JUNE 2013

Jim Lambert, Conway Regional Health System President & CEO

Full story, Page 4

Making a difference in the health

of Faulkner County

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat2E — Sunday, June 16, 2013

TJ Johnston, execu-tive vice president at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, and Jamie Gates, senior vice presi-dent, have obtained their Certified Chamber Exec-utive designation from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.

The CCE is the only national certification for chamber professionals and is the highest desig-nation a chamber execu-tive can earn. To achieve the designation, partic-ipants must complete a rigorous four-step process.

The first step is the appli-cation. Applicants are re-

quired to have at least six years of senior-lev-

el chamber management experience and currently be employed in a senior-level chamber manage-ment position. They are required to submit docu-mentation of their profes-sional 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, mem-bership and communica-tions, and operations.

The second essay re-quires candidates to ex-

plain their chamber’s internal accounting pro-cedures.

An oral presentation and interview are step three of the process. This step allows members of the Certification Com-mission to assess each candidate’s communica-tion and leadership skills. Upon successful comple-tion of the previous steps, candidates are eligible to take the examination as the final step of the pro-cess, which takes four to six hours to complete.

Brad Lacy, who earned

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

“TJ and Jamie are vi-sionary leaders who are committed to serving and representing Conway and our Chamber with the highest level of profes-sional integrity,” he said. “I congratulate them on their accomplishment and am proud to have them on our team.”

Chamber employees earn industry’s highest designation

Jamie Gates TJ Johnston

Local businesses have the opportunity to wel-come 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 pro-motion on the card’s web-site at no cost.

At the start of the 2013-14 school year, the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce will distrib-ute the promotional dis-count card to first-year students on the campus-es of Central Baptist Col-lege, Hendrix College, the University of Central Ar-kansas and the Universi-ty of Arkansas Communi-ty 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 web-site that lists the card sponsors and participat-ing 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 smart-phones to scan the quick-response, or QR code, on the back of the keychain tag. It is free to be a par-ticipating business on the Smart Card website; sim-ply email a promotion as a PDF to Adena@Conwa-

yArkansas.org on or be-fore July 12.

This is the third year the Chamber has issued the Smart Card to col-lege freshmen. In previ-ous years, first-year stu-dents received “welcome bags” filled with pro-motional items and fli-ers from local business-es. Adena White, director of communications at the Chamber, said the Smart Card is a more conve-nient and a modern al-ternative to the welcome bags and has a longer

shelf life.“The Smart Card is an

environmentally friend-ly giveaway that’s geared toward a tech-savvy de-mographic,” White said. “Many of these new stu-dents 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 pro-cess. This initial intro-duction can ultimately turn these students into regular customers for participating Chamber member businesses.”

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

To learn more, email Adena White at the ad-dress above or call 501-932-5414.

Businesses invited to participate in upcoming student discount card

Conway is one of 15 cities nationwide com-peting 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 quali-fy, 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 on-line votes and met oth-er contest eligibility re-quirements 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 an-nounce which city will receive the $100,000 grand prize on July 31. The runner-up city in each small, medium and large population catego-ry 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.

Conway a finalistin dog park contest

Faulkner County Business Journal Sunday, June 16, 2013 — 3E Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

Conway Area Cham-ber of Commerce has received Awards of Ex-cellence in a national competition sponsored by the American Cham-ber of Commerce Exec-utives (ACCE), an asso-ciation of professionals who manage chambers of commerce. The Cham-ber is also a finalist in ACCE’s Chamber of the Year competition.

The 29th annual Awards for Communi-cation Excellence pro-gram attracted 142 en-tries from chambers of all sizes across the Unit-

ed States. A three-judge panel of chamber execu-tives evaluated the en-tries and selected win-ners in four categories: advertising, electronic, publications and cam-paigns.

Conway Area Cham-ber received an award in the publications cat-egory for its 2011 “Hid-den Treasures of Con-way” annual report and in the advertising cate-gory for the Conway De-velopment Corporation’s “Forward Together” invi-tation. Conway Chamber was in the largest class

for these awards and was recognized alongside larger organizations in Dallas, Kansas City, Mil-waukee, Nashville, Okla-homa City and Tulsa.

The Chamber of the Year Award, another ACCE program, is the nation’s only award rec-ognizing the dual role chambers have in cre-ating both leading busi-nesses and communities. Chambers are grouped into four categories based on population in their service area, num-ber of businesses in their service area, member-

ship and annual reve-nue.

Conway Area Cham-ber is one of three final-ists in Category 3 – the second-largest catego-ry. The other finalists in this category are Chris-tian 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 Commu-nication Excellence win-ners will also be recog-

nized at the convention.Brad Lacy, president

and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Com-merce, said the Cham-ber’s investors and the city as a whole deserve for their Chamber to be the best. “The invest-ments of time and re-sources from our mem-bers, 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 nation-al association uniquely serving the profession-al development needs of individuals who man-age chambers of com-merce throughout the U.S. and several other countries. Representing 7,500 chamber profes-sionals, ACCE enhances the knowledge, leader-ship skills and manage-ment effectiveness of chamber executives and their staffs through ed-ucation, publications, re-search, benchmarking and best practices.

Chamber wins national awards, named Chamber of the Year finalist

Re-locators, pre-lo-cators, small business owners and high-income households are the rec-ipe for success for Con-way 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 in-comes, we can help busi-nesses increase their profits.”

The Conway Area Chamber does this through the publication and unique distribution strategy of their annual resource guide for Con-way residents new and old. The guide will serve as the Chamber’s mem-bership directory, quali-ty of life publication and local reference guide. The guide will be a high-

quality piece that fea-tures useful, locally writ-ten, information for new residents and advertise-ments from businesses within Conway’s trade area.

The 80+ page publica-tion will be mailed to ev-ery household of a quali-fying income relocating within Conway’s tradi-tional trade area. It is mailed to new residents quarterly. Gates said that contacting recent-ly relocated families as quickly as possible should be a priority for any busi-ness.

“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-

ical time to gain their at-tention.”

Gates said that an equally important, but difficult to find, demo-graphic is the “pre-loca-tor.” “We call a pre-loca-tor 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 mar-keting lists. “Pre-locators would be impossible for small businesses to iden-tify on their own. These are names that we get by taking the phone calls at the Chamber or by part-nering with local indus-

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

Finally, the resource guide will be mailed re-gionally 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 in-come households, some 30 or more miles away. The guide will also be dis-tributed in local hotels.

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

Resource Guide will target high-income households, new movers for area businesses

Park Hill HomePark 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.

WHat’s tHat gonna BE?

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat4E — Sunday, June 16, 2013

While a hos-pital is of-ten 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 Pres-ident and CEO Jim Lam-bert recently reminded em-ployees 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 Oth-ers’ Hearts,” Mr. Lambert said, “We must continue to listen to our patients and their families and make a difference in their lives.”

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

Identifying, addressing community needs

Another way that Con-way Regional is making a difference is by sponsoring a year-long study to identi-fy 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 iden-tified.

Areas that the surveys showed need attention in-clude:

• Access to Care • Chronic Disease • Exercise • Diet and Nutrition • Health Education • Healthcare Afford-

ability • Obesity • Personal Responsibil-

ity • Physician/Clinical

Workforce • Smoking/Drinking/

Drug Abuse • WellnessAddressing these needs

will require a communi-ty wide effort, and Conway Regional is encouraging other community organi-zations to become involved. “Changing the health of our community is going to take all of us working to-gether. 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 im-prove in years to come by recruiting more providers, physicians in particular.

• Obesity: The goal is to reduce the rate of childhood obesity by spon-soring programs that in-crease the activity level of children.

• Wellness: The goal is to work with business and industry to increase the number of corpo-rate 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 screen-ings each year;

• Establishing sup-port 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 Aux-iliary of Conway, United Way of Faulkner County, Bethlehem House and nu-merous other philanthrop-ic organizations to provide programs that benefit peo-ple 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 technol-ogy and needed health care services and pro-grams to Faulkner Coun-ty. There has been tremen-dous growth and progress

in how health care is pro-vided in Faulkner County during the past decade.

During that time Con-way Regional has added cardiothoracic surgery, two new cardiac laboratories, a new Women’s Center that delivers 1,800 babies per year, a rehabilitation hos-pital, and a new outpatient imaging center. In the past decade, Conway Region-al has invested more than $60 million on technology and services to improve the services provided in Con-way. The latest addition is a $32 million expansion and renovation of surgi-cal 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 fo-cused on the quality of the care and receives nation-al recognition for these ef-forts. Most recently the Conway Regional Home Health department was honored for their efforts to keep patients healthy at home. Many other initia-tives are also in place to improve the quality of care and patient satisfaction.

When two is too manyDuring the past decade,

rumors have surfaced re-

garding a second hospi-tal in Conway. Ground was even broken once.

Meanwhile two Arkan-sas communities close to Conway announced the merger of their two hos-pitals. In September of 2005, White County Med-ical Center acquired Cen-tral Arkansas Hospital in Searcy.

In 2010 in Hot Springs, Mercy Health System an-nounced plans to trans-fer ownership of St. Joseph Mercy Health System to Capella Healthcare, which owns National Park Medi-cal Center.

In both instances, own-ers said they decided to merge to improve access and services to the com-munity. They also cited the inability of the communi-ty to sustain two hospi-tals. Revenue spent on du-plicate 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 im-prove health care services from within the communi-ty than to duplicate ser-vices and further dilute resources with a huge in-vestment in brick and mor-tar.

What does the future hold?

Technology, Medicaid expansion and access to healthcare will change and evolve. Conway Region-al will continue to rise up and meet those challeng-es 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 Re-gional will continue to fo-cus on making a difference for those who entrust their care to us.

Making a difference in the health of Faulkner CountyCOVER STORY

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat6E — Sunday, June 16, 2013

PRICE ADDRESS BED/BA/HB SUBDIVISION SQ. FT. CITY BUILT$735,000 5340 Plantation 5/4/0 Centennial Valley 5,000 Conway 2012$530,000 30 Lake Point Drive 3/3/1 Rabb 4,071 Conway 2009$468,000 4665 Sawgrass 4/4/1 Centennial Valley 4,454 Conway 2000$457,500 5205 Burnt Pine 4/4/1 Fairways at Centennial 3,953 Conway 2013$450,000 4435 Bay Hill 5/3/1 Centennial Valley 5,139 Conway 2003

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Managers who are looking to provide team building or reward oppor-tunities for their employ-ees may find that Bowl-ing 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 envi-ronment and promotes friendly competition among participating busi-nesses. The event, host-

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

Bowling for Business offers morning and after-noon “flights” separated by a luncheon. The morn-ing flight is from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., and the af-ternoon flight is from noon to 3 p.m. Lunch is from noon to 1 p.m. Dur-ing lunch, more than 200

professionals have the chance to network while enjoying traditional bowl-

ing alley fare. Lunch is sponsored by Smith Ford, Southwestern Energy

and Kimberly-Clark.Lane sponsorships are

available for $350, which

includes signage at the event, a five-person team, a team T-shirt for each bowler, and the ability to provide participant give-aways. Five-person team sponsorships are avail-able for $150. Lunch is included for all partici-pants.

To participate in Bowling for Business on June 28, register online at ConwayChamber.org/events or call 501-327-7788.

Registration open for Chamber bowling event

Cyber fraud is a wide-spread form of target-ed, online fraud affect-ing organizations that use commercial Web-banking services. On Tuesday, June 25, repre-sentatives from Arvest Bank will present a free seminar about how non-profit organizations, schools, public sector en-tities and small- to me-dium-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, lo-cated at 900 Oak St.

Perpetrators of cyber fraud attempt to trans-fer money from commer-cial bank accounts using

wire transfers and au-tomatic clearinghouse (ACH) transactions.

Lunch and Learn at-tendees will be informed of risk mitigation tech-niques the FBI recom-mends. They will also learn how they can re-duce their organiza-tions’ risk of cyber fraud by understanding how fraud works, protect-ing their computer net-works, monitoring com-mercial bank accounts, and reporting suspicious activity.

Employees of Cham-ber member businesses can attend the event at no cost. Seating is lim-ited to the first 40 par-ticipants so reservations are required. To reserve a seat, call 501-327-7788 or email Sandra@Con-wayArkansas.org.

Arvest Bank to lead seminar on cyber fraud

The American Can-cer Society’s Epidemiol-ogy Research Program is conducting a nationwide study as part of its efforts to prevent, and ultimate-ly eradicate, cancer. Indi-viduals 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 ef-forts, but also by being ac-tive participants in a his-toric research study. The purpose of CPS-3 is to un-derstand the lifestyle, be-havioral, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent can-cer. 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, partici-pants must be willing to commit to the study long-

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

The first step is to at-tend 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 Con-way Public Library. For details on the dates and times, visit SeeUThere.

com/CPS3Enroll/Conway.At the event, attend-

ees will read and sign an informed consent form, complete a brief writ-ten survey, and provide a waist circumference mea-surement and small blood sample. After enrollment, study participants will complete a more detailed survey at home and will receive surveys period-ically to update their health information.

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

County to participate in nationwide cancer prevention study

Faulkner County Business Journal Sunday, June 16, 2013 — 7E Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

Information provided by pulseofconway.com

Conway Economy at a Glance

Unemployment RateMarch 2013

US .......................7.6%Arkansas ..............7.2%Faulkner County 6.9%Conway ................6.7%*Faulkner County & Conway not Seasonally AdjustedSales Tax Collections

Conway*March

2013...........$1,988,1182012...........$2,047,986Percent Change -2.9%

Annual*2012.........$22,944,1632011.........$22,366,464Percent Change -2.6%*Tax Rate 1.75%

Faulkner County*March

2013..............$728,0792012..............$763,331Percent Change -4.6%

Annual*2012...........$8,465,6862011...........$8,279,301Percent Change 2.3%*Tax Rate 0.5%

Restaurant Sales*April

2013.........$14,607,9872012.........$13,898,807Percent Change 5.1%

Annual Sales2012.......$153,412,9882011.......$144,646,055Percent Change 6.1%*Including mixed drink sales

Hotel SalesApril

2013...........$2,023,0382012...........$1,839,259Percent Change 10.0%

Annual Sales2012.........$18,683,6762011.........$18,662,136Percent Change .12%

Conway Building Permits

Single Family HomesYear to Date May

2013............58 Permits

2012............64 Permits Percent Change -9.4%Average Construction

Cost*Year to Date March

2013..............$218,8612012..............$214,691Percent Change 1.9%

Average Square Footage*

Year to Date March2013....................2,8562012....................2,979Percent Change -4.1%Average Construction Cost Per Square Ft.*Year to Date - March

2013..................$76.532012..................$72.07Percent Change 6.2%

Annual2012..........186 Permits 2011..........153 PermitsPercent Change 21.6%Average Construction

Cost* Annual

2012..............$207,5372011............. $204,387Percent Change 1.5%.*Not including land or lot improvements

Average Square Footage* Annual

2012....................2,9102011....................2,814Percent Change 3.4%Average Construction

Cost Per Square Ft.*

Annual2012..................$71.332011..................$72.64Percent Change -1.8%* Total under roof

Lottery SalesFaulkner County

May2013...........$1,569,6202012...........$1,352,262Percent Change 16.1%

Year to Date (May)2013...........$7,496,8212012...........$8,848,741

Percent Change -15.3%

Total StateMay

2013.........$38,728,6062012.........$39,188,476Percent Change -1.2%

Year to Date (May)2012.......$202,126,6492011 ......$212,024,259Percent Change -4.7%

Natural GasSeverance Tax

DistributionMay

Conway2013................$20,2512012................$15,934Percent Change 27.1%

Faulkner County2013................$16,4422012................$12,947Percent Change 5.9%

AnnualConway

2012..............$162,4572011..............$254,822Percent Change 27.0%

Faulkner County2012..............$131,4182011..............$204,052Percent Change -35.6%

Wellhead Price per MCF*

Yearly Average2012................... $2.662011................... $3.952010................... $4.482009................... $3.672008................... $7.97*MCF=1000 cubic feet

Number of Active Wells*

Faulkner County ....350Total in Field .......4,481*As of December 12, 2012Estimated Life TimeValue of Production*

Total Field ....................$11,382,327,198*As of September 30, 2012

By RogER LEwis

Imagine an operation that produces $1.7 billion in reve-nue 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 Lot-tery.

From the summary informa-tion, the future of the lottery cer-tainly 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 down-ward.

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 be-low 2010. Sales continued to de-cline this year with the first five months of 2013 being 4.7% low-er than for the same period in 2012. The Lottery Commission has added new games to bolster sales but they have not inter-rupted the decline in sales.

Approximately 66.3 % of lot-tery 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 Chal-lenge 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 mil-lion and $15.5 million. The 2012 figure is 11.4% less than 2010. Faulkner County lottery sales rank sixth among the 75 coun-ties. Rank in sales is related to population and location of the county and Faulkner County is fifth in population among the

counties. Intersected by Inter-state 40, some of the Faulkner County sales are probably to vis-itors 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 an-other 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 cap-ita 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 appropri-ations from the state legislature. Yearly awards were in the $2000 - $3000 range during the peri-od 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 Chal-lenge Scholarships began receiv-ing money from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Approx-imately 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 attend-ing a two-year college. Awards were to remain at that level dur-ing the student’s career if aca-demic 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 eligi-ble 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 de-grees 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 col-leges respectively.

Academic Challenge Scholar-ships valued at $2.7 million were awarded to 748 Faulkner Coun-ty residents for the 2012 -13 ac-ademic year. These students at-tended 12 Arkansas institutions with the highest number, 331, attending UCA and Morrilton Community College was next with 110.

Students across Arkansas at-tending an institution of high-er learning in Faulkner County received 4,293 Arkansas Chal-lenge 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 re-ceived by Faulkner residents and the $18.9 million in schol-arships received by the colleg-es since many of the Faulkner county residents receiving schol-arships are included in the totals for the three local colleges. The total impact of scholarships re-ceived by Faulkner County’s res-idents and the colleges is approx-imately $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 mil-lion. 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).

The lottery and Faulkner County