2013-06 Faulkner County Business Journal

JUNE 2013

Making a difference in the health of Faulkner County Jim Lambert,

Conway Regional Health System President & CEO

Full story, Page 4

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Faulkner County Business Journal

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Chamber employees earn industry’s highest designation TJ Johnston, executive vice president at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, and Jamie Gates, senior vice president, have obtained their Certified Chamber Executive designation from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.

The CCE is the only national certification for chamber professionals and is the highest designation a chamber executive can earn. To achieve Jamie Gates TJ Johnston the designation, participants must complete a The first step is the appli- quired to have at least rigorous four-step process. cation. Applicants are re- six years of senior-lev-

el chamber management experience and currently be employed in a seniorlevel chamber management position. They are required to submit documentation of their professional activities.

The second step is to write two essays. The first essay is based on one of four core chamber management areas — management, planning and development, membership and communications, and operations.

The second essay requires candidates to ex-

Businesses invited to participate in upcoming student discount card Local businesses have the opportunity to welcome more than 4,000 incoming freshmen to the Conway area by way of the collegiate Smart Card. As part of their Chamber membership, businesses can feature a special discount or promotion on the card’s website at no cost.

At the start of the 2013-14 school year, the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce will distribute the promotional discount card to first-year students on the campuses of Central Baptist College, Hendrix College, the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton.

The Smart Card comes in the form of a plastic wallet card and a plastic keychain tag that is color specific to each college. It

directs students to a website that lists the card sponsors and participating businesses with links to their offers. Students can access the Smart Card website by visiting the URL printed on the back of the wallet card or by using their smartphones to scan the quickresponse, or QR code, on the back of the keychain tag. It is free to be a participating business on the Smart Card website; simply email a promotion as a PDF to Adena@Conwa-

yArkansas.org on or before July 12.

This is the third year the Chamber has issued the Smart Card to college freshmen. In previous years, first-year students received “welcome bags” filled with promotional items and fliers from local businesses. Adena White, director of communications at the Chamber, said the Smart Card is a more convenient and a modern alternative to the welcome bags and has a longer

shelf life.

“The Smart Card is an environmentally friendly giveaway that’s geared toward a tech-savvy demographic,” White said.

“Many of these new students are unfamiliar with businesses in the Conway area. The Smart Card gives them a glimpse into the products and services available here and saves them money in the process. This initial introduction can ultimately turn these students into regular customers for participating Chamber member businesses.”

Textbook Brokers and Regions Bank are presenting sponsors, and The Edge at Donaghey and Zaxby’s are card sponsors.

To learn more, email Adena White at the address above or call 501932-5414.

plain their chamber’s internal accounting procedures.

An oral presentation and interview are step three of the process. This step allows members of the Certification Commission to assess each candidate’s communication and leadership skills.

Upon successful completion of the previous steps, candidates are eligible to take the examination as the final step of the process, which takes four to six hours to complete.

Brad Lacy, who earned

his CCE in 2011, said going through the process is a learning experience and attests to Gates’ and Johnston’s commitment to the chamber profession and to their role as community leaders.

“TJ and Jamie are visionary leaders who are committed to serving and representing Conway and our Chamber with the highest level of professional integrity,” he said.

“I congratulate them on their accomplishment and am proud to have them on our team.”

Conway a finalist in dog park contest Conway is one of 15 cities nationwide competing to win $100,000 that will go toward a dog park. The contest is called “Bark For Your Park” and is conducted

by PetSafe®.

In order to qualify, city and community leaders had to approve the use of land for a dog park.

The land is located at the Don Owens Sports Complex on Lower Ridge Road.

The first round of voting lasted from May 1 until May 31. Conway received enough online votes and met other contest eligibility requirements to be named one of 15 finalist cities.

The second round of voting began June 5 and continues through July 26.

Since the second

phase of voting began, Conway has been in the top four overall and is in second place in the Large Cities category.

PetSafe will announce which city will receive the $100,000 grand prize on July 31.

The runner-up city in each small, medium and large population category will win $25,000.

Individuals can vote online twice a day – once on the PetSafe website at www.petsafe. net/barkforyourpark and once on PetSafe’s Facebook page.

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Resource Guide will target high-income households, new movers for area businesses Re-locators, pre-locators, small business owners and high-income households are the recipe for success for Conway area businesses. At least Jamie Gates, Sr. Vice President of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, thinks so: “By identifying households that are seeking new business relationships or households with high incomes, we can help businesses increase their profits.”

The Conway Area Chamber does this through the publication and unique distribution strategy of their annual resource guide for Conway residents new and old. The guide will serve as the Chamber’s membership directory, quality of life publication and local reference guide.

The guide will be a high-

quality piece that features useful, locally written, information for new residents and advertisements from businesses within Conway’s trade area.

The 80+ page publication will be mailed to every household of a qualifying income relocating within Conway’s traditional trade area. It is mailed to new residents quarterly.

Gates said that contacting recently relocated families as quickly as possible should be a priority for any business.

“Research tells us that relocating families’ spending may increase seven fold their first six months in a home. They will also establish dozens of permanent business relationships such as health care and finance professionals. It is a crit-

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Faulkner County Business Journal

ical time to gain their attention.”

Gates said that an equally important, but difficult to find, demographic is the “pre-locator.” “We call a pre-locator someone who contacts the Chamber before they ever come to Arkansas.

It may be a move they make or their own, or we may be working with a local business to help with transition.”

Gates says that what makes these valuable households difficult to discover is that they haven’t officially made a move that would show up in any traditional marketing lists. “Pre-locators would be impossible for small businesses to identify on their own. These are names that we get by taking the phone calls at the Chamber or by partnering with local indus-

try. We fulfill hundreds of requests each year from prospective residents.”

Finally, the resource guide will be mailed regionally to high-income households, not only in Conway but in areas that rely on Conway for goods and services. More than 4,000 copies will be sent to the area’s highest income households, some 30 or more miles away.

The guide will also be distributed in local hotels.

The Conway Resource Guide will be published in November. Any business is welcome to advertise in the Conway Resource Guide. To get more information about how your business may benefit from advertising, call Aaron Throneberry at the Chamber at 501.932.5404 or email aaron@conwayarkansas. org.

What’s that gonna be?

Park Hill Home Park Hill Home will offer “Everything for your home. From gift to garden.”

Where is that?

1009 Oak Street. Next door to Jenifer’s Antiques.

When’s it going to open?

Park Hill Home is scheduled to open in August.

Who’s building it?

Covington Contractors is renovating the historic 3,700 square foot building.

Chamber wins national awards, named Chamber of the Year finalist Conway Area Chamber of Commerce has received Awards of Excellence in a national competition sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), an association of professionals who manage chambers of commerce. The Chamber is also a finalist in ACCE’s Chamber of the Year competition.

The 29th annual Awards for Communication Excellence program attracted 142 entries from chambers of all sizes across the Unit-

ed States. A three-judge panel of chamber executives evaluated the entries and selected winners in four categories: advertising, electronic, publications and campaigns.

Conway Area Chamber received an award in the publications category for its 2011 “Hidden Treasures of Conway” annual report and in the advertising category for the Conway Development Corporation’s “Forward Together” invitation. Conway Chamber was in the largest class

for these awards and was recognized alongside larger organizations in Dallas, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The Chamber of the Year Award, another ACCE program, is the nation’s only award recognizing the dual role chambers have in creating both leading businesses and communities.

Chambers are grouped into four categories based on population in their service area, number of businesses in their service area, member-

ship and annual revenue.

Conway Area Chamber is one of three finalists in Category 3 – the second-largest category. The other finalists in this category are Christian County Chamber of Commerce in Kentucky and Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce.

Winners of the 2013 Chamber of the Year will be announced at ACCE’s annual convention July 23-26 in Oklahoma City.

The Awards for Communication Excellence winners will also be recog-

nized at the convention.

Brad Lacy, president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber’s investors and the city as a whole deserve for their Chamber to be the best. “The investments of time and resources from our members, volunteers and community leaders make a difference in our ability to compete at a national level,” he said. “We are honored that our peers in the chamber industry recognize the work we do every day.”

Established in 1914, ACCE is the only national association uniquely serving the professional development needs of individuals who manage chambers of commerce throughout the U.S. and several other countries. Representing 7,500 chamber professionals, ACCE enhances the knowledge, leadership skills and management effectiveness of chamber executives and their staffs through education, publications, research, benchmarking and best practices.

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Faulkner County Business Journal

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COVER STORY

Making a difference in the health of Faulkner County

W

hile a hospital is often one of the last places in the world that people want to find themselves, what makes a difference is how they are treated when they are there.

Conway Regional President and CEO Jim Lambert recently reminded employees to continue to take the extra time to “make a difference in the lives of our patients and families.”

Showing a video titled, “If You Could See Inside Others’ Hearts,” Mr. Lambert said, “We must continue to listen to our patients and their families and make a difference in their lives.”

He encouraged employees to communicate with families and help them feel better about their hospital stay. “We can’t always cure, but we can provide a healing environment,” said Mr. Lambert.

Identifying, addressing community needs Another way that Conway Regional is making a difference is by sponsoring a year-long study to identify the top health concerns facing people in Faulkner County. With the help of a number of community health organizations and a comprehensive health needs assessment, 11 top health concerns were identified.

Areas that the surveys showed need attention include: • Access to Care • Chronic Disease • Exercise • Diet and Nutrition • Health Education • Healthcare Affordability • Obesity • Personal Responsibil-

ity

• Physician/Clinical Workforce • Smoking/Drinking/ Drug Abuse • Wellness Addressing these needs will require a community wide effort, and Conway Regional is encouraging other community organizations to become involved.

“Changing the health of our community is going to take all of us working together. Everyone needs to get involved so we can make a difference,” said Mr. Lambert.

Conway Regional will focus on three health needs: • Access to health care providers (physician/ clinical workforce) is one of three areas that Conway Regional will work to improve in years to come by recruiting more providers, physicians in particular.

• Obesity: The goal is to reduce the rate of childhood obesity by sponsoring programs that increase the activity level of children.

• Wellness: The goal is to work with business and industry to increase the number of corporate wellness programs in

Faulkner County by three to five per year for three years.

Reaching out to the community Conway Regional has continued to reach out to the community: • Sponsoring dozens of health fairs and screenings each year; • Establishing support programs such as the Fabulous You Boutique, Perinatal Bereavement, the Diabetes Care Group and many others, to help during difficult times; • Working with the Conway Regional Women’s Council, the Junior Auxiliary of Conway, United Way of Faulkner County, Bethlehem House and numerous other philanthropic organizations to provide programs that benefit people of all ages and income levels.

Tremendous growth in health care services and quality Conway Regional also makes a difference by making investments that bring advanced technology and needed health care services and programs to Faulkner County. There has been tremendous growth and progress

in how health care is provided in Faulkner County during the past decade.

During that time Conway Regional has added cardiothoracic surgery, two new cardiac laboratories, a new Women’s Center that delivers 1,800 babies per year, a rehabilitation hospital, and a new outpatient imaging center. In the past decade, Conway Regional has invested more than $60 million on technology and services to improve the services provided in Conway. The latest addition is a $32 million expansion and renovation of surgical and obstetrics services.

In the past 10 years, the medical staff has grown to more than 125 physicians.

More are coming.

The health system is focused on the quality of the care and receives national recognition for these efforts. Most recently the Conway Regional Home Health department was honored for their efforts to keep patients healthy at home. Many other initiatives are also in place to improve the quality of care and patient satisfaction.

When two is too many During the past decade, rumors have surfaced re-

garding a second hospital in Conway. Ground was even broken once.

Meanwhile two Arkansas communities close to Conway announced the merger of their two hospitals. In September of 2005, White County Medical Center acquired Central Arkansas Hospital in Searcy.

In 2010 in Hot Springs, Mercy Health System announced plans to transfer ownership of St. Joseph Mercy Health System to Capella Healthcare, which owns National Park Medical Center.

In both instances, owners said they decided to merge to improve access and services to the community. They also cited the inability of the community to sustain two hospitals. Revenue spent on duplicate services could have been spent on improving health care.

While neither Searcy nor Hot Springs is as large as Conway, they are not as close to Little Rock and more than a half dozen other large hospitals.

It is also important to consider the current health care environment in which all hospitals are under

greater financial pressure.

A second hospital would not add any new services but would add new costs paid for by the consumers.

This pressure is brought on by declining revenue, growing demands from the federal government and the increasing number of uninsured or underinsured patients.

Surely, it is better to improve health care services from within the community than to duplicate services and further dilute resources with a huge investment in brick and mortar.

What does the future hold?

Technology, Medicaid expansion and access to healthcare will change and evolve. Conway Regional will continue to rise up and meet those challenges and will continue to look for ways to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

What won’t change is our commitment to the community.

Regardless of what the future holds, Conway Regional will continue to focus on making a difference for those who entrust their care to us.

6E — Sunday, June 16, 2013

Faulkner County Business Journal

To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat

Registration open for Chamber bowling event Managers who are looking to provide team building or reward opportunities for their employees may find that Bowling for Business is right up their alley.

Now in its third year, Bowling for Business encourages interaction among employees in a fun and laid-back environment and promotes friendly competition among participating businesses. The event, host-

ed by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place Friday, June 28, at Conway Family Bowl. Crafton Tull is the presenting sponsor.

Bowling for Business offers morning and afternoon “flights” separated by a luncheon. The morning flight is from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., and the afternoon flight is from noon to 3 p.m. Lunch is professionals have the ing alley fare. Lunch is and Kimberly-Clark. from noon to 1 p.m. Dur- chance to network while sponsored by Smith Ford, Lane sponsorships are ing lunch, more than 200 enjoying traditional bowl- Southwestern Energy available for $350, which Be

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The American Cancer Society’s Epidemiology Research Program is conducting a nationwide study as part of its efforts to prevent, and ultimately eradicate, cancer. Individuals between the ages of 30 and 65 can enroll in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 at one of four host sites in Faulkner County.

CPS-3 is a grassroots effort that allows local communities from across the country to support cancer research not just

through fundraising efforts, but also by being active participants in a historic research study. The purpose of CPS-3 is to understand the lifestyle, behavioral, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer. Its goal is to enroll at least 300,000 adults from various racial and ethnic backgrounds from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

In addition to the age requirement, participants must be willing to commit to the study long-

term, which means completing periodic follow-up surveys at home for the next 20-30 years. CPS-3 is seeking participants who have never been diagnosed with cancer.

The first step is to attend a local enrollment event. These events are taking place Aug. 6-10 at Conway Regional Medical Center, Antioch Baptist Church, Greenbrier City Event Center and Conway Public Library. For details on the dates and times, visit SeeUThere.

includes signage at the event, a five-person team, a team T-shirt for each bowler, and the ability to provide participant giveaways. Five-person team sponsorships are available for $150. Lunch is included for all participants.

To participate in Bowling for Business on June 28, register online at ConwayChamber.org/ events or call 501-3277788.

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At the event, attendees will read and sign an informed consent form, complete a brief written survey, and provide a waist circumference measurement and small blood sample. After enrollment, study participants will complete a more detailed survey at home and will receive surveys periodically to update their health information.

For info about CPS-3, visit cancer.org/cps3 or call 888-604-5888.

Cyber fraud is a widespread form of targeted, online fraud affecting organizations that use commercial Webbanking services. On Tuesday, June 25, representatives from Arvest Bank will present a free seminar about how nonprofit organizations, schools, public sector entities and small- to medium-sized businesses can protect themselves.

The seminar is part of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Lunch and Learn series. It will take place from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Chamber building, located at 900 Oak St. Perpetrators of cyber fraud attempt to transfer money from commercial bank accounts using

wire transfers and automatic clearinghouse (ACH) transactions.

Lunch and Learn attendees will be informed of risk mitigation techniques the FBI recommends. They will also learn how they can reduce their organizations’ risk of cyber fraud by understanding how fraud works, protecting their computer networks, monitoring commercial bank accounts, and reporting suspicious activity.

Employees of Chamber member businesses can attend the event at no cost. Seating is limited to the first 40 participants so reservations are required. To reserve a seat, call 501-327-7788 or email Sandra@ConwayArkansas.org.

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Conway Economy at a Glance Unemployment Rate March 2013 US . ......................7.6% Arkansas...............7.2% Faulkner County . 6.9% Conway.................6.7% *Faulkner County & Conway not Seasonally Adjusted Sales Tax Collections Conway* March 2013...........$1,988,118 2012...........$2,047,986 Percent Change -2.9% Annual* 2012.........$22,944,163 2011.........$22,366,464 Percent Change -2.6% *Tax Rate 1.75% Faulkner County* March 2013..............$728,079 2012..............$763,331 Percent Change -4.6% Annual* 2012...........$8,465,686 2011...........$8,279,301 Percent Change 2.3% *Tax Rate 0.5% Restaurant Sales* April 2013.........$14,607,987 2012.........$13,898,807 Percent Change 5.1% Annual Sales 2012.......$153,412,988 2011.......$144,646,055 Percent Change 6.1% *Including mixed drink sales Hotel Sales April 2013...........$2,023,038 2012...........$1,839,259 Percent Change 10.0% Annual Sales 2012.........$18,683,676 2011.........$18,662,136 Percent Change .12% Conway Building Permits Single Family Homes Year to Date May 2013............58 Permits

2012............64 Permits Percent Change -9.4% Average Construction Cost* Year to Date March 2013..............$218,861 2012..............$214,691 Percent Change 1.9% Average Square Footage* Year to Date March 2013....................2,856 2012....................2,979 Percent Change -4.1% Average Construction Cost Per Square Ft.* Year to Date - March 2013..................$76.53 2012..................$72.07 Percent Change 6.2% Annual 2012..........186 Permits 2011..........153 Permits Percent Change 21.6% Average Construction Cost* Annual 2012..............$207,537 2011............. $204,387 Percent Change 1.5%. *Not including land or lot improvements Average Square Footage* Annual 2012....................2,910 2011....................2,814 Percent Change 3.4% Average Construction Cost Per Square Ft.* Annual 2012..................$71.33 2011..................$72.64 Percent Change -1.8% * Total under roof Lottery Sales Faulkner County May 2013...........$1,569,620 2012...........$1,352,262 Percent Change 16.1% Year to Date (May) 2013...........$7,496,821 2012...........$8,848,741

Percent Change -15.3% Total State May 2013.........$38,728,606 2012.........$39,188,476 Percent Change -1.2% Year to Date (May) 2012.......$202,126,649 2011 ......$212,024,259 Percent Change -4.7% Natural Gas Severance Tax Distribution May Conway 2013................$20,251 2012................$15,934 Percent Change 27.1% Faulkner County 2013................$16,442 2012................$12,947 Percent Change 5.9% Annual Conway 2012..............$162,457 2011..............$254,822 Percent Change 27.0% Faulkner County 2012..............$131,418 2011..............$204,052 Percent Change -35.6% Wellhead Price per MCF* Yearly Average 2012................... $2.66 2011................... $3.95 2010................... $4.48 2009................... $3.67 2008................... $7.97 *MCF=1000 cubic feet Number of Active Wells* Faulkner County.....350 Total in Field .......4,481 *As of December 12, 2012 Estimated Life Time Value of Production* Total Field..................... $11,382,327,198 *As of September 30, 2012

Information provided by pulseofconway.com

Sunday, June 16, 2013 — 7E

Faulkner County Business Journal

The lottery and Faulkner County

By Roger Lewis

Imagine an operation that produces $1.7 billion in revenue in less than 3 ½ years. Not only is revenue high, but after expenses, the endeavor has 20% ($340 million) to distribute. Does this sound too good to be true? It isn’t; it is real. The operation is the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.

From the summary information, the future of the lottery certainly appears bright. However, a forecast requires an analysis of trends over time and not just a summary. In recent months the trend for the lottery is downward.

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery began September 28, 2009. During the first full year of operation (2010), lottery sales were $460 million. They rose to $475 million in 2011. In 2012 sales declined to $452million, a 4.8% decrease from 2011 and an amount that was even below 2010. Sales continued to decline this year with the first five months of 2013 being 4.7% lower than for the same period in 2012. The Lottery Commission has added new games to bolster sales but they have not interrupted the decline in sales.

Approximately 66.3 % of lottery sales are returned to the players through prizes. 5.6% is paid to point-of-sale vendors as a commission and 7.8% is used for administration, advertising and contracted services. This leaves 20.2% for Academic Challenge Scholarships.

Lottery sales in Faulkner County peaked the first year of the lottery. Declines followed.

Sales for 2010, 2011, and 2012 were $17.5 million, $16.8 million and $15.5 million. The 2012 figure is 11.4% less than 2010.

Faulkner County lottery sales rank sixth among the 75 counties. Rank in sales is related to population and location of the county and Faulkner County is fifth in population among the

counties. Intersected by Interstate 40, some of the Faulkner County sales are probably to visitors rather than residents. This conjecture is supported by the fact that the two vendors with the highest sales among the 55 Faulkner County vendors are in Mayflower near interstate 40.

Based on the $15.5 million in Faulkner County lottery sales, the players should have received approximately $10.3 million in prizes.

Lottery sales per capita is another way to compare counties.

The state average is $158. That is, the average Arkansan spent $158 in 2012 on lottery tickets.

In Faulkner County the figure was $144, which ranks 35th. The county with the lowest per capita sales is Montgomery County at $50; the one with the highest is Arkansas County at $330.

The Academic Challenge Scholarships began in 1991 and was funded entirely by appropriations from the state legislature.

Yearly awards were in the $2000 - $3000 range during the period the scholarships were funded solely by the legislature. Today the state continues to fund the program at $20 million per year.

In 2010 the Academic Challenge Scholarships began receiving money from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Approximately 12,000 students each year receive Academic Challenge Scholarships. For the 2010-11 school year, scholarship awards were $5,000 for eligible students attending a four-year college and $2,500 for students attending a two-year college. Awards were to remain at that level during the student’s career if academic standards continued to be met. However, declining revenue from lottery sales has caused a restructuring of the awards for 2013-14. Incoming freshmen at either four-year or two-year schools will receive $2,000. The scholarship amount for eligible students at four-year schools increases by $1,000 each of the

next three years of the student’s career. Thus, students who make adequate progress toward degrees receive $5,000 their senior year. Continuing students who received scholarships before the 2013-14 school year have their award reduced to $4,500 and $2,250 for four and two year colleges respectively.

Academic Challenge Scholarships valued at $2.7 million were awarded to 748 Faulkner County residents for the 2012 -13 academic year. These students attended 12 Arkansas institutions with the highest number, 331, attending UCA and Morrilton Community College was next with 110.

Students across Arkansas attending an institution of higher learning in Faulkner County received 4,293 Arkansas Challenge Scholarships (UCA 3,833 Hendrix 293, CBC 175). These scholarships were valued at $18.9 million.

There is some overlap in the $2.7 million in scholarships received by Faulkner residents and the $18.9 million in scholarships received by the colleges since many of the Faulkner county residents receiving scholarships are included in the totals for the three local colleges. The total impact of scholarships received by Faulkner County’s residents and the colleges is approximately $20 million when this overlap is factored out. Add $7.7 million in prize money returned to Faulkner County Lottery sales and $.7 in commission for Falkner County Vendors makes the total impact on Faulkner County approximately $28 million. Thus, Faulkner County has a net gain in terms of the return on lottery sales.

I thank my friend Chris Spatz for editing and helping me with this article.

You can obtain more information on the economy of Conway and Faulkner County by going to the Pulse of Conway website (www.pulseofconway.com).