2014-09 Faulkner County Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 2014

‘A People Business’REGION’S BUSINESS MODEL REVOLVES AROUND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

(From left): Jason Culpepper, City President; Chris Hall, Financial Consultant; Nancy Sims, Consumer Sales Manager; Chad Oglesby, Private Wealth Management Advisor; Maria Pruitt, Greenbrier Branch Manager; Bucky Croom, Trust Advisor; Raven Morgan, Conway West/Industrial Branch Manager; Kevin Rodgers, Institutional Trust; Tiffany Duhamel, Mortgage Loan Officer; Rodney Abston, Commercial & Industrial; and Bryan Castleberry, Merchant Services.

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat2C — Monday, September 1, 2014

2014ASTECONWAYT

EXPOUSINESS

THE

ON

GREATESTEXPOEARTH

USINESS

EXPO

ASTECONWAY

USINESS

FEATURING

OFOFT

C

AND

AND

FEATURING2014

2014

2014

B 2014

BJOIN THE FUN ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 CONWAY EXPO CENTER & FAIRGROUNDS

Finding the time to network with other professionals, promote your business, and attract and retain new customers is a juggling act. Find balance at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo, where you can gain a competitive advantage while developing new relationships – all under one roof!

To register or for more info: ConwayChamber.org | 501-327-7788

#ConwayBusinessExpo

REGISTER AT CONWAYCHAMBER.ORG BY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.

Presented by

The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Women in Business Awards will take place Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Conway Expo Center and Fairgrounds. The awards luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m.

The Women in Busi-ness Awards honor in-dividuals in the Conway area who have excelled in leadership and com-munity service and who have inspired oth-ers on both a personal and professional level. The Chamber is accept-ing nominations for the awards now through Tuesday, Sept. 30.

A panel of Chamber executives outside the state of Arkansas will select the award recipi-ents.

At the December event, four individuals will receive the “Out-standing Woman in Business Award.” Those selected will embody high standards of excel-lence, dedication and ac-complishment to their respective organiza-tions, industries and to the business communi-ty.

The “Diamond Achievement Award” will be presented to an individual with at least

25 years of professional experience. This award recognizes a woman who has inspired and empowered many gen-erations of women and who has had a positive impact on those in her profession and in the community.

To submit nomina-tions for the Outstand-ing Woman in Business awards and/or the Di-amond Achievement award, visit Conway-Chamber.org and click on the Women in Busi-ness banner.

For questions about the call for nominations, call 501-327-7788.

Chamber now accepting nominations for upcomingWomen in Business awards Production is under-

way for the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s community profile and resource guide, an annu-al quality-of-life and local reference publication. The guide will be available in print and online and is scheduled to be released in November.

“This publication is the most comprehensive guide to the Conway area econo-my and lifestyle,” said se-nior vice president Jamie Gates. “The useful, local-ly written content com-bined with our distribu-tion strategy makes it a great source for Conway residents, both new and established.”

The publication will be mailed to every household

of a qualifying income re-locating within Conway’s traditional trade area. It is also mailed to new res-idents each quarter. Gates said that by identifying households seeking new business relationships or households with high in-comes, the guide could help participating businesses increase their profits.

“Research tells us that relocating families’ spend-ing may increase seven-fold their first six months in a home,” Gates said. “During this time, these families will also establish permanent business rela-tionships with health care and finance profession-als, insurance agents, and more. It’s a critical time to gain their attention.”

The Chamber also sends the guide to “pre-lo-cators,” classified as pro-spective residents and companies who contact

the Chamber seeking in-formation about the com-munity.

“We fulfill dozens of re-quests each year from pro-spective residents,” Gates said.

Approximately 4,000 high-income households in Conway and surrounding communities that rely on Conway for goods and ser-vices will receive the guide in their mailboxes. Some of the area’s highest income households are located more than 30 miles away. The digital version of the publication will be hosted online on the Chamber’s website and will be pro-moted via targeted mar-keting campaigns on Fa-cebook and banner ads on mobile devices.

Any business is wel-come to advertise in the guide. Those interested can call the Chamber at 501-327-7788.

Annual guide targets new movers, select households

The Consulate of Mexi-co in Little Rock will host a performance at the Uni-versity of Central Arkan-sas on Saturday, Sept. 13, to commemorate the 204th anniversary of Mex-ico’s Independence. The celebration is open to the public and will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Reynolds Performance Hall.

This year’s event is ti-tled “Wonders of Mex-

ico” and will highlight through music and dance the country’s culture, tra-ditions and the histor-ic relevance of the battle that led to Mexico’s inde-pendence.

Tickets are $12 and may be reserved in ad-vance by emailing [email protected] or calling Ash-ley Simmons at 501-372-6933, ext. 223.

Consulate of Mexico in Little Rock to host celebration in Conway

Faulkner County Business Journal Monday, September 1, 2014 — 3C Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

Alexandria, Va. — The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) announces that Brad Lacy, CCE, IOM, president and CEO of the Conway Area Cham-ber of Commerce, was recently elected to the association’s board of di-rectors. Lacy, who will serve as chair of the as-sociation’s Chamber of the Year award program,

was officially welcomed to the board during ACCE’s annual conven-tion in Cincinnati, Aug. 12-15.

“Brad’s successful leadership of the Con-way Area Chamber, com-bined with his excellent contribution to ACCE and to other boards, will be of great value to our organization,” said ACCE President Mick

Fleming. Lacy began his eco-

nomic development ca-reer in 1997 with the Arkansas Economic De-velopment Commission as a community develop-ment consultant and lat-er as a project manager, where he worked to re-cruit companies to the state.

He has served as the president and CEO of

the Conway Develop-ment Corporation (CDC), the city of Conway’s non-profit economic develop-ment entity, since 2000. In December 2006, Lacy became president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.

About ACCEEstablished in 1914,

ACCE is the only nation-al association uniquely

serving the profession-al development needs of individuals managing chambers of commerce throughout the United States and Canada.

This year, as ACCE marks 100 years of ser-vice to chamber lead-ers, the association rep-resents more than 7,000 chamber profession-als. ACCE enhances the knowledge, leadership

skills, and management effectiveness of cham-ber executives and their staffs through education, trend analysis, bench-marking, and best prac-tices.

ACCE promotes the highest standards of professional excellence and integrity within the chamber profession.

For more information, visit ACCE.org.

Lacy joins Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives board

Sericia Cole, execu-tive director of the Mo-saic Templars Cultural Center, will be the key-note speaker at the Con-way Area Chamber of Commerce’s Minority Enterprise Development awards gala. The event will take place Thursday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ball-room on the Universi-ty of Central Arkansas campus.

Retired NBA player and coach Sidney Mon-crief was originally slat-ed to speak at the cere-mony but canceled due to a scheduling conflict.

Sericia Cole became executive director of Mo-saic Templars in July 2012. The museum’s mis-sion is to collect, pre-serve, interpret and cele-brate Arkansas’s African American history, culture and community from 1870 to the present.

Prior to her role at Mosaic Templars Cultur-al Center, Cole served as Gov. Mike Beebe’s direc-tor of external affairs, where she traveled the state addressing issues

related to minority com-munities, faith-based groups, and volunteer and community initia-tives. One of the signa-ture service components she helped craft on be-half of the Governor was his “Beebe Cares” pro-gram. Through this pro-gram, the governor’s of-fice coordinated projects to serve the community, including back-to-school drives and adopting fam-ilies at the holidays.

Cole also worked at Philander Smith College as director of public rela-tions and remains as PR/marketing counsel to the private, historically black institution. In 2004, she helped launch the Little Rock/North Little Rock chapter of City Year Inc., as she simultaneously served as founding edi-tor-in-chief of PowerPlay magazine, a general in-terest magazine high-lighting African Amer-icans in Arkansas. The magazine re-launched in Arkansas as a quarterly in January of this year.

The MED awards gala is an opportunity to cel-

ebrate the achievements of minority entrepre-neurs and the individ-uals and organizations committed to advanc-ing minority-owned busi-nesses. The nomination process for the five cat-egories of awards has ended, and the recipients are as follows:

Advocate for Oppor-tunity: Faulkner County Branch of the NAACP

Outstanding Minori-ty Business of the Year:

Sandstone Real Estate Group

Outstanding Young Minority Business Pro-fessional: Osmar Garcia, First Security Bank

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Lloyd Hervey, Philander Smith College

Limited tables are available for the MED awards gala. Those in-terested in attending should visit Conway-Chamber.org or call 501-327-7788.

New speaker booked for awards gala

Sericia Cole

The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce recently formed a part-nership with Acxiom (NYSE MKT:ACXM) to provide small-to-medi-um size businesses con-sumer data designed to generate sales and digi-tal traffic. “This is anoth-er example of how our organization and mem-bers benefit from hav-ing a global marketing leader in our own back-yard,” said Jamie Gates, senior vice president of the Conway Area Cham-ber of Commerce. “This partnership will let us deliver FORTUNE 500 level insight to business-es of any size.”

The chamber will be able to help businesses order customized mail-ing lists and sales leads; enhance and maintain their existing databases; and, analyze their exist-ing and highest poten-tial customer portfolio. “These technical capa-bilities are no longer re-

served for big business,” said Gates.

The chamber will also be able to execute mobile marketing cam-paigns on smartphones and tablets. “We live in an increasingly digital and mobile world, where consumers are checking their smartphones 150 times per day,” said Jeff Standridge, vice pres-ident and head of Acx-iom’s small and medi-um business strategy. “Now, businesses of any size can target custom-ers on mobile and so-cial with the same pre-cision they’ve been able to achieve for years with direct mail.”

Gates says the cham-ber now can create and manage campaigns na-tionwide. Businesses that are considering di-rect mail, mobile market-ing or database enhance-ment should contact Jamie Gates at 501-932-5401 or email [email protected].

Chamber, Acxiom to provide consumer data to small businesses

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat4C — Monday, September 1, 2014

In the wake of the finan-cial crisis of 2007 and 2008, the banking industry – large finan-cial institutions in particular – suffered a loss of public trust. Many customers left the na-tion’s largest banks and moved their assets to smaller commu-nity banks. However, one larg-er bank that has focused, even before the crisis, on improving customer service, increasing community involvement, and better understanding the needs of customers, is Regions Bank – which is among the top 20 larg-est banks in the U.S. Regions has 1,700 branches across the U.S., including three in Con-way, one in Vilonia and one in Greenbrier.

Customer ServiceOne of the most substantial

initiatives Regions developed is Regions360. Regions360 is a company-wide process focused on building relationships and meeting customers’ needs.

To understand Regions360, picture the customer as the center of a circle. The plan pro-vides a 360-degree view of the customer and his or her finan-cial situation. City president Jason Culpepper explains the process.

“Regions360 provides our customers with a complete fi-nancial assessment and en-sures they know all of what Regions has to offer – from per-sonal checking and savings ac-counts to insurance to mort-gage loans,” he said. “We try to have a deliberate, specific con-versation with every client to ensure satisfaction.”

Providing customers with a holistic view of their financial situation helps build long-last-

ing relationships and creates “shared value,” which is part of Regions’ mission. Culpep-per said Regions360 differenti-ates Regions from its competi-tors because its associates act as proactive, trusted advisors.

“After asking questions to determine a customer’s finan-cial situation, we work as a team to meet his or her needs,” Culpepper said. “One of our greatest assets as a larger bank is having a team of specialists who are well-versed in their particular areas. Teamwork is critical in our world; no one is a jack-of-all-trades. This enables us to provide better service.”

The Regions360 model en-courages a consultative ap-proach to banking. This leads to positive relationships with customers, which Culpepper said is at the heart of the in-dustry.

“Banking is ultimately a people business. Focusing more

on service and the overall cus-tomer experience increases customer satisfaction and loy-alty, which leads to more refer-rals.”

In addition to Regions360, Regions conducts more than 300,000 Gallup surveys annu-ally to gather feedback about its customers’ transactions and most recent branch experienc-es. The company uses the sur-vey results to tweak policies and even design new products.

“These surveys help us cap-ture the voice of our clients, which is crucial to our busi-ness,” Culpepper said.

Regions’ efforts to listen to its customers have paid off: The bank was ranked No. 8 nation-ally in the 2014 Temkin Expe-rience Ratings, tying with Star-bucks, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Dairy Queen and Sam’s Club. The Temkin Experience Rank-ings are based on feedback of consumers’ recent interactions

with 268 companies represent-ing 19 industries.

Community InvolvementCulpepper has worked for

Regions for seven years. In his role as city president, he over-sees Regions’ Faulkner County branches as well as its branch-es in Clinton, Fairfield Bay and Morrilton. When Culpepper took the city president position in 2012 and moved to Conway from Little Rock, he made in-creasing Regions’ involvement in the community a priority.

“I wanted to make sure that we focused on becoming more active in our community,” he said. “We have increased our involvement with the chamber of commerce and try to touch as many local nonprofit organi-zations as we can.

“We take great pride in Faulkner County, and we are committed to this community. We want to make sure we are

top of mind. If we can just be invited to the party, I like our chances.”

Culpepper said Regions has a rich history in Conway dating back to a time when there were only two banks in the city.

“Regions has such a strong legacy in Conway” he said. “Re-gions’ roots in Faulkner Coun-ty go back to the early 1930’s, when First National Bank of Conway began. Because Con-way is such a young, fast-grow-ing town, many people may not realize our history here.”

Another way Regions gets involved in the community is responding when tragedy strikes. The bank mobilized its central Arkansas employees when tornadoes came through Mayflower and Vilonia in April. Culpepper credits Regions’ strong team of branch manag-ers for leading the response ef-forts.

“Regions gives every associ-ate one day per year to volun-teer for a specific cause. Forty to 50 of our employees used their day in early May to assist with disaster relief efforts in Vilonia and Mayflower,” he said. “Our Main Street branch manager DeEnna Runyon helped desig-nate our facility as a drop-off location for supplies. Being out in the community helping and just getting involved is at the core of what we do.”

Culpepper said five values guide Regions: 1) Put people first; 2) Do what is right; 3) Fo-cus on your customer; 4) Reach higher; and 5) Enjoy life.

“These principles drive ev-erything we do. When we make these basic values our fo-cus, everything else just falls into place.”

COVER STORY

‘A People Business’Regions’ business model Revolves aRound customeR Relationships, community involvement

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat6C — Monday, September 1, 2014

WARNING: If you don’t like the growth the city has experienced and the overall direction it has taken for the last 15 years, then you won’t like the next five minutes ei-ther. Maybe it’s because football season is official-ly here, but we’re in pre-game pep talk mode.

Bigger isn’t always better. But today’s Con-way is bigger and bet-ter than any time in his-tory: more people, more jobs, more amenities and higher standards of private development and public investment. What’s amazing is the

most exciting days are still in front of us.

By now, most Conway residents have heard that there are two ma-jor retail developments in the pipeline for our community. What many may not know is that in order to keep these proj-ects moving forward and on schedule (open-ing mid- to late 2016), the city needs to reded-icate a transportation bond issue. That election is Sept. 9 with early vot-ing beginning on Sept. 2. If you can’t tell yet, we’re FOR it. Here’s why:

• Rededicating these

bonds won’t raise your taxes. Voting against them won’t lower your taxes.

• Rededicating these bonds will reduce traffic on Oak Street by build-ing a new overpass con-necting 6th Street and Conway Commons.

• The two retail devel-opments associated with this proposal could mean more than $100 million in new taxable sales.

• The development proposed for the former airport site will have a positive impact on the surrounding neighbor-hoods.

• Faulkner County has competed for and cre-ated jobs at a rate high-er than all but a hand-ful of counties around the country. Why let one penny of that payroll leave town to shop else-where?

No plan is perfect, but this bond rededication and the associated retail developments are our best chance to capture

the dollars earned here and attract more spend-ing regionally. Plus, these developments will abso-lutely contribute to our quality of life. Conway residents will no longer feel the need to leave our local economy to find the stores and restaurants they want.

In 2014, cities com-pete—for jobs, for reve-nue, for investment. Ours

competes well. Let’s not stop. Every Conway res-ident living today was ei-ther born into or moved into a growing, vibrant community. It’s irrespon-sible to let that stop on our watch. It’s our time to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

For these and many other reasons, we’re vot-ing FOR the bond reded-ication.

EDITORIAL

Bond rededication next step in Conway’s success

After decades of stud-ies and several years of construction, the new Conway airport will cel-ebrate an official open-ing Friday, Sept. 5 at 1:30 p.m. The event will begin with a ceremonial “first landing” that will deliver the program speakers to the event.

“This airport would not be open but for the work of residents and officials at every level of govern-ment,” said Jamie Gates, Sr. Vice President of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our federal delegation worked seam-lessly with local govern-ment as we navigated this lengthy, large and complicated project.”

Senators Pryor, Booz-man and Representative Tim Griffin will join May-or Tab Townsell and local representatives in recog-

nizing the opening of the approximately $30 mil-lion project.

The new airport fea-tures a 5,500-foot runway that can be extended in future years, new “T han-gars” for local aircraft and space to accommodate sev-en corporate hangars. The new 6,300-square-foot ter-minal has a conference room and meeting space available by reservation.

There are also multi-ple industrial sites ad-

joining the airport that will be marketed to avia-tion related industries.

“We want the public and aviation community to know that this event is an opening, not an end-ing,” said Gates. “We’ve already identified a pipe-line of opportunities for continued private and public investment. We fi-nally have an airport that meets our community’s standards and that we can grow into.”

Date set for airport grand opening

Contractors put the finishing touches on the new Conway airport termi-nal. The airport officially opens Friday, Sept. 5.

By RogeR Lewis

Everyone has enjoyed the un-seasonably cool weather that we have had from June through mid-August. Extreme weather — hot or cold, wet or dry — has an effect on the economy. Cool weather with above average rainfall drives elec-tric and water bills down, and con-sumers love it. But revenues for utility companies, including Con-way Corporation, are down. In ad-dition, franchise fees and the sales tax revenue paid to the city, coun-ty and state on utilities are down. A franchise fee is a fee charged by the city for the use of public right of ways for building utility infra-structures and is collected from consumers based on consumption.

When discussing the revenue decline with Conway Corporation officials, I was told this decline will not have much effect on the over-all operation of the company ex-cept maybe in one area — the wa-ter division. The decline in electric sales is offset by lower costs for purchase electricity on the open market where the reduced demand because of the weather has driven down the wholesale price. Howev-er, in the water division, the oper-ating costs do not go down signifi-cantly with less water usage. Sales tax and franchise fee collections are passed through and have no ef-fect on the utility company.

Conway Corporation sales tax collections on utilities is most likely the single largest source of sales tax revenue for Conway and Faulkner County. Conway’s sales tax revenue for June 2014 is down 4.5% from June 2013 and Faulkner County’s is down 0.2%. Revenue year-to-date for Conway is down 2.8% and Faulkner Coun-ty is down 0.8%. July and August data are not available but expect-ed to be down.

Other business are also impact-ed by the cool weather. Air con-ditioners function better in cool

weather, operate for shorter pe-riods, and consequently are less likely to break down, which im-pacts revenues of air conditoning service companies. When water in swimming pools is cooler than normal, fewer chemicals are re-quired, which impacts pool sup-ply and maintenance companies. The cost of chemicals for a home swimming pool could be down as much as 50% this year. Of course, there may be businesses that have a boost in sales because of cooler weather.

The cool, wet weather has been generally good for farmers. Corn and soybean farmers are having

record yields. Hay has been plenti-ful, but the wet weather has ham-pered cutting and baling. One farmer told me that he usually gets three mowings a year, but be-cause of the wet weather, he will only get two this year.

Fortunately, the economies of Conway and Faulkner County are diverse and strong. Deviations to the economy caused by weather or other factors do not have a signif-icant overall effect, but may have a significant impact certain busi-nesses and industries.

More information can be found at Pulse of Conway website, pulseofconway.com

Faulkner County Business Journal Monday, September 1, 2014 — 7C Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

Unemployment RateJuly

Seasonally AdjustedUS ................................................... 6.2%Arkansas....................................... 6.2%

Not Seasonally AdjustedUS ................................................... 6.5%Arkansas....................................... 6.7%Faulkner County ...................... 5.8%Conway ........................................ 5.8%

sales Tax CollectionsConway*

June2014 ................................... $1,919,6152013 ................................... $2,009,749Percent Change -4.5%

Year to Date (June)2014 .................................$11,265.4282013 .................................$11,586,831Percent Change -2.8%

Annual2013 .................................$23,235,8912012 .................................$22,944,163Percent Change 1.3%*Tax Rate 1.75%

Faulkner County*June

2014 .......................................$726,6852013 .......................................$727,944Percent Change -0.2%

Year to Date (June)2014 ................................... $4,213,9462013 ................................... $4,248,463Percent Change -0.8%

Annual2013 ................................... $8,588,8352012 ................................... $8,465,686Percent Change 1.5%*Tax Rate 0.5%

Restaurant sales*May

2014 .................................$15,433,7942013 .................................$14,451,246Percent Change 6.8%

Year to Date (May)2014 .................................$72,401,2742013 .................................$68,895,474Percent Change % 5.1

Annual Sales 2013 .............................. $164,989,5862012 .............................. $161,318,563Percent Change 2.3%*Including mixed drink sales

Hotel salesMay

2014 ................................... $2,248,5962013 ................................... $2,096,535Percent Change 7.3%

Year to Date (May)2014 ................................... $8,213,3152013 ................................... $8,003,757Percent Change 2.6%

Annual Sales2013 .................................$18,556,9112012 .................................$18,683,676Percent Change -0.7%

Conway Building Permits

Single Family HomesYear to Date (July)

2014 .................................... 73 Permits2013 .................................... 90 PermitsPercent Change -18.9%

Annual2013 ..................................147 Permits2012 ..................................186 Permits 2011 ..................................153 PermitsPercent Change 2013-2012 -21.0%

Average Construction Cost*Annual

2013 .......................................$228,2752012 .......................................$207,5372011 ...................................... $204,387Percent Change 2013-2012 10.0%*Not including land or lot im-provements

Average Square Footage*Annual

2013 .............................................. 3,0022012 .............................................. 2,9102011 .............................................. 2,814Percent Change 2013-2012 3.2%

Average Construction Cost Per Square Foot*

Annual2013 ............................................$76.042012 ............................................$71.332011 ............................................$72.64Percent Change 8i2013-2012 6.6%%* Total under roof

Lottery salesFaulkner County

July2014 ................................... $1,057,8142013 ................................... $1,126,010Percent Change -6.1%

Year to Date (July)2014 ................................... $8,570,8182013 ................................... $9,736,631Percent Change -12.0%

Annual2013 .................................$17,038,2772012 .................................$16,943,909Percent Change .06%

Total StateJuly

2014 .................................$30,630,2112013 .................................$32,483,166Percent Change -5.7%

Year to Date (July)2014 .............................. $242,573,2712013 .............................. $266,770,723Percent Change -9.1%

Annual 2013 .............................. $432,932,7992012 ............................. $452,245,215Percent Change -4.3%

Natural gasSeverance Tax

DistributionConway

Year to Date (August)2014 .......................................$244,7022013 .......................................$184,610Percent Change 33.0%

Annual2013 .......................................$199,2652012 .......................................$149,833Percent Change 70.2%

Faulkner CountyYear to Date (July)

2014 .......................................$169,8292013 .......................................$127,818Percent Change 32.9%

Annual2013 .......................................$224,4552012 .......................................$131,418Percent Change 70.8%

economyglance Cool weather economics