Chamber Voice of Business Magazine | May 2024

Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette readers are proud of the communities that they live in and they know the area best. They generated over 634,000 votes which produced 657 unique winners for 2023’s Best of Northwest Arkansas Edition. Over 3,900 businesses, people, and organizations were nominated. We are honored to be voted the 2023 Gold Winner for Best Chamber of Commerce.

RLC Voted BEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Best of Northwest Arkansas invites its audience each year to recognize the best businesses, organizations, and people in Northwest Arkansas.

• Their focus is on businesses and entertainment that support, serve and do business in Northwest Arkansas.

NWA’s favorites: The local community nominates their favorites in nine main topic areas: Agriculture, Eat & Drink, Education, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Motors, Services, Shopping, and Things to Do.

• Votes are tabulated by a third-party.

• The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette does not know the results of the contest until after the votes are tabulated.

• In each category, readers vote on their favorite nominee. Readers are permitted to vote in each category once per day.

Celebrating our success! Awards Gala, Winners Results Magazine, Targeted Social Media Campaign and Retractable Pull-Up Sign for the Chamber’s lobby.

• Awards Gala

• Wednesday, March 27

• Venue: Heroncrest Event Center

• Emcee: Miss Arkansas 2024, Cori Keller

Winners Results Magazine:

• Published Sunday, March 31, 2024

• View here!

• Circulated at the gala announcing winners, Sunday’s print and digital issues of the newspaper, and is distributed throughout the year by local companies who use it as welcome packets.

Targeted Social Media Campaign:

• Two-week promotion (last week in April and first week in May) on Facebook and Instagram.

April’s WORKFORCE Efforts

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT is a top priority for the Rogers Lowell Chamber in 2024. With over 9,000 open jobs across the NWA region, the Chamber works hard each day to help employers fill these positions and develop the workforce of tomorrow. April had four distinct workforce events devoted to showcasing career pathways to students and helping employers hire to fill jobs.

• Click the images below for a breakdown of each event and find out why they matter.

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EVENT RECAP RLC Civics Bee

And the WINNERS are...

SECOND PLACE WINNER, HUDSON won 1 family fun night at Fast Lane Entertainment and $250!

THIRD PLACE WINNER, EDEN won 1 splash pass to the Rogers Aquatic Center and $125!

FIRST PLACE WINNER, JOAH won 1 family fun night at Fast Lane Entertainment and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and $500!

WHAT HAPPENED: On Tuesday, April 2 we hosted the first ever local competition for the National Civics Bee at Rogers Heritage High School.

BY THE NUMBERS: We had 19 students compete from Arkansas Arts Academy, Elmwood Middle School, Greer Lingle Middle School, Old High Middle School, and Ozark Middle School! It was a great night full of civics!

WHAT’S NEXT? The top 10 students from our competition will be competing in Little Rock on May 15 for the State Competition!

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Informed and active citizens make for a strong country, a strong economy, and a strong workforce, and our continued prosperity depends on the strength of all three. We are excited to be participating in the National Civics Bee competition to engage with students on how they can better their communities.

OUR MISSION-WORK: The RLC Civics Bee encourages students to learn civics and engage with their communities.

AMBASSADOR of the Year

TONI LUETJEN

Landers Toyota NWA Toyota Toni

Toni Luetjen moved to Northwest Arkansas (NWA) in 1992 from her hometown of Enid, OK.

Toni and Tim reside in Bentonville, they have three adult children and two grandchildren, she has been with Landers Toyota NWA for over six years as their Marketing Director, handling all Business Development activities for NWA.

During her time at Landers she has been awarded the following:

• Ambassador for Rogers Lowell Chamber: 2020 Ambassador of the Year

• Ambassador for Greater Bentonville Chamber: 2020 Ambassador of the Year

• Ambassador for Springdale Chamber: 2023 Ambassador of the Year

• Active Member of the RLC Member Engagement Team: Six years

Toni is very involved with numerous charities that Landers sponsors including being a Member of the Will Golf 4 Kids charity committee for 23 years supporting Arkansas Children’s Northwest. During her time with Landers she has also joined forces with the LPGA Tournament.

Education includes Toastmasters Certification, CMP acquired as a Certified Membership/Marketing Professional through PCMA in 2014, continuing education through Landers .

Toni is a certified Scuba Diver and loves to travel internationally. During the summer they spend time on their boat at Beaver Lake.

The greatest joy for Toni is to learn about the businesses in NWA and help promote them through the Chambers by coming to Ribbon Cuttings and Ground Breaking Ceremonies. This gives her the knowledge to spread the word to the community.

Landers Toyota NWA gratulates Toni Luetjen for her outstanding per formance as the Rogers Lowell Chamber 2023 Ambassador of the Year

Celebrating LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES

RLC’S MISSION-WORK: One of the Chamber’s five key focus areas for its mission-work is Small Business & Entrepreneurial Development. Each year, during National Small Business Week April 28 – May 4 this year, we highlight our support for small business and celebrate our small business owners. Here’s how RLC supports small business in our mission-work:

• We curate essential resources for starting, running, and growing business.

• We open doors to new connections for small businesspeople and entrepreneurs through educational programs and networking events.

• We listen to our Small Business Council who guides us as the Voice of Small Business.

• We also advocate for business-friendly legislation by representing small business to our legislators.

SMALL BUSINESS Corner

NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK celebrates small business owners around the country by inspiring recognition of their outstanding service, innovation, and development.

WHY IT MATTERS: Small businesses account for half of America’s workforce, and more new jobs come from small business than any other source. They are vital to keeping America running.

• Small businesses play a vital role in our local, state, and national economy and that’s why the Chamber focuses one of its five key mission-work area on them.

BARKS ON THE BRICKS MAY

LET’S TAKE A WALK: Art on the Bricks Art Walk is excited to extend a warm invitation to join us in Downtown Rogers as we celebrate National Pet Month with our monthly Art on the Bricks Art Walk on Thursday, May 9 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This year’s theme, “Barks on the Bricks,” resonates deeply with our dog-friendly downtown.

WHY IT MATTERS: Art on the Bricks Art Walk, a program of the Rogers Lowell Chamber, is dedicated to providing welcoming and inclusive Third Space experiences to members of the community. Enjoy extended hours in retail shops, art galleries, and pop-up art exhibits on the 2nd Thursday of every month.

SPECIAL THANKS: T-Mobile, Renewal by Andersen, Rogers Experimental House, KNWA/Fox 24 News, iHEART Media, and Minuteman Press, in collaboration with local business owners, non-profit organizations, and talented artists from across Northwest Arkansas and beyond.

RLC MAY EVENTS

Thursday, May 23

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Saturday, July 13 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm

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