logistical saturation they are after, save for portions of southwest Arkansas. But that doesn’t mean needs are totally being met in all cases. “If we look at the state right now, there are pockets where there are needs in urology,” Davis said. “One big consideration is population in general, you know, how many people are there? And another big factor is statistics around instance rate of disease. There’s a heat map, strangely or not, that shows there’s a higher instance rate of prostate cancer in Northwest Arkansas. And you wouldn’t think that about the northwest, but that’s what the data shows. All those are definitely determinants in deciding where we need to be.”
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As the self-professed “numbers guy,” Davis readily admits once the data changes, so too does the master plan. And when that happens, everything’s on the table, from expanding nearby clinics to creating new ones to engaging existing resources in strategic partnerships. “We like to go into markets where we’re invited or where physicians in that market feel that being part of an independent, single-specialty group makes sense for them,” he said. “In Jonesboro for example, there are seven urologists, all employed by the hospital. The hospital reached out to us and said, ‘We need help. The patients are driving down to Little Rock to get robotic surgeries. Do you have a robotic surgeon that can come up and do cases?’ We said, ‘Absolutely.’ “So, certainly, partnering with facilities makes sense. A lot of the patients we see in urology are chronic conditions that need some type of intervention. We’ve got to be able to have access to a surgery center or a hospital so that we can do those things.” A few years ago, the company took a bold new step toward improving its educational and outreach efforts by founding the Arkansas Urology Foundation. Chris Shenep, foundation director, said putting on events in 2020 such as Kick Off to Men’s Health was tricky but vital. “Despite being in a pandemic and despite people not going to the doctor and being hesitant about health care, we were still able to maintain events in Little Rock and North Little Rock, as well as expand them to Bentonville, El Dorado and Pine Bluff,” he said. “You look at the number of patients that came in, and we had some positive test results of those people. “We were also able to really focus on Mental Awareness Month and Prostate Cancer Awareness month, as well as No Shave November, and do some fun things around some of those campaigns. I think that’s an indication of the impact that this
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All outpatient procedures at Arkansas Urology are performed in the group’s state-of-the-art, $6 million Centerview Surgery Center.
Chris Shenep
foundation will have.” The foundation also plays a major role in promoting the Mack Moore Fund, named for a well-known Arkansas urologist. Davis said, “A lot of people know Mack, and he’s still very well-connected. He was gracious enough to allow us to use his name to start raising funds. The intent with that connects to my philosophy of we’re not going to build it and wait for you to come, we’re going to come to you. We’re looking to provide mobile services whereby we partner with the Prostate Foundation and primary care doctors in various locations, working with local hospitals to bring services where it’s needed.” As for the future, Davis said it’s less about headcount and square footage as it is about lives saved and patients treated, so that’s where he sets his focus. “I’ve been asked a lot of times, ‘What will you look like three to five years from now?’ A lot of people will say they want to be at $10 million in revenue, or to be at this number of employees or this many providers,” he said. “I don’t really look at
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it that way. The way I look at it is, how can we improve processes, workflows, that make it easier for people to access health care? “We treat chronic conditions, and there’s no cure for those. But there are interventional procedures, mildly invasive procedures, where we can help people. Overactive bladder and BPH are two really good examples of that. I think we do a great job in prostate cancer of early detection, treatment, all those things. But there’s other areas where we need to focus. It all gets down to personalized clinical pathways, and if I had to say where we’re going to be three to five years from now, it’s going to be focused on helping urologists and urology groups around the country in developing those clinical pathways.” Even as the company continues to expand to all reaches of the state, there are still elements of operations many don’t know about, especially on the treatment side. Arkansas Urology operates the Arkansas Prostate Center in Little Rock, a premier treatment facility that is, to Davis’ chagrin, an all-too-well-kept secret.
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“We see people migrate out of the state, going to other areas to get treatment for prostate cancer. They’ll go to the Mayo Clinic or Sloan Kettering or some of these big institutions,” he said. “No one has to leave this state. We’ve got Dr. Jack Wong, who has done more prostate cancer treatments probably than any other radiation oncologist in the region. That’s all he does. For the last 11 years, he’s treated 2,500 to 3,000 new patients in radiation oncology. “We have the latest technology in the state, stuff most groups don’t have, in terms of treating prostate cancer. We have three robotic surgeons who have done more robotic prostate procedures, what we call RPs, than anyone in the region. “If you’re going to go to see any type of specialist, any professional, you want someone that’s done it a lot and is really good at it. In our mind there’s no one in the state that treats prostate cancer more than we do, or that has more successful outcomes with prostate cancer than Arkansas Urology. You don’t have to leave Arkansas to get the best treatment for prostate cancer — it’s right here.”
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JULY 2021
TOURISM
Play it Loud,
Indeed Old State House Exhibit Tells the Rockin’ Story of Barton Coliseum By Kelley Bass / Photography by Ebony Blevins
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he Old State House Museum is a historical icon of epic proportions. Everyone who has ever been there knows that. It was Arkansas’ first state capitol, the place where Bill Clinton announced his first presidential run and celebrated winning — twice. It has the distinction of being the oldest original statehouse west of the Mississippi River. The museum’s permanent exhibits are compelling, and the rotating temporary exhibits bring in plenty of people, but likely never as many as the thousands
who have already come to see “Play It Loud: Concerts at Barton Coliseum,” which opened April 27 and will be up until late 2022. My first of three visits (so far) was a couple of days after the exhibit opened, and when I walked in, the first thing the kind gentleman at the desk said was, “Are you here for the Barton Coliseum exhibit?” Apparently almost everyone was. Music-loving Arkansans of a certain age have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours at Barton. So, there are memories
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galore to relive by visiting this free exhibit, open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9-5 and Sundays from 1-5. The place to start is the video that features several people connected to “Play It Loud,” including Jo Ellen Maack, the curator at the Old State House Museum. But her contribution to the video goes well beyond her exhibit expertise. When she was a kid, Maack — like I — was at Barton Coliseum a lot. “This exhibit is very personal to me. I was 11, it was 1966, and my brother took
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It’s important to realize that for many, like Maack, going to concerts at Barton Coliseum was about way more than the music. It was a social event.
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TOURISM
Memorabilia from artists, such as Willie Nelson, Fleetwood Mac and Black Oak Arkansas fills the Barton exhibit at the Old State House Museum.
me to see the Dave Clark Five,” Maack remembered. “I really can’t even remember why I did it. I wasn’t a huge Dave Clark fan. I had two brothers, both gone now, and this brother, Billy, was very important to me music wise. “He got a job at Gibson Department Store and would bring home records. One time he said, ‘You’ve got to sit down; you have to hear this.’ And he turned on our console stereo that was as big as a battleship. He said, ‘This is going to change your life.’ I sat down, and he played ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane. He said, ‘I wanted you to hear that one first.’ He had gotten his paycheck, and he’d bought two albums. Next, he put on Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced. I was almost 12, and my whole world just went kablooey. He and I just sat there and listened to that entire album. And I really wasn’t the same kid anymore.” It’s important to realize that for many, like Maack, going to concerts at Barton Coliseum was about way more than the music. It was a social event. “Around eight of us would go, and we’d get seats. And then we’d take turns walking around,” she said. “The only times we’d get a chance to communicate with kids from other schools, kids from Parkview, Central or North Little Rock, was at a concert at Barton.” Things indeed were different for teenagers pre-cell phones,
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pre-internet, pre-social media and pretext messaging. Most people who know about and have been to the Old State House Museum likely don’t know its staff’s role as archivists and chroniclers of historic information. The Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Department of Corrections are just two of the institutions that have turned to the Old State House Museum staff to preserve their historical documents and other artifacts. “Bill Gatewood [Old State House Museum director] and Jo Maack reached out to me,” said Doug White, president and general manager of the Arkansas State Fair, which operates Barton Coliseum.
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White moved from Oklahoma to Arkansas to work for Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and joined the State Fair board. He took over running the operation in December 2018. “I got here in 1996, during the waning days of Barton Coliseum,” he said. “But as a lifelong music fan, particularly rock ’n’ roll, I knew about Barton. But we had nothing archived, nothing digital. Half of our stuff stayed in boxes in the catacombs of Barton. So, I already had a vested interest before we even discussed the exhibit or them taking over our archive. I had seen the guitar collection. I had seen some of the photos and the lists of the music acts. And I thought, ‘Oh my
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“This is a sensory exhibit. We want the people to walk in and go, ‘Wow!’” While Barton may be remembered most for its classic rock, acts from all genres made stops in Little Rock including Kool & the Gang, Ohio Players and Prince.
God! This is a gold mine.’ [The Arkansas Department of Parks, Tourism and Heritage] had a new facility to archive the state police items. I knew we needed to take action then so they could hermetically seal our older documents.” There was a small museum in Barton Coliseum, but nothing like what is being displayed at the Old State House. “We’ve been working on this since the spring of 2019,” White said. “I can still see the state cars coming down Howard Street, and the Old State House folks coming and grabbing whatever they could grab. There were months and months and months of them coming to get things and then recording them all. “I remember jokingly telling Jo, ‘If you find the Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets, we will consider this a success.’” Ahh … that band … those tickets. Lynyrd Skynyrd was arguably the top Southern rock band in the land, and the group had played twice at Barton, in 1975 and 1976. (I was at the latter show; the Charlie Daniels Band opened.) Skynyrd was set to play again the next year at Barton, Oct. 22, 1977, to be exact. But two
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days before the show, on the way to Baton Rouge, the band’s plane crashed and five people were killed, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. Obviously, the show did not go on. Maack remembered: “Barton officials said, ‘We will refund your tickets.’ So, like an idiot, I got my $6 back; that was a tank of gas back then.” Decades later, “We’d heard the rumor that somewhere on the grounds are the Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets from 1977, but we don’t know where. For four months, Bill [Gatewood, her
Right: Tom Wood and Magic 105 helped promote Barton as a rock palace. Bottom: The infamous “lost” Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets from 1977.
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boss] would say, ‘Have y’all found those Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets yet?’ We looked everywhere; the last place we looked was under the bleachers. And I’ll be dad gummed if there wasn’t an old nasty box down there … and there they were. It was almost 9,000 tickets.” As you work yourself through the “Play it Loud” exhibit, a sampling of those never-used Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets is there for all to gaze upon. Somber paper reminders of tragedy. Visitors should plan to spend a few minutes staring intently at the collage of ticket stubs that, if you view them all, will lead you to a correct conclusion — ZZ Top played at Barton Coliseum more times than any other band, 12 concerts spanning 1973 to 1997. (The “little ol’ band from Texas” will play at the First Security Amphitheater in Riverfront Park on Aug. 3.) Almost 700 artifacts are included, from guitar picks to T-shirts to instruments signed by the artists to photos and lots of album covers of the bands that have played at the coliseum, a compelling and colorful way to brighten up the exhibition. “The posters were so wonderful because they mentioned Discount Records or Village Fox or Peaches or John’s Jeans [where concert tickets were sold] and still had pinholes in them,” Maack said. “They were the originals that were put up.” One important thing to realize about “Play It Loud” is that it doesn’t share the same goals that are typical of other exhibits at the Old State House Museum. “Normally our exhibits are about” certain aspects of Arkansas history, Maack said, “like tornadoes or about Arkansas politics in the 20th century. We’re trying to educate people about that particular topic, trying to teach you something. With “Pillars of Power,” a permanent exhibit, we’re trying to teach you everything you wanted to know about this building from when it was the state capitol.
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Barton’s
100
By Kelley Bass
Even its biggest fans can’t deny that Barton Coliseum is and always was a pretty humble place. It’s nothing fancy. But damn, did it not host an amazing array of concerts over more than 50 years? A fun trivia question to ask your friends is: “How many members of the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame played at Barton?” The answer: 63 and 37, respectively. And the only three artists who played there and are in both halls of fame? Two are no-brainers: Elvis and Johnny Cash. The other, not so much … the Everly Brothers!
“We’re trying to give you dates and bios. Forget that. Throw this out the window,” with the Barton exhibit. “We’re not trying to give you Johnny Cash’s biography or teach you anything. This is a sensory exhibit. We want the people to walk in and go, ‘Wow!’ This is a memory exhibit.’” Despite the heyday of big-time mostly rock and country concerts at Barton Coliseum, those types of shows were not the reason the building was constructed. It was built to host concerts and the rodeo
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during the two weekends of the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show. That process began in 1947, but materials shortages and a crane falling through the unfinished roof caused delays. Named for Col. Thomas H. Barton, who led the effort to build the arena, Barton Coliseum was formally dedicated in September 1952. It cost $1 million to build and was hailed as “the finest arena in the South,” according to the exhibit’s promotional materials. When you look at the list of concerts held there, realize that all the acts listed
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Hall of Fame acts that played Barton include Elvis Presley and Arkansas’ own Johnny Cash.
Barton was named for Col. Thomas H. Barton, who led the effort to build ‘the finest arena in the South.’
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Stands Out There were some amazing years of concerts at Barton Coliseum, but one could easily argue none were better than 1973, when these 31 acts played there. (That’s almost three concerts a month.) In chronological order: • Freddie King • Chicago • Grand Funk Railroad • Santana • Ten Years After • Gentle Giant • War • Black Oak Arkansas • The Allman Brothers Band • Isaac Hayes • Humble Pie • Lee Michaels • Marshall Tucker Band • Ray Charles • Guess Who • James Brown
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Gladys Knight & the Pips J. Geils Band Brownsville Station Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Charley Pride Styx Sly & Family Stone Loretta Lynn Conway Twitty ZZ Top Savoy Brown Al Green Black Oak Arkansas REO Speedwagon Doobie Brothers
And by the way, that last one, the Doobie Brothers on Dec. 5, was my first concert ever. A ninth-grader at Bryant High School, I had bought Captain and Me, the Doobies’ third album and full of great songs, including two huge hits, “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove.” My mom dropped off my good friend, Jimmy Rogers, and me back when you could drive right up to the front steps of Barton. Thirty-four years later, when I was chair of the Riverfest board of directors, the Doobie Brothers played the pre-fireworks concert that Sunday in North Little Rock, and one perk I got was getting Jimmy and me backstage to meet the band members. I told them we had seen them all those years ago – my first concert but not his; his mom had taken him to see Elvis, also at Barton, in 1972. They basically said, “Man, you are making us feel old,” and I told them, “That’s because you are old.” — Kelley Bass
from the 1950s and 1960s were state fair acts. But through the 1970s and 1980s — definitely Barton’s glory days — the pace quickened, and the popularity of the acts increased. As many of us who’ve lived in Little Rock most of our lives have come to realize the fact our hometown sits at the confluence of Interstates 30 and 40 has its benefits (other than super heavy 18-wheeler traffic). “Our good fortune was that 75 percent [of the concerts that came to Barton] were geographical; the routing was just so simple,” said Tom Wood, program director for the Arkansas Rocks network of stations and former head of programming for Magic 105, the popular FM rock radio station now off the air. “Because we are on a direct line from Chicago to New Orleans, Knoxville to Houston, the interstates make it very easy. Sometimes we just happened to be in the direction of travel. It worked out perfectly — if you’re playing one night in St. Louis and one night in Dallas, why not stop in Little Rock in between?” Wood is also featured in the video that serves as the perfect jumping off place for “Play It Loud.” His inclusion makes perfect sense because Magic 105 was a huge factor in promoting the concerts that were coming to Barton Coliseum. Magic 105 first hit the airwaves in August 1980, “a real fun time for the radio station, and we represented real ticket-selling potential for the promoter,” Wood remembered. “It’s one thing to hear fantastic concert spots that make the bands sound like the second coming of the Lord. The traffic director, who creates the log of commercials that would run that day, never took into consideration which one should come first. We always moved the concert spot to the first spot. Also, in order to get record label support, the promoter would give us some ad money. When the record label was on board, we’d get more free tickets from the label to give away and brainstorm with them about ideas. So, for instance, if Heart was coming to town, we’d put together a compilation of bits of five Heart songs, and the first person who could identify all five got front-row seats. The disc jockey talking about the concert between songs and commercials was incredibly important.” Between the Arkansas State Fair’s desire to gets its vast archives whipped into shape, the Old State House Museum staff’s willingness, expertise and tireless devotion to doing so, the contributions of curator Bob Cochran, a University of Arkansas professor and noted music historian, and a radio icon like Tom Wood, “Play It Loud: Concerts at Barton Coliseum” was created even as the COVID-19 pandemic washed across Arkansas, and it’ll be there for more than another year for all to experience. Everyone involved seems proud and happy with how the exhibit turned out. “Seldom a day goes past without someone mentioning the exhibit to me,” said state fair boss White. “I couldn’t be happier. It’s also introducing us to a group of people who didn’t even know we existed. That excites me, too.”
Gate Crashing, Third Winds & Skynyrd Roadies:
By Kelley Bass
A Barton Coliseum Mosaic
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f you grew up in Central Arkansas during the 1970s and ’80s and loved going to concerts, Barton Coliseum on the grounds of the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock was really about all you knew. Maybe your mom hauled you to the symphony at Robinson Auditorium, and after you started driving or caught a ride with friends, you might find your way to the Pine Bluff Convention Center, where I saw Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Robert Palmer, Leon Russell, the Allman Brothers and probably more I don’t remember right now. But mostly I was at Barton. It didn’t strike me as the fanciest place, but it was my place, and I saw concerts there as often as my meager budget would allow. ($2.30 an hour was the minimum wage when I started working; my first job, at St. Vincent, paid $2.31. Woohoo!) My first concert ever was the Doobie Brothers in December 1973 – mentioned in the accompanying article about the “Play it Loud” exhibit now on display at the Old State House Museum. Scanning the list of concerts by year, which the exhibit showcases, I tallied 190 acts I remember seeing at Barton. I saw the first 16 as a fan (1973-1981) and then 158 as a concert reviewer for the Arkansas Gazette from 1981-1987, then 16 more when I was
at Arkansas Times from 1995-1999 … and then four more as a fan before Alltel/Verizon/Simmons Bank Arena opened in 1999. (Commentary on old vs. new: I loved Ray Winder Field, but the moment I first walked into Dickey Stephens Park I realized how much better we all now had it; same for Barton Coliseum and the new Alltel Arena.) I could generally cobble together enough money for a ticket — I remember the first time I saw Styx, a ticket was $3.50, and rarely were they more than $7. But I had a friend who was either too broke or too unwilling to part with his money to buy a ticket that often, so he often crashed the gate — running through the turnstile just as the lights went down. Barton has a narrow concourse, and it probably wasn’t 20 seconds between when he breached the perimeter until he was safely in the dark on the coliseum floor. I wasn’t nearly that bold — nor fleet afoot. I have many great memories of concerts at Barton. Thanks to promo copies of records that poured into the Gazette, I was exposed to a lot of music, even be
Barton’s iconic blue and red sign fronting Roosevelt Road served as a beacon for many concert-goers.
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After I began reviewing shows for the Gazette , I got a lot of weird looks and offthe-wall comments about my reporter’s notebook and my scrawling into it.
fore covering concerts was in my job description. In high school, I was a copy boy there, a part-time job so far down the food chain that it has evolved into extinction. In 1976, I saw the Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) for the first time at Barton. Billy Squier opened, Rush was the middle band, and BOC headlined. My parents foolishly had left me, a high school senior, in charge of the house when they went to Dallas for their nephew’s wedding. And since I had a 21-year-old friend, that added up to my first keg party. Much beer had been consumed before we ever left for the show, but I made it all the way until the encore — “Last Days of May,” my favorite BOC song ever — before I swooned. But my loyal and hearty friend, Peggy Bailey, was able to basically drag me off the floor into
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a seat where I could get my second (or third) wind. After I began reviewing shows for the Gazette, I got a lot of weird looks and offthe-wall comments about my reporter’s notebook and my scrawling into it. Few if any other people standing on the floor at Barton were taking notes. I remember one very high young woman asking me, “Why do you have a notebook?” I answered, “So I can write things down.” She apparently thought that was a very weighty response and pondered for a while before she then asked, “Why are you writing things down?” I said, “So I can remember them later,” which seemed to impress her even more than my first answer. But plenty of other kids must have thought I was taking names,
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because they typically quickly scattered away from my area. In those days, the Gazette was committed to turning around concert reviews the night of the show. So, I knew I had to leave and get my article submitted — and the photographer, almost always Art Meripol, (who went on to a stellar 25-year career at Southern Living), had to get his/ her film developed and photo printed — by about 10:50 so the story could be edited and placed on the page by the 11:07 p.m. deadline. I usually had only 10-12 column inches of space to fill, so I focused on the headlining act. I remember when the Gap Band was headlining a show that also included the Dazz Band and Franky Beverly and Maze (though I didn’t find that concert in the master list that accompanies this article). I showed up about 9:30, figuring I’d be right on time to see the Gap Band. Turns out the concert hadn’t even started, so I went to a pay phone and called the newsroom to tell the editors that there would be no review submitted that night. I think I got home about 1:30 in the morning. And then there was the time I reviewed Prince when I was lifestyle editor for the Arkansas Times in 1998. The review ran (a framed copy is included in “Play It Loud,” something I didn’t notice until my wife pointed it out to me on my third visit), and a letter was sent to the editor that basically said, “How can Kelley Bass write a review of a concert he didn’t even attend?” So, the editor — Max Brantley, my brother-in-law — asked me the same thing. Here’s what I told him, and what I wrote in my column the next week: Big John Miller, friend and blues/soul singer extraordinaire, was a Prince fan of the highest magnitude. But he was sick as a dog that day, so he sent his tickets with me to sell. I was attending with Amy Garland (now Angel), another friend and another fine local musician. I knew I’d have two tickets at will call because I was reviewing the show, so I decided to pick up those, see if those tickets or John’s tickets were better seats, and then sell the two worst seats to pay John. I got the tickets
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at will call, did the comparison, stuck the other two tickets in the air, and they were purchased almost instantly since the show was a sellout. Amy and I then retired to my vehicle to have a beer before going into the show. So, I can see why the guy thought he knew what he was seeing, but that was not what happened. But perhaps my greatest Barton memory involves the Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion concert in 1987, 10 years after the plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant — lead vocalist, primary songwriter and heart/soul of the band — and four others. I’d been getting calls from a guy named Joe Osborne for years. They were long, mostly oneway chats during which he would regale me with tales of being the band’s top roadie. To say he was loquacious is an understatement. I didn’t know if he was all he claimed to be or was blowing smoke, but he certainly was persistent. Once when he called, I asked him if he could turn down the music in the background, because it was too loud. He said, “That’s not a record, that’s Lynyrd Skynyrd rehearsing for the tour.” I remember writing a column and saying, “I HAVE HEARD LYNYRD SKYNYRD!” which no one in the decade since the crash had been able to say — other than Joe and a few others, I guess — because the reunion tour hadn’t started yet. Well, the Barton show got scheduled, I got tickets, and Joe got me a backstage pass. I was visiting with him right behind the stage when the lights went down, and a huge roar went up in the sold-out coliseum. He grabbed my arm and said, “Come on!” And he hauled me onto the stage and sat me in a chair between a huge stack of Marshall amps. I couldn’t see much of the crowd, but I was on the exact same line of sight as the band members. And all during the show, Allen Collins, one of the triple-lead guitarists, would walk over my way and look at me like, “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing on our stage?!?” At one point, Johnny Van Zant, Ronnie’s little brother and the new lead singer, stopped the show and introduced Joe Osborne, roadie deluxe and a Little Rock native. The crowd went wild, and I felt more than a bit sheepish about ever doubting him.
TOURISM
ROLL CALL at BARTON The many musicians, bands and shows that played Barton Coliseum in Little Rock represented the full spectrum of popular music from the latter half of the 20th century. Here’s a list of acts that played concerts at Barton: .38 Special 5th Dimension Aaron Tippin AC/DC Aerosmith Air Supply Al Green Alabama Alan Jackson Allman Brothers Band Alvin Lee America Amy Grant Angel Ann Wilson of Heart Atlanta Rhythm Section B.B. King B.J. Thomas Bachman-Turner Overdrive Bad Company Baja Marimba Band Barbara Fairchild Barbara Mandrell Barry Manilow Beach Boys Ben E. King Billy Joel Billy Squire Black Oak Arkansas Black Sabbath Blue Öyster Cult Bo Diddley Bob Seger Bobby Brown Bon Jovi Boston Box Tops Boyz II Men Bread JJAN U LYUA 2 02 RY1 2 02 1
Bret Michaels of Poison Brooks & Dunn Brownsville Station Buck Owens & Buckaroos Bush Buffalo Springfield Byrds Canned Heat Carlene Carter Carter Family Charley Pride Charlie Daniels Band Charlie Rich Cheap Trick Chicago Chris LeDoux Chubby Checker Chuck Berry Cinderella Clint Black Collin Raye Commodores Conway Twitty Creedence Clearwater Revival Curtis Mayfield Dale Evans Dave Clark Five Deep Purple Def Leppard Dixie Chicks DMX Dolly Parton Doobie Brothers Dr. Hook Drifters Dru Hill Dustin Lynch Eagles Earth, Wind & Fire
Eddie Money Edgar Winter Elton John Elvis Presley Emerson, Lake & Palmer Eric Burdon Everly Brothers Exile Faith Hill Fats Domino Fleetwood Mac Foghat Foreigner Frank Sinatra Jr. Freddie King Freddy Fender Funkadelic Gail Davis Garth Brooks Gary Pucket & the Union Gap Gene Autry George Jones George Strait George Thorogood Gin Blossoms Ginuwine Gladys Knight & the Pips Glen Campbell Godsmack Golden Earring Goo Goo Dolls Grand Funk Railroad Grandpa Jones Grass Roots Gregg Allman Band Guess Who Hall & Oates Hank Williams Jr. Heart 78
Herman’s Hermits Huey Lewis & the News Humble Pie Ice T Ike & Tina Turner Iron Maiden Isaac Hayes It’s a Beautiful Day J. Geils Band Jackson 5 James Brown James Gang James Taylor Jefferson Starship Jesus Christ Superstar Jethro Tull Jim Ed Brown Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Dean Jimmy Wakely Joan Jett Joe Cocker Joe Diffie Joe Nichols Joe Walsh John Cougar Mellencamp John Denver Johnnie Taylor Johnny Cash Johnny Winter Journey Judds June Carter Kansas Keith Urban Kenny Rogers Kenny Wayne Shepherd Kentucky Headhunters KISS ARM ON E YA N D P OL ITIC S.COM
Kool and The Gang Korn L.L. Cool J Lawrence Welk Lee Michaels Leon Russell Lionel Richie Little Richard Loretta Lynn Los Lobos Loverboy Luther Vandross Lynyrd Skynyrd M.C. Hammer Mahalia Jackson Marilyn Manson Mark Chesnutt Mark Collie Marshall Tucker Band Marty Stuart Mary J. Blige Merle Haggard Metallica Molly Hatchett Monkees Montgomery Gentry Morris Day Mötley Crüe Mountain Narvel Felts Neil Diamond New Edition New Kids on the Block Night Ranger Nine Inch Nails No Doubt Oak Ridge Boys Ohio Players O’Jays Olivia Newton-John Osmonds Ozark Mountain Daredevils Page & Plant Paul Revere & the Raiders Pearl Jam Peter Frampton Point Blank Point of Grace Pointer Sisters Poison Prince Randy Travis Rare Earth ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM
The exhibit includes signed guitars, drumsticks, concert posters and more.
Ratt Ray Charles Reba McEntire Red Hot Chili Peppers REO Speedwagon Ricky Nelson Rick Springfield Rob Zombie Robert Plant Rod Stewart Roy Rogers Rush Sam & Dave Santana Savoy Brown Sawyer Brown Shania Twain Sly & Family Stone Snoop Dogg Sonny and Cher Sonny Burgess & The Legendary Pacers Soundgarden Spinners Staple Singers Stephanie Mills Steppenwolf Stevie Nicks Stevie Ray Vaughan STYX Tammy Wynette Tanya Tucker Ted Nugent Temptations Ten Years After Thin Lizzy Three Dog Night Tim McGraw Tina Turner Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Tom Keifer of Cinderella Too $hort Tracy Lawrence Trapeze Travis Tritt Trisha Yearwood Uriah Heep Usher Van Halen Vince Gill Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe War Waylon Jennings
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Homer’s has been a popular lunch spot for blue-collar workers, politicians and execs since it opened in 1986.
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DIGS OF THE DEAL UNIQUE HOMER’S TRANSCENDS CLASS, POLITICS
THE
By Katie Zakrzewski | Photography by Jamison Mosley
For decades, if anyone needed to find the biggest collection of Arkansas bigwigs, power players and just plain hard workers, in a single location, the original Homer’s on East Roosevelt Road in Little Rock immediately comes to mind. Homer Connell purchased the location in 1986 from Harlan Holt, who had owned the restaurant when it was still Circle B, a small, well-known diner in the middle of an industrial park. Katrina Vaughn, owner of what is now referred to as Homer’s East and Connell’s daughter, remembered when her father took over the restaurant, and it gained traction with the unexpected blend of clientele. “It turned out that we ended up seating more political people than what we thought in those days. With the House in session, we had everybody from the Capitol there. I guess it was easy to get to, with lots of parking,” Vaughn explained. “This
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THE DIGS OF THE DEAL
Homer’s owner Katrina Vaughn with her daughter, Hope.
was back in the day when there were lobbyists everywhere. Lobbyists were coming in and buying meals for everybody. So, this is a really big, hot spot — more tickets were being passed on our floor than on the floor of the Senate.” Framed articles on the wall reach the same consensus — Homer’s is the place to be during the height of the political session. Vaughn and the framed articles on the wall can help to compile a list of those who have frequented the diner over the course of four decades, including former Attorney General Winston Bryant; Bill Paschall; Earl Jones; a slew of military leaders; former Gov. and U.S. Sen. David Pryor, as well as his wife, Barbara, and son, Mark; former Gov. Frank White; a host of presidential hopefuls; Sheffield Nelson; John Deering; national television crews from ABC News;
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lawyers from a host of firms downtown; scores of local executives; justices from the Arkansas Supreme Court; as well as top local school officials. Vaughn acknowledges the uniqueness that is Homer’s, a blue-collar diner if there ever was one, still stuck in the middle of an industrial park with an airport as a backdrop. Sure, the diner serves the upper crust of the white-collar crowd, but it’s one of those rare spaces where both white- and bluecollar mingle. “In the beginning, where we were, industry was really thriving in that industrial park. You had trucklines, you had a distribution center right across the street from us. There was lots of traffic from the street. So, we were never in a bad place for business because we had a captive audience down there. We were the only restaurant,” Vaughn explained. The simplicity and authenticity of the diner for the workers in the area made Homer’s a rite of passage for politicians who truly wanted to identify with the people that they represented. “Many politicians have shot commercials here. We’ve had many, many politicians come in, slap on an apron and pour tea and help wait tables. I mean, there’s no way you can have a town hall meeting in that restaurant because we have too many people all at once, but the customers asked. One of the political stories that comes to mind that is the most fun for me is Bud Cummins when he was running for Congress years ago,” Vaughn said. Cummins ran for the Second District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, where he lost a close race to Vic Snyder, and eventually served as U.S. Attorney from 2001 to 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “He put on an apron, grabbed some tea, a towel, and went table to table refilling teas and talking,” Vaughn recalled of Cummins. “We’ve had Bill Clinton in here when he was running for president. And during the
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Guilebaldo “Jeep” Hernandez, one of Vaughn’s longtime employees, dishes up some of the diner’s signature home cooking.
JULY 2021
THE DIGS OF THE DEAL election, you’ll always see someone in here shaking hands and working tables. We did a couple of fundraisers and ‘get out the vote’ events. People really like this place. It’s not a pretentious atmosphere. It’s really kind of laid-back. I think people here are very approachable and just have conversations. I love to see politicians alongside all of us there because we don’t run with a huge staff. We run a small staff, and we run really hard. So, I think they just love to see that because it makes a person look like they’re really working hard. I didn’t realize the political capital we had in that restaurant — so many people came in there and were movers and shakers.”
Lillie Foster, another longtime employee, prepares an order of fried chicken.
“YOU REALLY NEVER KNOW WHO YOU’LL FIND. BARRY SWITZER WAS THERE ONCE — I DIDN’T THINK I’D GET MY CREW BACK TO WORK...” The buzz around Homer’s often attracted celebrities as well. “You really never know who you’ll find. Barry Switzer was there once — I didn’t think I’d get my crew back to work,” Vaughn said with a laugh. Switzer was coming off his most famous coaching stint with the Dallas Cowboys. “They all had to come out and talk to him. We’ve had lots of different people that would come in and do that.” Around eight years ago, Vaughn’s brother, David Connell, opened a second Homer’s location in Little Rock, referred to as Homer’s West. “We toyed with the idea for a long time about opening up a second location, and then when my brother decided he wanted to branch out and do more, the time came,” Vaughn said. “So, we opened up one out west, and it was totally scary. But it turned out beautifully. It’s not quite the same as ours, but it does have it’s own Homer’s essence.” But as the landscape around Homer’s has changed over time, Vaughn noticed a shift in her customers as well. This change has paved the way for opportunity. As COVID impacted small businesses and eateries, Homer’s too felt the blow of the economic downturn. But, Vaughn said, all the downtime during a very tumultuous period afforded the opportunity to have genuine conversations and to grow with the people around her. “Over the years, the trucklines closed down. The warehouses are empty. It’s changed over time, and all the people that made us the political place that we were...they’ve all grown
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up and retired. And now it’s another generation of people that come in,” Vaughn said. “So now we have millennials coming in and sometimes a little older age group. It’s changed over time, but even during COVID, lots of police officers are there and people who are still in the manufacturing industry. “During that time, we were only serving about 20 people a day, so things were really slow… There was so much time we got to spend just talking. It was really nice to have one-on-one conversations. And especially with social issues like Black Lives Matter, because that became such an issue. I got to learn more about myself and the people around me. My father always said to never talk about politics with our customers because they didn’t want our opinion. “But things are so different now. Me and my staff got to sit together and really talk about the state of our union. What’s our new normal going to look like? What’s going to happen in the election? There have been some really serious moments, and we all participated in the conversation, from my bus boy, to my
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cooks, to my daughter, to me, to everybody from all different lifestyles. So to have all of us with our customers talking and discussing things, COVID did give us something good.” Now that Homer’s has begun to emerge on the other side, Vaughn has had an opportunity to look around and realize that the bond between business and customer, no matter the color of the collar, goes even further than an economic transaction — Vaughn calls these people her friends. “Over the last year, people have had to come together, and we have to realize this is all bigger than us. We’re not bigger than this world,” Vaughn said. “We built this place together. This restaurant has given me so much emotional support. Not even by just supporting my family, but everything. We’re all family. We’ve gotten through one season, and we’ll get through the next one together.” Homer’s has had a profound impact on the political and legal landscape of the Natural State, but has also kept the toughest and hardest working blue-collar Arkansans fed. The humble diner has served as a place for folks from all walks of life to rub elbows and dig in. Quite simply, Vaughn and her staff have put the “home” in Homer’s for four decades.
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Homer’s has had a profound impact on the political and legal landscape of Arkansas.
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ENERGY
PROVING GROUND
Standard Lithium seeks to make Arkansas a global showcase for sustainable lithium extraction By Becky Gillette
for economic security. Massive investments are being made by the largest automakers as they prepare to retool and roll out new electric vehicle offerings. “These investments, and the millions of jobs impacted by them, require security of raw material supply. The recent semiconductor shortage highlights the importance of diversifying and localizing supply chains.” Mintak said Standard Lithium’s goal is to transform the lithium extraction picture by using a new, more efficient method that could be significant for the United States, Arkansas and El Dorado, a former oil boom town that recently has struggled due to the downturn in the oil economy. “It is important to remember that the oil industry has provided tens of thousands of jobs and pumped billions of dollars into the Arkansas economy over the past 100 years,” Mintak said. “A successful lithium development will allow the region to participate in a meaningful way as the world transitions to a new energy economy. As we transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources toward renewable energy and electric vehicles, there will be winners and losers, successes and failures along the way. But the lithium-ion battery will be the technology platform that will power our future.” Standard Lithium is using brine from the area’s bromine extraction industry as the source for lithium production. The
Standard Lithium employees load lithium chloride into a tote. (Photo provided)
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he lithium-ion battery has enabled the smartphone, other portable electronics, cordless power tools and electric car batteries. A critical metal in great demand, lithium is essential to transitioning to a clean economy. Strategically, the United States has been at a disadvantage because, thus far, little lithium is being produced here. China has done a phenomenal job of locking up much of the world’s lithium supplies, said Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak. He heads the publicly traded company that is based in British Columbia and developing a lithium extraction facility in El Dorado. “Most of the current production of lithium is from Australia and South America, and that is primarily shipped to Asia for processing into battery materials and then exported to the world,” Mintak told Arkansas Money & Politics. “A robust domestic supply of materials like lithium is critical
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company’s original direct lithium extraction (DLE) demonstration facility has been operating almost 24/7 for the past year at project partner LANXESS’ south bromine brine processing facility, just outside El Dorado. “Standard’s industrial-scale demonstration plant is connected to the existing ‘tail’ brine disposal pipeline network, allowing us to extract lithium from the brine before it is reinjected to the source aquifer,” Mintak said. “Our demonstration plant is a first-of-its-kind-anywhere technology. A successful commercial development will make Arkansas a global showcase for sustainable lithium extraction.” Standard is located in El Dorado because it sits atop one of the world’s largest brine reservoirs, the Smackover Formation. Thousands of wells have been drilled in the Smackover Formation over the past century. Mintak said south Arkansas also has everything else needed to build a fully integrated lithium business, especially a globally significant lithium resource, extensive infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce and a supportive political climate. The company’s DLE technology selectively pulls lithium from brine while leaving problematic elements, like calcium, magnesium and others, behind, Mintak said. The process, referred to as Lithium Stirred Tank Reactor (LiSTR), uses a stable/fine-grained solid ceramic adsorbent material with a crystal lattice that, under certain PH conditions, is capable of selectively pulling lithium ions from brine and releasing lithium for recovery. “The ceramic adsorbent material is loaded with lithium in stirred tank reactors containing the brine,” Mintek said. “The Li-extraction process takes advantage of the fact that the brine is hot — not a hostile,
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“
These investments, and the millions of jobs impacted by them, require security of raw material supply. hot brine like geo-thermal, but hot enough, approximately 150°F. This means that no additional energy is required, and the reaction kinetics for adsorption are ideal. In the second step, the loaded adsorbent releases the lithium ions for recovery. “The process is fast, efficient, and it dramatically reduces the time and land required for lithium extraction from months, with evaporation pools, to hours. The LiSTR process has demonstrated that it can produce a high-purity lithium chloride [LiCl] solution that we can further processing into battery-quality lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.” Mintak said when compared to the conventional methods for recovering lithium from brine, the LiSTR process provides numerous benefits including a vastly reduced recovery time, significant efficiency gains (as high as a 90 percent recovery versus 40-60 percent with evaporation ponds), and improved purity of the final product. Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, said anything that makes the United States less dependent on China enhances the country’s economic standing. “Standard Lithium has developed a remarkable process that has potential to be a breakthrough force for producing lithium used for lithium ion batteries,” Zook said. “It is one of those technological innovations that amaze us in the market economy
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where people are motivated to find better, cheaper, faster ways to do things. It has a good way to go to come to fruition, but all the signs are very positive. The project is good for El Dorado, good for Arkansas, good for the U.S. and good for the companies involved making the investments.” The project covers about 180,000 acres in Union and Columbia counties. When commercial brine operations began in 1957, the brine was originally produced as a by-prod- Standard CEO Robert Mintak at the El Dorado facility. (Photo provided) uct of Smackover oil production. Mintak said commercial bromine operations today have their own plant — much larger than a typical pilot high-productivity brine wells, processing plant. Mintak said the purpose of operatmore than 9 billion gallons annually. That ing a large demonstration-scale plant is same Smackover brine used by the bro- to validate the technology, identify issues mine industry is also rich in lithium. and optimize the process before designing “Standard is utilizing new technology the commercial production facility. and innovation to unlock the resource,” “Our hope is to have a final investment he said. “Our Arkansas project can be a decision to begin commercial developglobal showcase for sustainable develop- ment before the end of the year,” Mintak ment. Standard isn’t a mining company. said. “Currently, we have a local team of We’re a technology company with a spe- more than 20 who are operating the plant cialty in critical resource development. around the clock. If we are successful and Our strategy from the beginning has been move into commercial development, the to consider alternatives to the conven- project would be built in stages over sevtional mining approach. Instead of look- eral years and would generate over 100 ing in the rear-view mirror for answers, direct and several hundred indirect jobs, our focus was on the application of mod- plus construction and engineering work.” ern processing technologies that not only The bromine industry has had a posican produce a higher-purity final product tive impact on south Arkansas, creating faster but will also minimize the environ- jobs and economic benefits for the past mental impact.” 60 years. Mintak believes lithium has the Standard Lithium’s facility in El Do- chance to do something similar for the rado is an industrial-scale demonstration next generation.
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SPORTS BUSINESS
IN COLLEGE SPORTS, NIL BRINGS A NEW LANDSCAPE:
ADVANTAGE ARKANSAS? By Brent Holloway
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t’s June 29, and Arkansas Senior Associate Athletics Director for Athlete Brand Development Terry Prentice is fewer than 48 hours away from a major deadline that was just moved up six months. At least that’s what he now expects. He won’t have perfect certainty until tomorrow, and one can never be too sure when dealing with the NCAA. But at the moment, that’s the assumption he’s working under as he’s hustling among meetings, juggling responsibilities and caught on the phone with a reporter. Yet, somehow, it’s not trepidation, anxiety or frustration coming through in his voice. He’s excited. And it sounds genuine. “We view this as an incredible opportunity for the University of Arkansas,” Prentice says in a way that makes you believe him. What he’s talking about is the school’s Flagship program, a multifaceted approach to prepare student-athletes for the commercial opportunities made suddenly available to them through an interim NCAA policy that went into effect July 1. Prentice sees it as a golden opportunity: a chance to mobilize both the university’s business partnerships and the passion of Razorback fans to propel the athletics department ahead of the pack in a new era of college sports.
And make no mistake, the landscape has changed. At heart of the matter is the NCAA’s long-standing prohibition on studentathletes trading on their status and receiving compensation for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). A raft of recent legislation in state capitols across the country made those restrictions illegal and forced the NCAA to reconsider its position. What it now means for the future of college sports is undetermined, and how it will affect athletes — and where they choose to play — is still an open question. Whatever form the evolving road may eventually take, at the University of Arkansas, it’ll be up to Prentice and the handful of administrators helming the Flagship program to navigate, putting the athletes and the school itself in the best position to benefit in a world populated by new opportunities and obstacles, both coming more quickly than anticipated. Rolled out May 13, less than a month after state legislation paved the way, Flagship combines elements of business education, how-to’s in entrepreneurial savvy and a roadmap to social media success. “Flagship is our solution to name, image and likeness opportunities,” said Prentice, who’s leading the program along with Sarah Goforth from the Office of Entrepreneurship and
name + image + likeness = (NIL). ARM O N E YA ND P O L I T I C S .COM
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From 2009-12, Prentice helped lead the Hogs to five SEC titles in indoor and outdoor track.
Innovation and Karen Boston from the Walton College of Business. “It’s an overview of everything in that area. So it’s personal branding, it’s influencer marketing, it’s business fundamentals, it’s entrepreneurship skills, entrepreneurship basics, all packaged together.”
Terry Prentice
“Flagship is our solution to name, image and likeness opportunities.”
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THE TIMELINE Prentice, a former All-SEC decathlete for the Razorbacks, returned to the university in March, but discussions regarding NIL possibilities were already well under way in the athletics department and beyond. Prentice said research began in 2020 as state legislatures around the country were picking up the issue, and by early 2021, representatives from the athletics department were meeting weekly with colleagues from the Walton College of Business and the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Goforth said, “We started meeting every Friday to talk about what this meant and to talk about how we equip our students with the skills and also the confidence that they need to take advantage of
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these opportunities. “And, you know, it’s not rocket science. Some of it is basic business training. Like how to think about your taxes. If you are going to be doing sponsorship deals, on an individual basis, how to make the decision about which sponsors to onboard and which to say no to. How to think about your brand and your opportunities as a foundation for a business.” From there, the program grew to include partnerships with influencer marketing and data specialist Captiv8 and NIL platform NOCAP Sports, as well as incorporating INFLCR, a brand-building platform with which the university was already partnered. By March 8 — about a week before Prentice’s hire was announced — Arkansas House Bill 1671 made its first appearance and zipped swiftly through both chambers with one amendment, passing each vote by near-unanimous margins before being sent to the governor’s office on April 15. Among other things, the bill secures the ability of student-athletes to earn compensation for commercial use of their publicity rights, establishes prohibited categories (including drugs, alcohol, gambling and guns), and sets an effective date of Jan. 1, 2022. That timeline was jolted somewhat when the NCAA adopted its interim NIL policy allowing student-athletes in any state to take advantage of commercial opportunities, beginning July 1. Prentice said the university was prepared for this possibility, and though the legislation doesn’t take effect until 2022, the athletics department is already operating under the rules and regulations laid out in the bill. “We’ve just got a little less runway than we had expected,” he said on June 29, shortly after it became clear the NCAA
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The UA’s Flagship program is designed to help studentathletes, like star wide receiver Treylon Burks, market themselves and take advantage of high-profile opportunities such as the baseball team’s SEC regular season and tournament titles in 2021. (Photos courtesy of UA.)
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SPORTS BUSINESS
The prevailing opinion among experts is that while college athletes aren’t likely to become the face of national ad campaigns, the potential in local and regional markets is strong.
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planned to drop its NIL prohibitions two days later. “We have to make sure we are making the education available to all athletes. [Deputy athletics director] Jon Fagg and I are going team by team, covering rules and regulations, presenting information and answering questions. We’re also making office hours available in person and on Zoom.” He’s also reaching out to corporate partners and donors to make sure they’re aware of the opportunities afforded to businesses in the era of NIL. “Some athletes already have [endorsements] lined up,” he said, adding, “which is fascinating, and makes me nervous and excited and everything in between.” THE PROGRAM Twenty-five student-athletes went through a five-course pilot program in June with another cohort enrolled for July, learning from social media specialists, local entrepreneurs and former student-athletes exactly how they might be able to convert their status as regional celebrities into income. The possibilities for these new potential spokespersons are wide and varied, encompassing everything from sports camps and paid posts on Instagram, to appearances in local commercials. Elsewhere in the country, a Wisconsin quarterback has announced his own trademark, while an Iowa basketball player is launching an apparel line. The prevailing opinion among experts is that while college athletes aren’t likely to become the face of national ad campaigns, the potential in local and regional markets is strong. “One of the things that we get with our data sets from the social platforms is not only age, gender, ethnicity of followers but actually location of followers at the city and state level,” said Bryce Adams, director of brand partnerships for Captiv8. “So, take [men’s basketball player]
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Jaylin Williams. Eighty-two percent of his audience is from the state of Arkansas. I told him, ‘Jaylin, this is information that you could take to any local or regional brands that want to talk to people in the state of Arkansas and say, look I’ve got an overall audience of 50,000 people or whatever and 40,000 of them are located in the state, so you can reach the people that you’re trying to reach through my social page. I am now an effective channel.’” The goal is to shape the pilot program into a crash course that will serve as an orientation for all incoming student-athletes into the world of NIL, both broadly and specifically. Aside from market data, insights and connections from Captiv8, student-athletes will be able to pursue partnerships with interested companies through the platforms of NOCAP Sports and INFLCR, as well as on the university’s own Flagship website, where they can find rules, regulations, contact information and a list of existing Razorback partners. Both Goforth and Prentice said they were encouraged by feedback they’ve received from community members and former Razorback standouts who have donated time and wisdom to the current athletes enrolled in the program. “I think it did not fully dawn on me until we had launched this program how deep that well of support is in Arkansas,” Goforth said. “And it is on an individual level with leaders in the community but also on a business level. Small business is very excited to get involved. Literally, every person we invited to take part [in the Flagship mentor program] said yes and showed up in the middle of the day and mentored these students, and literally every one of them said afterwards, ‘I want to do more, how can I do more?’” It’s that kind of dedication that Prentice believes can help turn the new landscape of college athletics into a fruitful one for the Razorbacks.
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The 2021 run to the Elite Eight placed UA basketball back on the national map and opened up marketing possibilities for players.
ADVANTAGE: ARKANSAS? In college athletics, where competition takes place on two fronts — between the lines and on the recruiting trail — success on the field rarely feels secure. Those on top say the grip is tenuous, while for those looking up, inertia can feel intractable. In such an environment, little is as precious as a newfound edge over the competition. Arkansas men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman has proven as much in his two years with the Razorbacks, honing and perfecting a talent-finding formula that takes advantage of recently loosened restrictions on player transfers. Building his rosters with a significant influx of players who began their college careers elsewhere, he’s led the Hogs to back-to-back 20-win seasons, the deepest run in the NCAA tournament in 25 years, and has his team poised to open next season ranked among the top 10 teams in the country.
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Prentice is hopeful Razorbacks athletics can similarly benefit in the NIL era by leveraging its unique position. “This could be an opportunity for the University of Arkansas to stand out, primarily because of our business relationships and what I call our natural resources in the state,” Prentice said. “Between all of the Fortune 500 companies in Northwest Arkansas and Fortune 1000 companies in the state, the passion of Razorback fans, not having any professional sports teams, really taking advantage of things we’ve always talked about with our recruits and with our donors and supporters and really putting that into action. “That, to me, as an alum, as somebody who has traveled to all 75 counties in the state as a fundraiser and seen the passion head-on and had relationships with our supporters, that was really the enticing thing,” he added, “to take some of the things I’ve learned through that and really use them to make the Razorbacks the best athletics department in the country.”
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THE LAST WORD
NARRATIVES AND PERSPECTIVES
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n October of 2019, I had just finished midterms during my senior year of college and was preparing to participate in the International Model Arab League competition in Rabat, Morocco. Our teachers and counselors had warned us ahead of time that Morocco was a developing country, and that we would likely see things there that we had never seen before: not just sand dunes and camels, but extreme poverty and disparity. Once we had finished our competition, we still had four days left on our trip, so we began to travel to each corner of the small Middle Eastern country. As our large bus emerged on the other side of the Atlas Mountains and navigated the precarious winding path down, we pulled into a small village with a mixture of tents and storefronts. Our professor encouraged us to explore everything. I wandered down the dusty path with my friends, a wad of dirham in my hand. The American dollar was worth 10 times the Moroccan dirham, and the ATMs across the country were unable to keep up. We all entered what my Moroccan friend translated as a cosmetics shop, with modern hues of green and fluorescent lighting. All of the women in our cohort (and even some of the men) excitedly bought bottles of Argan oil and saffron oil and extravagant perfumes. I bought a bottle of perfumed saffron oil and began to stroll out when I felt a tug on my elbow. My professor led me into a side room in the shop. Seated against the wall was a line of Berber women, each with what looked like huge lemon juicers in their laps. They were working so hard that their hands were bleeding. Many of them looked to be in considerable pain as they made argan oil by hand. My professor whispered to me something to the effect that not all women are as lucky as Western women. Every now and then, I’ll see an article J U LY 2 02 1
IN MOROCCO BY KATIE ZAKRZEWSKI
from a big-name Western media company romanticizing the Middle Eastern women who work for long hours making Argan oil, boasting that these women are able to get out of the house and contribute to their family’s well-being. One article that I read even went so far as to say that the women sang together and had a great time. That is not what I saw. And while I cannot speak for all of the Middle East, I can share what I saw from my brief stint in Morocco. Women in Morocco were often given the role of bathroom attendants — meaning that they picked up and disposed of the baskets full of used toilet paper, as Moroccans don’t usually flush toilet paper. The women’s bathrooms usually were in poor shape. At one point, a friend and I had been standing outside of the ladies’ room for half an hour. When we discovered that it was out of order, we quickly slipped into the men’s room at the behest of the female bathroom attendant. When we emerged, all three of us were berated by the male property manager, who didn’t seem to care about the state of the malfunctioning ladies’ room. Women didn’t negotiate in the marketplaces — their male counterparts did. And when we went into the grand Mosque in the late afternoon where the imam gave us a tour, all women were expected to cover their heads, even in the outdoor courtyard — despite the fact that I am not a very effeminate woman — and weren’t allowed in the prayer area. Then, during the call to prayer, despite having heard different forms of prayer across the country throughout the days, a look of terror spread across everyone’s face when the prayer came in the form of a bellow across the loudspeakers, followed by the shout of ALLAHU AKBAR! Even the most progressive members of the party looked greatly troubled, as well as the queer members of the class. Morocco was, for the most part, a beautiful place. But when we left the tourist96
heavy areas, we were exposed to unfiltered poverty, classism, sexism and inequality. As a result, my worldview shifted. Now, I often get frustrated at Western feminists, because I feel as though they’ve lost sight of the goal. While there are still instances of inequality here at home, I am able to go to school, own my own property, max out my own credit cards, wear what I want, and have received enough higher education to weave this story together on paper for you. But Western feminists are more concerned with sexism in video games than the state of our female counterparts in the Middle East, who are facing genuine oppression under the label of culture. As someone with a bachelor's in anthropology, I can confirm firsthand that anthropologists have often turned a blind eye to absolute travesties in foreign countries under the guise of culture. I hope that moving forward, those of us with power and, dare I even say, the privilege to be in the West, work towards helping our sisters around the world who don’t have a voice and who aren’t allowed to reach their full potential. That bottle of saffron oil sits on my shelf to this day and stares me in the face every time I enter the room. My friends threw their bottles away out of guilt, but I kept mine because of my shame. I keep my saffron oil to remind myself that I am lucky, and that there is still work to be done. A
Katie Zakrzewski is the associate editor for AY Media Group. A proud native of North Little Rock’s Baring Cross neighborhood, Katie is a graduate of Mount St. Mary Academy and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
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