ark estate planning business - amazon web...

The List [P13-14]

Conway Regional prepares to build

Whispers [P3]

Exec Q&AWith Mark AbernathyTh e veteran restaurateur has known success and failure, and he knows what it takes to make a memorable cheese dip. [P22]

Arkansas Banks by Return on Assets

VOL. 36, NO. 38 SEPTEMBER 23-29, 2019 $1.50UPDATED DAILY: ArkansasBusiness.com

BusinessArkansas

THE STATE’S BUSINESS NEWS AUTHORITY.

ARKANSAS BUSINESSPUBLISHING GROUP

Estate Planning Michael Lasiter did a lot of estate planning, but it hasn’t kept his widow, mother and sisters out of court. [P11]

A New Worry Will more gunfire victims sue businesses for failing to protect customers? [P17]

35 YEARS OF AWARD-WINNING NEWS COVERAGE

By Kyle [email protected]

By Marty [email protected]

LITHIUM CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

ARKANSAS TECHCONTINUED ON PAGE 10

With a potential new lith-ium industry coming togeth-er in South Arkansas, Robert Mintak is putting up rather than shutting up.

“We’re speaking aggres-sively, but by first quarter’s end next year, we should have our demonstration lithium extraction plant in El Dorado de-risked, and proof of our concept,” said Mintak, CEO of Standard Lithium of Canada. “All eyes are on us: ‘You guys talk a good game, but does it work?’”

That’s the question Standard’s $10 million pilot plant was built to answer, test-ing a new method for pulling battery-grade lithium from a saltwater sea thousands of feet under the Arkansas soil. The pilot plant is the seed of a proposed joint venture with the German global chemi-cal giant Lanxess AG, which is sharing with Standard a Union County site where Lanxess already extracts bro-mine from brine.

The eventual goal is to build a permanent lithi-

Faculty members were stunned over the summer when Lisa Toms, dean of the College of Business at Arkansas Tech University, was escorted off the Russellville campus.

Colleagues said Toms, who had served as dean for two years, was told to clean out her office and was escort-ed to her car, where a security official took her university ID badge. Toms, who has tenure, has returned to campus as a professor, but ATU has given no explanation for Toms’ removal as dean, which offi-cials wouldn’t discuss, call-ing it a personnel matter.

Toms said her Little Rock labor attorney, whom she wouldn’t identify, had advised her not to comment until the job situation is resolved. College of Business faculty members said they were told the firing came after Toms’ “irregular” pro-motion of professor David Pumphrey to department head.

Pumphrey was removed from his job, too. Through intermediaries, he declined to comment to Arkansas Business. ATU President Robin Bowen declined an

El Dorado testingcould herald new Arkansas industry

Fired Dean Prompts RumblingAt ATU

LithiumProjectGetting Feet Wet

Care providers battle DHS on the

HomefrontNew reviewer is more likely to reduce or deny home-care benefi ts, saving money at a cost to patients. [P12]

Luke Mattingly, president and CEO of CareLink, says changes in eligibility determinations hurt patients and his bottom line. [PHOTO BY KAREN E. SEGRAVE]

Announcing the

CFO OF THE YEAR LIFETIME

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Winners and Finalists: CFO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Karla Payne, Arvest Bank

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN ACCOUNTING

Steven Warren, BKD, LLP

CFO OF THE YEAR

Finalists:SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY CFO FINALISTS:

Craig Carter, Trinity Property Management Brian Hughes, RevUnit

Stuart McLendon, DYNE Hospitality Group, LLC

LARGE PRIVATE COMPANY CFO FINALISTS:Bryan Bruich, Nabholz

Bryan Jackson, Jefferson Regional Medical Center Scott Westjohn, Central Moloney, Inc.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION/PUBLIC SECTOR CFO FINALISTS:

Randal Black, Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association Tom Dunn, Southwest Power Pool, Inc.

Nikki Parnell, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau

BANK CFO FINALISTS:Brent Black, Malvern National Bank

Kim Cullum, First Arkansas Bank & Trust Joann West, The Farmers and Merchants Bank

EDUCATION CFO FINALISTS:Alex Becker, University of Arkansas at Monticello

Gina Terry, University of Arkansas System Tina Wheelis, Ozarka College

Winners of each category will be announced at the

CFO of the Year Luncheon on November 7.

EVENT DETAILS:Thursday, November 7, 2019

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Embassy Suites, Little Rock

$80 per person $800 per table of 10

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Arkansas Business September 23, 2019 3

GroundbreakingDid you know Conway Regional Health

System is holding a groundbreaking on Wednesday for its $13 million, three-story, medical office building on its main campus?

The 42,500-SF building is part of a more than $40 million capital invest-ment that will expand Conway Regional’s services all through the health system.

It marks the first time in 18 years that

there will be a new building on the its campus, according to Conway Regional’s Facebook page.

Conway Regional Medical Center re-ported $168.3 million in net patient re-venue and $3.1 million net income for 2018, according to its Medicare cost report.

The full list of Arkansas hospitals and medical centers will appear in next week’s issue of Arkansas Business.

Seven-Digit DealsThis week’s quartet of million-dollar

real estate transactions features a pet-centric property in west Little Rock, a fast-food spot in Cabot, a postal project in Alexander and a retail store in north-ern Saline County.

◗ An investment group bought the 26,156-SF Petsmart-Banfield Pet Hospital at 11400 Financial Centre Parkway for

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WHISPERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

BusinessArkansas

Whispers

Cheers!Altus winery owner Audrey House

will join the Arkansas Wine Producers Council after being chosen by Gov.Asa Hutchinson to replace Al Wie-derkehr.

House, 43, has owned and operated Chateau Aux Arc since 1998.

Coincidentally, her vineyard is on a 36-acre parcel that she boughtfrom Wiederkehr.

House will be the first woman win-ery owner and the second woman on

the council. The seven-member coun-cil is chaired by Andrew Post of Post Winery in Altus.

House has long been an advocate for the Arkansas wine industry and helped get legislation passed to name Cynthiana as the state’s official grape and expand the wine-shipping laws.

She is also a member of the Arkansas Alternative Energy Commission, hav-ing been reappointed by Hutchinson in 2015. n

Audrey House, with Chateau Aux Arc, stands in the tasting room at her vine-yard. [PHOTO BY

BETH HALL]

Medical office rendering provided by Conway Regional Health System.

4 September 23, 2019 Arkansas Business

WHISPERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

WHISPERS

more than $4.5 million.The group is comprised of Alley

Development-Otter Creek Office Park and Five Star Investments LLC, led by Haitham Alley; and Advantage Constructors Enterprises Ltd., led by Bradley Davis.

Seller: Cole PM Little Rock AR LLC, an affiliate of the Cole Capital real estate investment trust in Phoenix.

◗ Southern Chicken-Cabot LLC of Greenville, South Carolina, sold the 3,212-SF Zaxby’s at 2215 W. Main St. for $1.8 million.

Buyer? SCF RC Funding IV LLC, an affil-iate of SCF Realty Capital of Princeton, New Jersey.

◗ APIF-Arkansas LLC, an affiliate of American Infrastructure Funds in Foster City, California, purchased the 9,657-SF post office at 1504 Alexander Road for

more than $1.2 million.Seller? FDI Postal Properties II Inc., an

affiliate of Frall Developers Inc. in Mount Airy, Maryland.

◗ PB General Holdings (Atwood) LLC, led by Leonard Boen, sold the 9,196-SF Dollar General Store at 15216 Chicot Road for nearly $1.1 million.

Buyer: SDG Little Rock LLC of Heber, Utah.

In the FootnotesFor the list this week, we crunched

bank data from Dec. 31 in a way we haven’t in a few years: by return on assets.

It’s a metric that can shake up the usual suspects – No. 1 is Centennial Bankof Conway, one of the state’s largest banks by assets, followed by DeWitt Bank & Trust, which was one of the smallest.

We say was, because DeWitt B&T is no more. Over the weekend, it was merged into Stone Bank of Mountain View, hav-ing been acquired by Stone Bancshares Inc. in June.

In the footnotes on Page 14 is a little bit more bank merger news: River Town Bank of Dardanelle, which has been acquired by Chambers Bancshares Inc. of Danville, will be merged into Chambers Bank on Nov. 4. We got that word from Blake Tarpley, River Town’s president and CEO.

And from state Sen. Bruce Malochwe learned that his employer, Farmers Bank & Trust of Magnolia, now expects its acquisition of Bank of Prescott to be completed in the fourth quarter rather than this month due to a bit of regulatory delay.

To Vape or Not to Vape?With Arkansas’ 5-month-old medical

marijuana industry reaching $10 million in total sales, Arkansas’ top cannabis tester, Steep Hill Arkansas CEO Brandon Thornton, is adding staff and high-tech equipment at his west Little Rock offices.

Thornton, whose operation is part of California-based Steep Hill Inc., is also warning Arkansans to buy cannabis vap-ing products only from licensed dispen-saries.

“Where are people buying these dan-gerous vape cartridges?” he asked rhe-torically, noting a nationwide series of deaths and hospitalizations linked to vaping. “Well,” he answered himself, “from a drug dealer.”

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ISSN: 1053-6582. USPS Number 730-650 Vol. 36 Number 38, Sept. 23 - Sept. 29, 2019. Arkansas Business is published weekly for $64.95 per year, $94.95 per year out of state, 6 months in state for $39.95, 6 months out of state for $69.95 and $194.95 foreign per year (including Canada) by Arkansas Business Publishing Group, 114 Scott St., Little Rock, AR 72201, P.O. Box 3686, Little Rock, AR 72203, (501) 372-1443, facsimile (501) 375-7933; Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, AR. Postmaster, send address change to Arkansas Business, P.O. Box 3686, Little Rock, AR 72203. Copyright 2019 Five Legged Stool LLC.

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The vaping industry is on the defen-sive from many sides, from President Donald Trump to state Sen. Jim Hendren of Gravette, who have both proposed restrictions.

“We are testing vape products and topicals, any kind of infused product you’re seeing sold legally out there,” said Thornton, who has built his staff from three to seven to meet growing demand from the state’s three operational culti-vation centers and several dispensaries that are starting to grow their own.

“We had a little room to grow, so we’ve added instruments and people,” he told Whispers. “We’re trying to forecast when the rest of the grow dispensaries and cultivation sites will come online,” he told Whispers. Two cultivation sites in Newport are gearing up for production, and 23 of Arkansas’ 32 licensed dispen-saries have yet to open, though most are expected to be in business by the end of the year.

Trust and TestingSteep Hill tests samples for purity and

for contamination by heavy metals, pes-ticides or microbiological agents. “A lot of these bad vape cartridges — espe-cially cannabis cartridges — are coming from people who are intentionally add-ing materials to cut down on the amount of cannabis oil they use,” Thornton said. “It’s a way to get more cartridges out of an amount of concentrate, and none of that stuff is tested; it’s all black market.”

Thornton said Steep Hill has consult-ed the Arkansas Department of Health on the vaping crisis, assuring state officials that medical products in Arkansas “are 100% cannabinoids, with no additives.”

The cartridges making teens and older people sick are not coming through cultivators and legitimate dispensers, Thornton said, adding that he suspects some black-market offerings are prod-ucts that failed testing in other states.

WHISPERS

Brandon Thornton, CEO of Steep Hill Arkansas. [PHOTO BY KERRY PRICHARD]

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these black-market vape cartridges failed and somehow went out the back door in Oregon, Washington or California,” he said. “If you’re buying from a dis-pensary, you’re getting a product that’s been tested, from somebody who cares enough about the process not to resort to additives.”

KO’dShowing “The Fight of the Century” in

2015 was costly for a Caddo Valley sports bar owner.

An owner of the Mirage Sports Bar & Grill was ordered to pay $6,000 plus $27,200 in attorney’s fees and court

costs for showing the battle between Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. (Mayweather won.)

J&J Sports Productions Inc. of San Jose, California, alleged in a 2018 federal lawsuit that the Mirage played the fight without paying the $6,000 commercial licensing fee. J&J also named one of the Mirage’s owners, Nilesh Dalal, as a defen-dant.

Dalal said during a bench trial in June that he was never in a position to super-vise and control what went on at the bar, according to Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson’s ruling filed in the Hot Springs Division of U.S. District Court.

Dalal also said the bar was never prof-itable and closed in the fall of 2016.

Businesses showing sporting events without paying the licensing fee is “a huge problem that costs the clients tens of millions of dollars annually,” said attorney Thomas Riley of South Pasadena, California, who represented J&J.

Still, he said “It was terrific to come to Hot Springs. We had a terrific judge, and we had a good trial.”

Attorney Morgan Andy Berry of Arkadelphia, who represented Dalal, didn’t immediately return a call for com-ment. n


For daily news, register at ArkansasBusiness.com/Enews

Weekly ReportBusiness

Arkansas

Superior Industries to Cut 250 Jobs in Fayetteville

Superior Industries International of Southfield, Michigan, which makes alu-minum wheels for automobiles, is cut-ting its Arkansas workforce again, this time chopping 250 jobs at its Fayetteville plant.

The action will take place between Nov. 16 and June 1.

The company said 35 salaried engi-neers and subject matter experts will remain employed at the plant. Superior’s technical center, parts distribution and clear coating operation will also con-tinue there, and the company does not plan to sell any real estate.

In a letter to employees, Rick Quinlan, the plant’s director of operations, said the plant “has not operated at capacity nor has it won meaningful business awards for several years.” He also cited “many industry and competitive headwinds.”

“This was a difficult decision that we did not take lightly, but ultimately, we determined that it was a necessary change,” Quinlan wrote. “We believe this move helps position our company to remain a competitive global wheel supplier.”

The Fayetteville plant opened in 1986. Steve Clark, president and CEO of the

Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, told Arkansas Business that the chamber will work to help the employees who are los-ing their jobs. He said layoffs like these happen because of “competitive market pressures.”

“I’ve been in this job [for] 11 years, and, for 11 years, we’ve worked with them about whether they would close this plant, simply because they moved a number of plants to Mexico,” Clark said. “They’ve been a great corporate employ-er. We hate to see this happen. They’re

leaving a few people on, I understand, some engineers and others.

“But Superior is part of the fabric of Fayetteville, so if they want to come home a year from now, or five years from now, or 10 years from now, they’re wel-come back.”

Clark predicted the 250 workers could be absorbed by other employers in the region, and Quinlan’s letter expressed similar faith. “We are optimistic that the strong economy in northwest Arkansas will present other opportunities for many of our talented employees,” he wrote.

In 2014, Superior announced it would close its manufacturing plant in Rogers, eliminating 500 jobs. The publicly traded company said the move was part of an “initiative to reduce costs and enhance its global competitive position.”

The company shifted production from its 268,000-SF office-warehouse facility in Rogers to its other facilities, including in Fayetteville and Chihuahua, Mexico.

Superior has noted production, rev-enue and profit declines in its recent earnings reports. In August, its reported second-quarter revenue of $352.5 mil-lion, down $36.5 million from the same time last year.

In its earnings news release, CEO Majdi Abulaban said that, in light of “persistent volume weakness,” the com-pany was taking action “to right size costs, including aligning our production capacity, and managing working capital and capital investments in the current environment.”

Earlier this month, Superior suspend-ed its quarterly dividend, setting aside about $11 million in cash to “reinvest in the business” and cut debt.

— Sarah Campbell-Miller

Manufacturing

Superior Industries main-tains a produc-tion facility on approximately 45 acres in southeast Fayetteville. [GOOGLE EARTH]

The pie chart shows the percentage of the population of the four-county Metroplan re-gion by city size. Almost half — 46% — live in the region’s three largest cities, Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway, all of them with populations greater than 50,000.About 23% of the population in the four counties — Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and Saline — lives in cities larger than 10,000 people but fewer than 50,000. And 7% live in cities of fewer than 10,000. The remain-der, 24%, live in the unincorporated areas of the four counties.

The second graphic shows how the average household size of the region has changed over the years, based on Census Bureau and the Bureau’s American Community Survey data. The region’s average household size has trended downward over the decades but started trending mostly upward in about 2010.Metroplan is the planning agency for Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and Saline coun-ties. The information comes from its report “Metro Trends: Demographic Review and Outlook,” released last month. n

CensusACS

2.7

3

2.5

6

2.4

7

2.4

52

.45

2.42

2.502.502.53 2.54

2.662.61

2.54 2.522.55

Central Arkansas

Demographic Trends

Household Size Analysis, (4-County Region)1980-2017

3.0

2.9

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

.4

2.3

2.2 1980 1990 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

The region’s average household size trended down for decades, but if recent ACS fi guresare correct, it has been trending mostly upward since 2010.

Source: Metroplan

Share of Regional Population by City Population Size2019

46%50K and over

23%10K-49.9K

7%Under 10K

24%Unincorporated

Arkansas Business September 23, 2019 7 WEEKLY REPORT

A second east Arkansas newspaper scheduled for closure by leading chain GateHouse Media Inc. was rescued by local buyers last week, with an Arkansas County broadcast group announcing its purchase of the Stuttgart Daily Leader.

Arkansas County Broadcasters Inc., under the East Arkansas Broadcasters company umbrella, announced Monday that it had purchased the Leader from GateHouse, based in Fairport, New York. Already the nation’s largest chain by number of papers, GateHouse is poised to merge with Gannett Co. of McLean, Virginia, in a pending $1.2 billion deal.

The Leader, which was publish-ing twice a week before GateHouse announced plans for a Sept. 6 closing, was founded in 1885 and was profitable until a few years ago.

The Helena-West Helena World, the other GateHouse paper targeted for clos-ing, was bought by Phillips County resi-dents Andrew Bagley and Chuck Davis on Sept. 6. It made its debut as a weekly on Wednesday.

Arkansas County Broadcasters oper-ates six radio stations in the Stuttgart area: KWAK-AM, KWAK-FM, KDEW-FM, KVLO-FM, KXFE-FM and KOTN-FM. KWAK-AM was Stuttgart’s first radio sta-tion, going on the air in 1948.

“Make no mistake, our company is extremely excited to purchase the Stuttgart Daily Leader,” East Arkansas Broadcasters COO Scott Siler told Arkansas Business. But plans on staff-ing, a printing schedule and the size of the print run are still unsettled, he said. Circultation is about 700, according to the Arkansas Press Association.

“The purchase came about so quickly that we’re still doing due diligence and getting our arms around the situation,” Siler said. “We are making plans to put out a great product for Stuttgart and the surrounding area.”

Siler said getting news to Arkansans is second-nature to the broadcasting group, which operates 51 radio signals around the state. “We feel like adding the Daily Leader to our group of six radio stations in south-central Arkansas will be a great outlet to help us continue to provide great local news and informa-tion.” EAB disclosed no financial details.

Ashley Wimberley, executive director of the APA, applauded the broadcasting group for buying the Leader and praised Bagley, a community college teacher, and Davis, a retired businessman, for saving the World. The purchases dem-onstrate “the value and importance of a local newspaper,” she said. “We’re glad the new owners of both these publica-tions recognized a newspaper is a worth-while investment.”

— Kyle Massey

Broadcasters Save Stuttgart Leader From Shutdown

Media

Hot Springs Goes Solar With Scenic Hill Array

Energy

Scenic Hill Solar of North Little Rock has staked out another major munici-pal solar project, gaining unanimous approval Tuesday night from the Hot Springs City Council for a 12-megawatt solar generation project to supply all municipal electricity needs.

“It’s a 100 percent renewable energy project for the city, a big announcement,” Scenic Hill CEO and former Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter told Arkansas Business, calling the sun power project a “trans-formative set of investments in renew-able energy” that will save the Garland County seat more than $30 million over the life of the panels.

Scenic Hill will build, own and oper-ate 32,000 photovoltaic panels at several sites leased from the city of Hot Springs,

which in turn will buy the solar power under a 28-year energy services agree-ment.

“We commend the leadership of Hot Springs for moving forward with vision and boldness to provide renewable elec-tricity, reduce total taxpayer spending on electricity, and stimulate local economic development through the construction of multiple power plants,” Halter said. “This commitment to smart sustainabil-ity is a big reason for companies to look to Hot Springs as a place to thrive.”

Scenic Hill, which bills itself as the largest Arkansas-headquartered solar power developer, said the project will produce enough clean electricity to sat-isfy the needs of all city government power use, including the police and fire

Health Care

Arkansas’ Senate president on Monday proposed a new tax and regu-lations on vaping products, and said he hopes the governor will call lawmakers back to the Capitol to take up the issue.

Republican Sen. Jim Hendren pro-posed the legislation in response to concerns about a rise in e-cigarette use among young people. The legislation would subject e-cigarette products to the same taxes as tobacco products. It would also prohibit vaping and the use of e-cigarettes at the same locations where tobacco smoking is banned.

Hendren’s proposal comes months after a vape tax bill he introduced passed the Senate but stalled before the House.

It also comes amid a rise of vaping-related illnesses nationwide. Many of those illnesses appear linked to use of cannabis-based oils, though some peo-

ple reported vaping nicotine products, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Arkansas has had three confirmed cases, while three oth-ers are probable and four are under investigation. A joint House and Senate committee was scheduled to discuss the issue Tuesday.

The legislature isn’t set to meet again until next year. Gov. Asa Hutchinson left open the possibility of a special session. He said the bill should be considered in the regular session or when a con-sensus is reached. “Vaping among our teenagers is a serious national concern, and we need to send a clear message to our young people that there are multi-ple health risks associated with vaping,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

Under the proposal, the money raised from the vaping taxes would help schools

with safety improvements and hiring mental health counselors. It would also prohibit billboards advertising e-ciga-rettes within 1,000 feet of a school or playground. Officials had estimated Hendren’s previous tax proposal could raise between $6 million and $8 million.

An organization representing vape shops opposed the proposal, which would amount to a 67% tax on vaping and e-cigarette products. The group, the Arkansas Vape Advocacy Alliance, in July, proposed a 2% sales tax on vaping liquid.

“A 67% wholesale tax would put all licensed vape shops in the state out of business on day one,” Spokesman Bradley Phillips said. “No small business can afford to pay 67% to the government on everything they buy and then try to mark it up and sell it on Main Street.”

— The Associated Press

Jim Hendren Proposes New Vaping Tax, Regulations

Second Presbyterian Unveils EV Chargers Energy

Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock is offering more than the power of the Almighty these days.

The church, on Pleasant Valley Drive, is proclaiming itself the first Arkansas house of worship with elec-tric vehicle charging stations, in addi-tion to an 81-panel sun array installed by Seal Solar Solutions of North Little Rock.

Church officials called the two-sta-tion charger and the solar generation project examples of the congregation’s obligation to protect the Earth.

“As a certified Earth Care congre-

gation, Second Presbyterian strongly believes in and supports renewable energy,” said a statement by the Rev. Stephen Hancock, the church’s senior pastor. “The solar panels will help us offset our church’s long term energy costs and continue our leadership in environmental stewardship.”

The church will also be part of the National Solar Tour on Saturday, Oct. 5, and will bless the new electric project at a ceremony after Sunday morning services the following day.

“This groundbreaking project is yet another reminder that solar energy

knows no bounds,” Seal Solar COO and President Heather Nelson said. “It’s a smart investment for anyone looking to manage and reduce their energy costs,” including churches, nonprofits and government entities.

The $80,000 solar array is on the south parking lot of the 1,800-mem-ber church and was aided by a $2,000 grant from Arkansas Interfaith Power & Light. The nonprofit has provided financial incentives for solar projects at state houses of worship for the past four years.

— Kyle Massey

departments and water utility units. Halter estimated the sustainable power derived would equal electricity gener-ated by the burning of more than 400 million pounds of coal.

“This solar power initiative is a win-win for the city of Hot Springs as it aligns with our Green Initiatives and will have a dramatic positive impact on the city’s operating budgets for years to come,” City Manager Bill Burrough said in a state-ment. “The natural beauty of Hot Springs is something our community and visitors cherish, and this move to solar power is an example of how our municipality and others can move toward protecting our Natural State.”

Scenic Hill has built or announced solar array projects for Clarksville Connected Utilities, the city of Stuttgart, the city of Camden and Ouachita County, and the Guy-Perkins School District in Faulkner County.

— Kyle Massey


“The capital cost to build the commercial plant, not the pilot plant, in three stages over five years is $437 million in U.S. dol-lars. The operating cost will be $4,300 to produce one ton of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Those are the numbers the preliminary economic statement gave us, plus or minus 25%-50%.”

Taking Investors by HandHe called those figures exciting, and

said the Lanxess connection is crucial, along with Arkansas’ low electricity prices and pro-business regulatory envi-ronment. Those advantages add up to a big opportunity for new lithium tech-nologies with the world on the cusp of a lithium battery boom, Mintak said.

But still, investors are underwhelmed.Standard Lithium’s stock price on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange (sym-bol SLL) has been stagnant in the 80-to-90-cent range since August, down from $1.35 in February, its high so far this year.

“We’re trying to get the word out to investors, and that’s my job,” Mintak said. “But we’re an unconventional oper-ation. I don’t want to insult investors and analysts, but sometimes you have to hold them by the hand to see there’s already an existing mass com-mercial operation in south Arkansas pro-ducing a commodity from a brine stream proven to be rich in lithium.”

But some investors trust only what they’ve seen before, he said.

“Though you’re supplying a 21st-cen-tury economy based on ultra-high-tech lithium ion batteries, investors see a raw material supply that’s entrenched in the mid-20th century, crushing rocks and using evaporation ponds to access lith-ium,” he continued. “And there is really robust data on what’s in this brine, with constant testing showing consistent lev-

els for decades.” Mintak points to research predict-

ing skyrocketing lithium demand as the world produces more electric vehi-cles, buses and energy storage projects requiring lithium batteries.

“We’re in the top of the first inning when it comes to battery stor-age,” he said.

New products are requiring increasing amounts of lithium carbonate for power, as well.

While an iPhone has two or three grams of lithium and tablets 20 to 30 each, electric scoot-ers, bicycles and Segways hold 100-500 grams each.

Electric vehicles demand 50-70 kilo-grams of the substance, and electric buses being built by the thousands every week in China and elsewhere require even more.

AndyRobinson

RobertMintak

um extraction plant at the site a few miles southwest of El Dorado at a cost approaching half a billion dollars.

“We’ve designed the business plan to make it as fast into production as possible with minimum risk,” Mintak told Arkansas Business during a stop in Little Rock before heading south to see the demonstration plant’s progress. “The planned partnership with Lanxess is unique. It allowed us to avoid years of development, resource discovery and definition, permitting and further explo-ration work because they already have a resource and infrastructure we could piggyback on. We came to Arkansas, and fortune shined on us.”

Two contractors, Milam Construction of El Dorado and Hunt Guillot & Associates LLC of Ruston, Louisiana, are putting together the 12 pieces of the modular plant on newly poured concrete at the Lanxess site.

The brine Mintak covets was once an unwanted byproduct of oil drilling. But in the 1950s chemists testing the waters discovered bromine, prized in mak-ing flame retardants. Bromine quickly became one of Arkansas’ top three min-eral resources, along with petroleum and natural gas, and the state now leads the world in bromine production.

Standard Lithium plans to start test-ing its process as soon as the modular plant, built in Ontario by Zeton Inc., can be assembled. Eighteen 12-by-12-by-36-foot modules have been shipped to Arkansas and are being assembled now.

After the components are connect-ed and tested, possibly by the end of this month, Standard Lithium will start testing whether its proprietary lithium extraction method will work on an industrial scale.

“We have completed a pre-feasibil-ity study, and a preliminary economic assessment gave us numbers that we could put out to investors,” Mintak said.

Lithium: Plant coming together near El Dorado

Continued From Page One

LOUISIANA

ARKANSAS

MAGNOLIA

EL DORADO

Explaining a New Way of ‘Mining’ Lithium From Salt WaterTo describe his company’s patent-protected

lithium-extraction process (in the Canadian accent, it’s PRO-cess), Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak turns to his laptop for an explanation by COO and partner Andy Robinson.

Robinson ticked off components of the full-scale demonstration plant the company is assembling near El Dorado, the keystone in a plan to harvest battery-making lithium from south Arkansas’ salty subterranean sea.

The test plant was built in Ontario by Zeton Inc. and shipped south on flatbed trucks in 18 modular sections, each 12-by-12-by-36 feet.

“We’ve gone from bench scale to mini-pilot scale, scaling up” to the $10 million (Canadian) project that will soon test industrial viability, Robinson said. The project is a preliminary venture with German chemical giant Lanxess, which has existing bromine extraction infra-structures in the brine land.

Lithium-rich “tail brine” already processed for bromine is piped in from Lanxess’ plants in southern Arkansas. After initial filtering, it moves into the heart of the demonstration plant, a loading reactor where the hot brine interacts with “a specific lithium-selective absorbent material,” Robinson continued. “The lithium ions move from the hot brine onto the solid absorbent material in the space of a few tens of minutes. We then separate the two using membranes. The lithium-free brine

goes back into the ground as normal and the lithium-loaded solid material goes into the rest of the process.”

Once the lithium is lifted from the brine and locked onto the solid absorbent material, that material moves as a slurry into two washing reactors, which scrub away any remaining brine. “In every stage of the process, we’re recovering and reusing as much water as we can to make this a green and sustainable proj-ect,” Robinson said.

Standard Lithium / Tetra

Albemarle

Lanxess

Signifi cant Facility / Plant

Pipeline

Powerline

Railway

Standard Lithium LLC has access to 150,000 acres of south Arkansas brine fields, including deals with Albemarle and Lanxess, major chemical companies with extensive infrastruc-ture in the area. Standard Lithium is calling its south Arkansas demonstration facility the Tetra Production Plant.


Boom Seen AheadAll this portends a growing demand for

lithium, as companies like Volkswagen, Daimler and Volvo pour billions into electric vehicle production.

“Ford introduced an electric F-150 last month; Rivian, an American company, is building an electric pickup truck, and Amazon just put $700 million into its commitment to doing final delivery to the door with all-electric vehicles,” Mintak said. “Cummins Diesel is now Cummins Electric, and they have an EV semi. Volvo has an electric semi truck that’s self-driving. All of these things take a lot of lithium.”

But the biggest demand driver may eventually be the booming power stor-age sector. According to a recent study by Navigant Consulting, energy storage will bolster the lithium-ion battery market while leading an international shift to a more reliable and sustainable power grid. Navigant, a market researcher, counted 2,100 major energy storage proj-ects progressing worldwide, according to Utility Dive, an industry news source.

“The majority of investment today is in battery storage, and part of that is because lithium-ion batteries are the energy source of choice for new proj-ects because of their falling prices,” said Ricardo Rodriguez, a Navigant research analyst.

“There’s a bit of oversupply in the market right now because some hard-rock projects have come online in Australia,” Mintak said. “But by 2025-26, there’s likely to be a growing gap in sup-ply. If we’re successful and it takes us five years to get into production, that will be perfect timing.”

Mintak opened up on the details of Lanxess’ arrangement with Standard Lithium, which has about 10 employees. “We’re on the hook for all costs related to the process, testing, development, and the building of the pilot plant and its operational costs,” he said. “All the risk is on us, which is fair because they’re giving us access inside their fence, pro-viding staff in a highly permitted and secure workplace. We need to prove to them that we own what we’re planning to build. Hopefully all these details will be in place by the end of the year, and then we can negotiate our final agreement with them as a joint venture.”

Lanxess would own 70 percent of the JV to Standard Lithium’s 30 per-cent. “We’re piggybacking off a massive investment they made when they bought Chemtura,” Mintak said.

In April 2017, Lanxess AG official-ly acquired Chemtura, a rival based in Philadelphia, for $2.1 billion in cash, the largest acquisition in Lanxess history. Chemtura’s Arkansas operations, includ-ing the bromine brine infrastructure, were part of the agreement.

“They have wells, pipelines, permits, people with operational skills,” Mintak said. “This is saving us millions of dollars we didn’t have to spend.”

As of early August, Standard Lithium had raised $43 million, Mintak said. “By and large that’s been directed at the project in Arkansas. The demo plant cost us about $10 million Canadian, and we’ve got another pilot plant bud-geted for building in Vancouver and shipping to Arkansas later. But, all in, we’ll spend more money than we’ve raised so far, probably about $60 mil-lion Canadian, with about $20 million of that in Arkansas, and operational costs during the demonstration will be about equal to the cost of the plant, about $10 million.”

Once the process (see sidebar) is prov-en and the joint venture formed, Lanxess would take the lead on building the per-manent plant, which Mintak said might resemble a municipal wastewater treat-ment plant or a pulp paper mill.

“Lanxess has thousands and thou-sands of acres of brine lands and pumps 5 to 6 billion gallons of brine every year,” Mintak said. “That’s all essential, because you need 20 million gallons a day to make this venture economic.”

He said, for example, that it takes “a couple hundred” gallons of brine just to recover the 20 grams of lithium need-ed to power a laptop computer. “That tells you the vast tracts of land that are needed. Landowners will see that this isn’t like oil wells that can pump 20 or 30 barrels a month from their land. They aren’t going to be able to sell me their 10 acres.” n

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Next come the final stripping and purifica-tion stages. A stripping reactor treats the slurry with a dilute hydrochloric acid. “We make a concentrated lithium chloride solution which is then suitable for purification into battery-quality products.”

The whole process takes about two hours, Robinson said, compared with the most com-mon current process, which can take 12 to 18 months. “You see this is a much more effi-cient 21st-century solution to the problem of extracting lithium from continental brines.”

— Kyle Massey

Standard Lithium expects its El

Dorado dem-onstration

plant to be operating

soon. [PHOTO

PROVIDED]


interview request through universi-ty spokesman Sam Strasner, who said Toms’ situation, as a personnel matter, was off limits for discussion.

Some faculty members think Bowen demoted Toms to send a warning after a campuswidefaculty survey in May revealed wide-spread dissatisfaction with her lead-ership. Several said they hoped Toms’ removal as dean would be a tipping point for sentiment against Bowen, who has led the state’s third-largest university since 2014.

“You know if you quote me I’ll get fired immediately, but I hope it does [add to dissatisfaction with Bowen],” one pro-fessor said. “I’m surprised it hasn’t [come to a head] already.”

Other faculty members also speak-ing on the condition of anonymity com-plained that Bowen has insulated herself behind an Executive Council, a group of administrators who make all major deci-sions with her. They also see little trans-parency in the decision-making.

“She doesn’t talk to her underlings below her Executive Council,” one pro-fessor said.

Colleagues said Toms wasn’t a rabble-rouser but would question Bowen about expenses and other matters during meet-ings. One professor said Bowen often talks about shared govern-ance but doesn’t live up to that ideal.

“In reality, there is absolutely none,” the professor said. “You can give input all you want, but if people have gotten fired or demoted for doing it, that’s worse than not [doing] anything with it. That input is going to stop.”

A former member of the College of Business faculty said the timing of Toms’ removal as dean was no coincidence.

“This is the first action Bowen took since getting that negative feedback from staff and faculty,” said Kim Troboy, a former professor and department head who retired this summer after 23 years at Tech. “That was her response. It sends a pretty clear message, I think.”

‘Irregular’Toms was hired as dean in July 2017

and was dismissed on July 31, about two months after she promoted Pum-phrey from professor to succeed Troboy as head of the College of Business’ Management & Marketing Department.

Multiple colleagues confirmed to Arkansas Business that Bowen told Toms she was removed because of the “irregular” hiring process for Pumphrey. Colleagues said Pumphrey was unpack-ing his new office when campus security came to escort him out.

Professors acknowledged that Pum-phrey’s promotion was “fast-tracked,” and that he was made an associate pro-fessor beforehand to qualify for becom-ing a department head. While not stan-dard, the process isn’t unusual, they said.

“Lisa didn’t do this half cocked,” one professor said.

University guidelines prevent faculty members from being dismissed with-

out a year’s notice, so Pumphrey was placed on administrative leave. Lacking ten-ure, he is still receiv-ing his annual salary of $127,000 but is not welcome on campus, sources said.

Associate Dean Kevin Mason was named interim dean in Toms’ place. Tracy Cole, who had been promoted from interim to perma-nent head of the college’s Accounting & Economics Department, was reassigned to associate dean on an interim basis. The university has yet to name replace-ment department chairs.

Fritz Kronberger, chairman of Ar-kansas Tech’s Board of Trustees, said he was glad Toms was still a professor atthe university but couldn’t comment on her reassignment or the reasons the board was given.

“The issue with Lisa is a personnel issue, and I am unable to comment on that, and I just hope that you can under-stand that,” Kronberger wrote in an email to Arkansas Business.

Faculty members said the hiring pro-cess had been approved by the univer-sity’s human resources department and

by Phil Bridgmon, who was then interim vice president of academic affairs. They said Bowen signed Pumphrey’s depart-ment head contract at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

“Why did it go through the whole process and be approved?” one profes-sor asked. “If there was a problem in the hiring, it shouldn’t have been Lisa [who took the blame]. It should have been someone who approved it. It just doesn’t make sense.”

No SatisfactionThe comments of Toms’ colleagues

echo thoughts seen in a faculty satisfac-tion survey from May, which Arkansas Business acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The survey asked 450 faculty mem-bers to rate their level of satisfaction on a variety of issues from 1 (very dissatis-fied) to 5 (very satisfied). Of the 180 who responded, just 28% felt the university was headed in the right direction.

Satisfaction with President Bowen had an average score of 2.66; satisfaction with Bowen’s executive council was 2.37; satisfaction with transparency was 2.06; satisfaction with faculty input was 2.39.

“How can you not question that some-thing is going wrong if you read that,” one professor who participated said.

Some of the comments left by partici-pants pulled no punches against Bowen’s administration. They included:

“This administration has become a joke.”

“The president cannot be trusted.”“I’m ready for a vote of no confidence

in Dr. Bowen. Things are that bad.”A year ago, Arkansas Tech was the

center of controversy over a scholarship endowment from a former professor, Michael Link, who was accused of pro-moting anti-Semitism. Some surveyed were disappointed that Bowen didn’t reject the scholarship.

In the survey, many faculty members expressed disappointment that Bowen hired Barbara Johnson as the university’s vice president of academic affairs ratherthan promoting Phil Bridgmon from the interim post.

Johnson had been Arkansas Tech liai-son to the Higher Learning Commission, which is responsible for accrediting uni-versities in Arkansas and 18 other states, and some faculty members protested that she’d never served as a dean and had a potential conflict of interest because of her work with the HLC.

Bridgmon is now provost at the Uni-versity of Central Missouri in Warrens-burg.

Accreditation ProcessToms came to Arkansas Tech after

serving as dean from 2007-17 at Southern Arkansas University’s Rankin College of Business in Magnolia. She is also a member of the peer review team at the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the organization that grants accreditation to business schools like ATU’s.

An AACSB peer review team is sched-uled to visit Russellville early nextmonth to re-accredit Arkansas Tech’s College of Business, a process the college goes through every five years.

Faculty members said it seemed unwise to remove Toms as dean shortly before the accreditation visit, but they say turnover shouldn’t affect Arkansas Tech’s chances. Toms, who did com-ment about the AACSB process, said her removal shouldn’t affect accreditation.

“I’m really not worried,” Toms said. “I think the college is in great shape.”

Bowen, in an email that asked her to comment on, among other things, the survey results, expressed confidence in Mason’s leadership as interim dean. The leadership change shouldn’t be a “cause for alarm,” said Stephanie Bryant, AACSB’s executive vice president and chief accreditation officer.

“As with many industries, reorgani-zation within a business school is not uncommon,” Bryant said. “We would expect that any reorganization continues to best support the mission of the school.

“In general, it is not all that unusual for a school to have an interim dean or one or more interim department heads at the time of its accreditation visit.”

After Mason was interviewed about AACSB accreditation, he sent an email to College of Business faculty saying that Johnson had advised referring all ques-tions about the college to Strasner, the university spokesman.

“The morale of the business school is not high,” another professor said. “They are all focused on, ‘Let’s get through this visit.’ I will tell you that they are not happy.” n

Arka nsas Tech: Professors say leadership is coming up short

Continued From Page One

LisaToms

Robin Bowen

“This is the first action Bowen took since getting that negative feedback from staff and faculty. That was her response. It sends a pretty clear message, I think.”[KIM TROBOY, FORMER PROFESSORAND DEPARTMENT HEAD, ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY]


The ongoing dispute over the estate of Little Rock construction executive Michael Lasiter has escalated between his widow and the trustee administering assets ballparked around $50 million in court filings.

Newland & Associates is trying to cut off Caroline Lasiter as a beneficiary of two trusts set up by Lasiter, who owned Redstone Construction Group. The Little Rock law firm, led by Richard Newland Jr., also is trying to recoup upwards of $4.5 million in assets distributed to Caroline Lasiter since her husband’s death in 2016.

The lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court on behalf of the Michael Allen Lasiter Revocable Trust and the MAL Irrevocable Insurance Trust claims she contested provisions of the trusts in violation of the in terrorem clause.

The complaint alleges that under the terms of the no-contest clause, Caroline Lasiter forfeited the right to all distri-butions from the trusts and the assets should be treated as if she had died prior to her husband.

If upheld, her share of the trust assets would be divided among ben-eficiaries who include their two children and his two adult daughters from a previous mar-riage. Footing the bill for the trustee’s lawsuit are the trusts set up by Michael Lasiter.

Newland’s lawsuit portrays Caroline Lasiter as a spendthrift who is trying to undo her late husband’s estate planning and tap into more than her share of fam-ily assets.

Newland alleges her extravagant spending habit was a source of marital friction that led Michael Lasiter to incor-porate the no-contest clause to protect other beneficiaries from any challenges of the trust provisions that she might make.

In turn, Caroline Lasiter is seeking to remove Newland & Associates as trustee by alleging the firm is operationally unfit to serve and is persistently failing to administer the trusts effectively.

She also claims Newland breached trust in its allegedly conflicted handling of the sale of Redstone Construction and seeks to recover more than $1 million the firm and its affiliates have collected for professional and fiduciary fees associ-ated with the Lasiter trusts.

Court documents indicate 75 percent of Redstone was sold to its employees in

a transaction of undisclosed value after Michael Lasiter’s death.

Caroline Lasiter claims Newland orchestrated her removal from the Redstone board of directors because she suggested during board meetings that he and his firm had professional conflicts of interest. She linked her forced exit from the corporate board to her unwill-ingness to sign a non-disclosure agree-ment regarding the administration of her husband’s trusts and estate.

Newland and Lasiter deny each oth-er’s allegations.

Siding with Newland’s efforts to remove Caroline Lasiter as a beneficiary is her mother-in-law and trust protector, Hannah Finley. The women’s emotion-ally charged relationship surfaced in the court records describing their dispute

regarding hospice care of Michael Lasiter days before his death on May 31, 2016.

T he f ract u re between the women resurfaced a year later in a lawsuit regarding potential benefits for Caroline Lasiter’s chil-

dren under a lifetime trust set up for and administered by Finley.

Finley is the sole beneficiary and trustee of the Peck Family Trust as long as she lives. Her grandchildren are among the beneficiaries of any trust assets remaining after her death.

Anger erupted in Hawaii when Finley was served with the lawsuit in Kula, Maui, on Aug. 14, 2017, as recounted in an affidavit by a process server, Eric Muroki.

“I lightly tapped her passenger side window as not to alarm her, and as Mrs. Finley looked at me, I showed her the document. I then pointed to her and then to the document and then pointed back to her.

“I realized she was not going to open the window and not wanting a confronta-tion, I placed the document between her windshield wiper and windshield front-ing Mrs. Finley… At this time, I heard Mrs. Finley exit her vehicle screaming at me.

“As I was about to turn around and explain the service of the legal docu-

ment, I was struck in the back of my head with the document. I cannot recall what Mrs. Finley was screaming at me but got the impression she knew what the document was about.

“As I got to the open front passenger door…, I was immediately confronted by Mrs. Finley. She placed her body against the open door and stood inches away from me and continued screaming into my face. She demanded my name, the company I represent and my business card.

“I then informed her of my first name and that I was only serving the legal doc-ument. I informed her that she should not get upset at me as I was only the messenger of the document. Mrs. Finley realized I was not willing to argue with her and returned to her vehicle.”

Caroline Lasiter alleges that Finley has hired private investigators to follow her and/or monitor her daily life.

Family ContentionsThe sedate distribution of fam-

ily wealth envisioned by Michael Lasiter and memorialized in his estate planning became increasingly contentious in the three years following his death.

The heightened animosity among wrangling parties is joined by the grow-ing prominence of unintended ben-eficiaries: attorneys paid to file and an-swer lawsuits related to his estate.

D i s a g r e ement s behind the scenes brewed into an August 2017 mal-practice lawsuit Car- oline Lasiter filed against Newland & Associates, Richard Newland and his fel-low attorney at the firm, Elizabeth Caldwell.

The case, still winding its way through discovery, accuses Newland and his firm of mismanaging the Lasiter trusts with conflicting interests as trustee while serving as attorney, accountant, finacial

adviser and insurance salesman for both Michael and Caroline Lasiter.

Court filings note the rejection of Caroline Lasiter’s one-time-only offer to dismiss her case in exchange for a $15 million payout from the trusts.

Along the way, Newland stepped away from its appointment as executor of Michael Lasiter’s estate, a role filled by Relyance Bank of Pine Bluff.

The bank was sued last year by Caroline Lasiter regarding the impact of a disputed premarital agreement on her claims against her husband’s estate.

The PMA was first enacted in 2003 at the beginning of their marriage, later dissolved and reinstated in a disputed 2104 amendment to the Michael Allen Revocable Trust.

Lasiter’s two sisters, Paula Christy Schmidt and Holly Woprice, recently lost their appeal of an unfavorable ruling in an October 2017 federal lawsuit against Newland & Associates as trustee of their brother’s namesake trust.

Their case revolved around claims to partial ownership of Lasiter Asphalt Maintenance Co., established by their father, Mannie Lasiter, and the founda-tion for Redstone Construction.

Their lawsuit questioned the legal-ity of stock transfers between their father and brother and laid financial claim to shares and divi-dends they could’ve received over the years. However, Judge Billy Roy Wilson ruled their claims were barred by the statute of limitations and dis-missed the case.

The sisters testi-fied they only became aware of the details of father-son stock transfers in 1999 and 2000 after

their brother’s death in 2016.His ruling centered on their decision

not to act on their acknowledged con-cerns regarding the stock in 2004 after their father’s death. The Eighth Circuit upheld Wilson’s decision in June. n

Michael Lasiter estatebecomes public forumfor family disagreements

Lawyers Become Unintended BeneficiariesThe 2016 sale of 75% of Redstone Construction Group to its employees is among a list of criticized actions in the wrangling over the Michael Lasiter estate. [GOOGLE MAPS]

By George [email protected]

Caroline Lasiter

Richard Newland Jr.

The sedate distribution of family wealth envisioned by Michael Lasiter and memorialized in his estate planning became increasingly contentious in the three years following his death


Arkansas in-home ser-vice providers say changes in Medicaid rules are hurting them and their elderly clients.

Hundreds of Medicaid ben-eficiaries in the ARChoices pro-gram were denied benefits this year for in-home care, said Luke Mattingly, president and CEO of CareLink of North Little Rock, a nonprofit that serves elderly clients in and around Pulaski County. The in-home services include meal-making, bathing and light housekeeping.

Out of the 2,431 current ben-eficiaries in ARChoices, 17% were denied services, accord-ing to the most recent numbers from the Arkansas Department of Human Services. For the 1,207 new ARChoices appli-cants, 33% were denied.

And reviews of nearly 150 beneficiaries who had been denied benefits were later found to eligible, DHS said.

Still, CareLink has seen its Medicaid revenue fall $1.6 mil-lion over its past two fiscal years, which end June 30, he said. He said he anticipates more rev-enue declines through the end of the calendar year. CareLink has about a $15 million budget.

Mattingly said the sagging revenue is tied to changes in the way Medicaid beneficiaries are assessed for benefits in the traditional Medicaid Personal Care program. And annual caps placed on the amount of care beneficiaries receive has also caused CareLink’s Medicaid revenue to fall, he said.

“As all these changes occurred and overall volume decreased for all providers, competition to serve partici-pants has become very aggres-sive,” Mattingly said. “So I could be losing market share as well.”

In 2016, CareLink had about 700 aides; now it employs 500.

Other in-home providers share a similar script.

“We are suffering and our cli-ents are suffering,” said Jacque McDaniel, executive director of

East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging, which has its headquar-ters in Jonesboro.

In the first seven months of 2019, the agency’s revenue from Medicaid was down 19% com-pared with the same period in 2018, she said.

McDaniel said she hasn’t had to lay off any employees as a result of the decline in revenue. It has about 300 workers; about 200 of those are aides.

“It’s really hard, honestly, to see a way out of this situation,” McDaniel said.

DHS hired Optum Health Care Solutions Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, in 2017 to handle the assessments.

A legislative committee is looking into the number of denials that Optum recom-mended for people who receive in-home care and those in assisted living facilities, said State Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, chair of the House Aging, Children & Youth committee and a member of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Review Subcommittee.

In August, the subcommit-tee told Optum to report back in November on how it “fixed the problem” with “the num-ber of claims that were denied,” Fite said. “Legislators were

concerned with the number of people being told that … they no longer qualify” for Medicaid benefits.

State Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, said he was con-cerned about the way Optum handled the assessments for in-home and assisted living bene-fits. For those current Medicaid beneficiaries in assisted living centers, 15% of 392 were denied benefits, and 21% of the 214 new applicants were denied.

“It’s problematic whenever you have a 93-year-old woman that’s legally blind and deaf and been in assisted living for sev-eral years” who is reassessed by Optum and told she doesn’t qualify for services, Douglas said. “What is she to do?”

DHS spokeswoman Amy Webb acknowledged some issues with the assessments, but said “we have worked to address those where we could and we’re continuing to monitor that.”

Optum’s contract for the cur-rent year is $16.35 million, and the total value over seven years is $87 million, Webb said.

CareLink has about 225 peo-ple in the Medicaid program called ARChoices in Homecare, which provides in-home and community-based services to beneficiaries.

Mattingly said dozens of those clients don’t have a care plan in place because the plans they were operating under expired this month. He said CareLink is providing services to those clients in the mean-time, though.

CareLink also had to spend about $90,000 more to deal with the Medicaid changes, includ-ing hiring an additional admin-istrator and reassigning other staff members, Mattingly said.

“So they’ve reduced my overall volume, they have not increased the rate to accom-modate the minimum wage [increase in January], but they have increased my administra-tive costs tremendously as a provider,” Mattingly said. “Now, from an older person’s perspec-tive, it’s just horrible trying to get services right now.”

He said that he fears the elderly will try to stay in their homes as long as possible, which could increase hos-pitalizations because they won’t be getting the care they need. Or they might land in a nursing home prematurely. “Everybody agrees that home community-based services are more economical,” Mattingly said. “Yet here we are putting all kinds of restrictions on allowing access to people at a time when we have 10,000 people a day turning 65” across the county.

DHS Responds The independent assess-

ments are moving forward as quickly as possible, said Paula Stone, deputy director of the DHS Division of Medical Services, which administers Arkansas Medicaid.

“We’re doing several thou-sand assessments per month across all the populations,” she said. DHS contracted with Optum to handle the indepen-dent assessments that includ-ed people in the traditional Medicaid Personal Care pro-gram. Since 2017, Optum has done 105,000 assessments to see if beneficiaries need in-home care or other services, Stone said.

Webb said using the inde-pendent assessments was a pol-icy change that DHS made after

receiving recommendations from the Legislative Health Task Force.

The task force was created after Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in 2015 that he wanted to reform Medicaid. The task force set a goal of saving Medicaid $835 million over five years through 2021, and more than $950 mil-lion has been saved in the first three years.

Stone said the decision to use an independent assessor came after a realization that provid-ers were making decisions on services to be offered to benefi-ciaries, which let them act on a financial incentive to provide more services.

In addition, for some Medicaid beneficiaries, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires independent assessments, Stone said.

Mattingly said he under-stands the need to have some-one acting as a gatekeeper between the provider and client, but the current system is hurting clients. He said he had seen ben-eficiaries who previously quali-fied for an average of 12 hours a week of services be limited to 10 hours a week.

McDaniel, of the East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging, said some clients are now capped at $5,000 worth of benefits annually. “They may need home care. They may need home-delivered meals. They may need medical supplies,” she said. “But now they have a budget, so they have to give up something.”

Stone said if a beneficiary doesn’t receive approval for benefits, that “doesn’t mean there aren’t other services that are available. So what we’re really doing is looking at the individual to make sure what they need and how to help them obtain those services.”

In the meantime, White River Area Agency on Aging says it is doing its best to keep providing care to clients while they appeal the denial of services.

“We have taken the risk on ourselves to try and pro-vide the care, just hoping in the end some of these things will iron out,” said Shanna Maguffee, White River’s chief operating officer.

“We just want to take care … of the elderly and disabled in our area.” n

As Medicaid denials surge, some question Optum assessments

In-Home Providers’ RevenueSuffers Dip After Rule Changes

By Mark [email protected]

Luke Mattingly is the president and CEO of CareLink, whose revenue has slipped $1.6 million in two years. [PHOTO

BY KAREN E. SEGRAVE]


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2 DeWitt Bank & Trust Co.BDeWitt

2.15% $94.38$2.52

3 First Financial BankEl Dorado

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4 First Security BankSearcy

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5 First National Bank of Fort SmithFort Smith

2.01% $1,352.94$26.13

6 Citizens Bank & Trust Co.Van Buren

1.94% $396.89$7.68

7 RiverBankPocahontas

1.91% $95.39$1.70

8 Bank OZKLittle Rock

1.90% $22,388.03$417.11

9 Riverside BankSparkman

1.89% $62.57$1.48

10 Farmers Bank & Trust Co.Blytheville

1.80% $266.60$5.86

11 Union Bank of MenaMena

1.74% $259.01$5.65

12 Connect BankCStar City

1.70% $92.92$1.91

13 Peoples BankSheridan

1.70% $155.15$2.64

14 Horatio State BankHoratio

1.69% $208.87$3.39

15 First National Bank at ParisParis

1.63% $168.24$3.20

16 Simmons BankPine Bluff

1.56% $16,518.22$235.55

17 Bank of SalemSalem

1.51% $134.90$2.06

18 Petit Jean State BankMorrilton

1.50% $183.75$2.79

19 Cross County BankWynne

1.43% $240.67$3.42

20 Bank of DelightDelight

1.42% $124.37$2.11

21 Bank of EnglandEngland

1.41% $312.09$4.59

22 Farmers Bank & TrustMagnolia

1.39% $1,535.30$20.31

23 First State BankRussellville

1.38% $267.52$3.54

24 First Arkansas Bank & TrustJacksonville

1.29% $761.07$11.35

25 First National Bank of Lawrence CountyWalnut Ridge

1.26% $206.55$3.11

26 First National Bank of WynneDWynne

1.26% $335.72$4.29

27 McGehee BankMcGehee

1.26% $123.36$1.87

28 Fidelity National BankWest Memphis

1.22% $376.00$5.54

29 First National BankParagould

1.20% $1,625.20$17.41

30 First National Bank of Izard CountyCalico Rock

1.20% $163.84$1.97

31 Bank of Lake VillageLake Village

1.19% $66.14$0.79

1 Acquired by Stone Bancshares Inc. of Mountain View on June 17 andwill be merged into Stone Bank on Sept. 23 2 Formerly Bank of StarCity 3 Acquisition by First Financial Bank of El Dorado expected to closein fourth quarter of 2019

Researched byGwen Moritz

Arkansas Banks by ROAThe List



InstitutionCity

Return onAssets


32 First National Bank of North ArkansasBerryville

1.19% $203.79$2.89

33 Union Bank & TrustMonticello

1.17% $211.12$3.02

34 Bank of BeardenBearden

1.16% $53.16$0.86

35 Cornerstone BankEureka Springs

1.15% $287.42$3.78

36 First National Bank of Eastern ArkansasForrest City

1.14% $416.87$5.51

37 Priority BankFayetteville

1.14% $84.17$1.17

38 Chambers BankDanville

1.13% $822.30$11.13

39 Integrity First BankBMountain Home

1.13% $525.65$5.54

40 Commercial Bank & TrustMonticello

1.12% $213.14$2.69

41 Piggott State BankPiggott

1.12% $84.01$1.05

42 First State Bank of De QueenDe Queen

1.11% $245.92$3.34

43 Anstaff BankGreen Forest

1.10% $638.16$8.37

44 Farmers BankGreenwood

1.09% $206.56$2.22

45 First Community BankBatesville

1.08% $1,471.54$15.01

46 FNBC BankAsh Flat

1.07% $464.02$5.52

47 Arkansas County BankDeWitt

1.06% $161.07$2.17

48 Logan County BankScranton

1.06% $81.06$0.87

49 Arvest BankFayetteville

1.04% $18,445.59$188.91

50 Premier BankCMarion

1.04% $159.07$1.56

51 Diamond BankMurfreesboro

1.03% $604.90$7.04

52 Legacy National BankSpringdale

1.02% $523.34$5.03

53 Relyance BankPine Bluff

1.01% $825.62$8.12

54 Southern Bancorp BankArkadelphia

0.99% $1,387.75$12.76

55 Farmers & Merchants BankStuttgart

0.97% $1,063.09$10.25

56 Generations BankHampton

0.96% $521.26$4.68

57 Evolve Bank & TrustWest Memphis

0.92% $473.20$4.27

58 Bank of Cave CityCave City

0.91% $114.21$1.27

59 Citizens BankBatesville

0.91% $856.03$7.39

60 Merchants & Planters BankNewport

0.91% $264.25$2.39

61 First Service BankGreenbrier

0.90% $307.33$2.58

62 Smackover State BankSmackover

0.90% $186.30$1.64

1 Acquired by Farmers & Merchants Bank of Stuttgart on May 11, 2019 2Formerly First Community Bank of Eastern Arkansas



InstitutionCity

Return onAssets


63 Merchants & Farmers BankDumas

0.89% $139.72$1.24

64 Security BankStephens

0.87% $67.22$0.60

65 First Delta BankBMarked Tree

0.84% $62.77$0.53

66 Signature BankFayetteville

0.84% $613.36$5.18

67 Community State BankBradley

0.83% $17.13$0.16

68 FBT Bank & MortgageFordyce

0.82% $161.86$1.50

69 River Town BankCDardanelle

0.82% $132.73$1.11

70 Peoples BankMagnolia

0.80% $219.64$2.03

71 Bodcaw BankStamps

0.75% $94.93$0.61

72 Riverwind BankAugusta

0.74% $103.92$0.75

73 Stone BankMountain View

0.73% $371.71$2.14

74 Central BankLittle Rock

0.72% $212.23$1.44

75 First Western BankBooneville

0.71% $424.68$2.91

76 First State BankDCrossett

0.70% $32.84$0.24

77 Merchants & Planters BankClarendon

0.69% $44.98$0.31

78 United BankSpringdale

0.69% $194.65$1.64

79 Eagle Bank & Trust Co.Little Rock

0.65% $404.04$2.59

80 First NaturalState BankMcGehee

0.64% $56.19$0.36

81 Malvern National BankMalvern

0.58% $530.62$3.01

82 Gateway BankRison

0.57% $73.26$0.51

83 Warren Bank & TrustWarren

0.56% $122.27$0.90

84 First State Bank of WarrenWarren

0.55% $110.05$0.77

85 Capital BankLittle Rock

0.50% $161.35$0.78

86 Partners BankEHelena

0.40% $163.70$0.71

87 Bank of Little RockLittle Rock

0.37% $203.40$0.75

88 Today's BankHuntsville

0.32% $238.00$0.78

89 Armor BankForrest City

0.28% $90.50$0.21

90 Bank of GravetteFGravette

0.22% $128.75$0.27

91 HomeBank of ArkansasPortland

0.13% $70.73$0.09

92 First State BankLonoke

-0.40% $268.04($1.10)

93 Bank of PrescottGPrescott

-1.67% $72.97($1.15)

Source: BauerFinancial Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla., BauerFinancial.com,compiled from Dec. 31, 2018, data reported to the Federal DepositInsurance Corp. Return on assets adjusted for tax equivalency forSubchapter S corporations. 1 Scheduled to be collapsed into ArmorBank of Forrest City in the first quarter of 2020 2 Merger into ChambersBank of Danville scheduled for Nov. 4 3 Acquisition by CommercialCapital Bank of Delhi, LA, expected to close by the end of 2019 4Formerly Helena National Bank 5 Formerly Bank of Gravett 6Acquisition by Farmers Bank & Trust of Magnolia expected to close inthe fourth quarter of 2019


Arkansas Banks by ROAThe List


InstitutionCity

Return onAssets


32 First National Bank of North ArkansasBerryville

1.19% $203.79$2.89

33 Union Bank & TrustMonticello

1.17% $211.12$3.02

34 Bank of BeardenBearden

1.16% $53.16$0.86

35 Cornerstone BankEureka Springs

1.15% $287.42$3.78

36 First National Bank of Eastern ArkansasForrest City

1.14% $416.87$5.51

37 Priority BankFayetteville

1.14% $84.17$1.17

38 Chambers BankDanville

1.13% $822.30$11.13

39 Integrity First BankBMountain Home

1.13% $525.65$5.54

40 Commercial Bank & TrustMonticello

1.12% $213.14$2.69

41 Piggott State BankPiggott

1.12% $84.01$1.05

42 First State Bank of De QueenDe Queen

1.11% $245.92$3.34

43 Anstaff BankGreen Forest

1.10% $638.16$8.37

44 Farmers BankGreenwood

1.09% $206.56$2.22

45 First Community BankBatesville

1.08% $1,471.54$15.01

46 FNBC BankAsh Flat

1.07% $464.02$5.52

47 Arkansas County BankDeWitt

1.06% $161.07$2.17

48 Logan County BankScranton

1.06% $81.06$0.87

49 Arvest BankFayetteville

1.04% $18,445.59$188.91

50 Premier BankCMarion

1.04% $159.07$1.56

51 Diamond BankMurfreesboro

1.03% $604.90$7.04

52 Legacy National BankSpringdale

1.02% $523.34$5.03

53 Relyance BankPine Bluff

1.01% $825.62$8.12

54 Southern Bancorp BankArkadelphia

0.99% $1,387.75$12.76

55 Farmers & Merchants BankStuttgart

0.97% $1,063.09$10.25

56 Generations BankHampton

0.96% $521.26$4.68

57 Evolve Bank & TrustWest Memphis

0.92% $473.20$4.27

58 Bank of Cave CityCave City

0.91% $114.21$1.27

59 Citizens BankBatesville

0.91% $856.03$7.39

60 Merchants & Planters BankNewport

0.91% $264.25$2.39

61 First Service BankGreenbrier

0.90% $307.33$2.58

62 Smackover State BankSmackover

0.90% $186.30$1.64

1 Acquired by Farmers & Merchants Bank of Stuttgart on May 11, 2019 2Formerly First Community Bank of Eastern Arkansas



The property was acquired for $1.05 million in December 2007 from WJH Little Rock LLC of Memphis.

NLR Offi ceA 7,144-SF office building in North

Little Rock drew a $450,000 transaction.Blue Learning of Lewisville, Texas,

bought the 801 W. 29th St. project from the Clifton Family LLLP, led by Norman Clifton.

The 0.6-acre development was pur-chased for $211,000 in September 2014 from Marple Investments LLC, led by Roy and Shirley Marple.

Postal PropertyA 3,288-SF post office in Scott deliv-

ered a $416,250 sale. APIF-ArkansasLLC, an affiliate of American Infrastruc-ture Funds in Foster City, California, acquired the 14918 Alexander Road proj-ect.

The seller is FDI Postal Properties II Inc., an affiliate of Frall Developers in Mount Airy, Maryland.

The 1.67-acre development is now helping secure a $425 million funding agreement administered by Citizens Bank of Cleveland.

FDI bought the property for $400,000 in July 1998 from Little Rock’s Terry Moore & Associates Inc.

Chenal DownsA 9,638-SF home in west Little Rock’s

Chenal Downs neighborhood tipped the scales at $1.47 million.

Frank and Michelle Tetnowski pur-chased the 5.39-acre residential spread from Sharilyn Gasaway.

The deal is funded with a 30-yearloan of $1.1 million from Angle Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC of Atlanta.

Gasaway acquired the location for$225,000 in April 2009 from Rick Fer-guson.

Ridgefi eld EstatesA 5,742-SF home in the Ridgefield

Estates neighborhood of Pulaski County is under new ownership after a $640,000 sale.

Scott and Kathleen Gatlin bought the house from James and Teresa Alexander.

The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $484,000 from Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff. The 5.35-acre residential spread previously was tied to a May 2017 mort-gage of $424,100 held by Simmons.

The Alexanders purchased the for $650,000 in August 2016 from the Fran-cis and Mary Browning Revocable Trust.

Cypress PointeA 4,255-SF home in west Little

Rock’s Cypress Pointe neighborhood changed hands in a $615,000 deal. Jeff and Candice Whitlock acquired the resi-dence from Jeff and Carrie Hankins.

The house previously was linked witha January 2013 mortgage of $384,000

held by Bank of Little Rock Mortgage Corp.

The location was bought for $110,000 in June 2004 from Ranch Properties Inc., led by Ed Willis.

Woodlands EdgeA 3,974-SF home in west Little Rock’s

Woodlands Edge neighborhood rang up a $550,100 sale.

Syed and Sumera Ali purchased the house from Max C. Goolsby Revocable Trust.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $556,370 from Arvest Bank.

Goolsby acquired the residence for $535,000 in May 2016 from Dillon Group Inc., led by Janet Dillon.

Grandview HouseA 3,352-SF home in Little Rock’s

Grandview neighborhood attracted a $530,000 transaction.

James Mitchell III and his wife, Sara, bought the house from Virginia Buttry. The deal is funded with a 15-year loan of $424,000 from Simmons Bank.

The residence previously was tied to a December 2009 mortgage of $230,000 held by Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama.

The property was purchased for $69,000 in October 1975 from Harold Sebring Jr. and his wife, Sue.

Marabel CourtA 4,024-SF home in the Marabel

Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development sold for $520,000.

Joshua and Melissa Fraum acquired the house from Brent and Mary Lutz. The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $484,350 from Bank of Little Rock Mortgage.

The residence previously was linked with a March 2017 mortgage of $240,000 held by BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Lutz family bought the property for $482,000 30 months ago from Mark Baker Custom Homes Inc.

Hillcrest HomeA 2,223-SF home in the Hillcrest area

of Little Rock is under new ownership after a $515,000 deal.

Michael and Elizabeth Peeler pur-chased the house from Steven and Kim-berly Gardner.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $412,000 from Bank of LittleRock Mortgage.

The residence previously was tied to an April 2015 mortgage of $225,000 held by First Financial Bank of El Dorado.

The property was acquired for $79,000 in May 2008 from James Williamson. n

A 146-unit senior living project inwest Little Rock tipped the scales at a reported $37.75 million.

WOJV Little Rock LLC, an affiliate of New York’s White Oak Healthcare Fi-nance, purchased the Woodland Heights project at 8700 Riley Drive. The seller is Woodland Heights Al Real Estate LLC, an affiliate of Compass Pointe Healthcare Systems of Baltimore.

The deal is part of a $79.6 million funding agreement with M&T Realty Capital Corp. of Baltimore.

The 6.62-acre development and an adjoining undeveloped 1.02-acre par-cel previously were tied to a May 2015mortgage of $17.4 million held by Com-pass Bank of Birmingham, Alabama.

The property was bought for $13.9 million from Woodland Heights LLC, an affiliate of the Arkansas Teacher Re-tirement System.

Offi ce Park AcquisitionA 40,607-SF office complex in North

Little Rock weighed in at $1.87 million.Two Cops And A Lot LLC, an investment

group led by John Hathaway and Wes Martin, bought the Commercial Office Park at 4610-4704 Commercial Drive.

The seller is Danco Construction Co.,led by Preston Wright. The deal is fi-nanced with a $1.4 million loan from Encore Bank of Little Rock.

The 4.25-acre development was as-sembled in 1994 buys from Old World North Ltd., led by Mary Louise Thompson, $1.3 million in June and from Reed and Katherine McConnell, Kevin and Catherine McConnell, John and Phyllis Kincannon, Joe and Mary Smith, John and Suzanne Jackson and Donald and Bonnie Collie, $202,000; their Apartment House Builders Inc., $185,000; and their AHBI Consolidated Inc., $185,000 in August.

Convenient PurchaseA 2,370-SF convenience store in

downtown North Little Rock changed

hands in successive $1 million deals. US Assets Acquisition LLC of Dallas acquired the Exxon project at 416 E. Broadway from Magness Family LLLP, led by Jeff Magness, for $1.08 million.

In turn, SCF RC Funding IV LLC, an affil-iate of SCF Realty Capital of Princeton, New Jersey, purchased the 0.58-acre development adjoining Verizon Arena for $1.15 million.

The project previously helped securea January 2014 funding agreement of $44.9 million administered by RBS Cit-izens of Providence, Rhode Island.

The site was bought for $171,000 in April 1993 from Exxon Corp. of Houston, Texas.

Offi ce-Warehouse BuyAn office-warehouse in southwest

Little Rock rang up an $850,000 transac-tion.

White River Property Transactions LLC, led by Robert Abney, purchased the 32,320-SF Doss Moving project at 6600 Interstate 30 from the Doss Living Trustof Sierra Vista, Arizona.

The 4.01-acre development previ-ously was linked with a May 2013 mort-gage of $511,850 held by Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

Woodland Heights Draws$37.7 Million Transaction

Real DealsGeorge [email protected]

Woodland Heights at 8700 Riley Drive in west Little Rock. [PHOTO BY JASON BURT]


Most Read Stories of the WeekHere are the most popular online stories for the week ending Sept. 19. All stories listed below are available for free this week at ArkansasBusiness.com:

1. Baptist Health Foundation CEO Files Lawsuit Over TerminationJury to decide if Hunt was fi red for poor performance or for trying to comply with legal requirements.

2. Caraway Plaza Shopping Center Sells for $19MJonesboro real estate group says sale is the second-highest single retail real estate deal in market’s history.

3. Walton Family Foundation Names Executive DirectorCaryl M. Stern has been president and CEO of UNICEF USA since 2007.

4. Arkansas County Broadcasters Inc. Buys Stuttgart Leader, Saving It From ClosureThe Leader had been publishing twice a week before GateHouse announced it would be shut down.

5. Governor’s Spokesman Departs; Katie Beck to Take OverBeck, the governor’s director of state-federal relations, will replace J.R. Davis on Oct. 1.

“The purchase came about so quickly that we’re still doing due diligence and getting our arms around the situation.

We are still in the process of making plans to put out a great product for Stuttgart and the surrounding area.”

— SCOTT SILER, COO of East Arkansas Broadcasters

Walter Hussman Jr. was driving up Cantrell Road in a raging thunderstorm in late May, thinking about his legacy.

Dodging downed limbs and a car swinging into his lane, he said he wouldn’t be retiring as publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette or as chairman of Wehco Media Inc., its parent company.

“I’m not CEO of the company any-more,” Hussman said in that cellphone interview. “I’m 72, but I’m going to con-tinue helping in this conversion.”

By that he meant the conversion of the Democrat-Gazette from a print newspa-per into a digital publication six days a week. By 2020, Hussman plans to print the Little Rock paper on Sundays only, shifting readers to a digital plan that offers them iPads for as long as they keep paying their $36-a-month subscriptions.

Hussman hopes to keep covering news statewide without cutting news staff, and his novel idea seeks to avoid layoffs, which have become routine in the general-interest news industry. It’s a $12 million bet on the iPads alone, the third-generation publisher noted.

Back in May, few knew he was plan-ning a $25 million gift to the University of North Carolina, his alma mater. The record donation to the journalism school chris-tened the Hussman School of Journalism & Media in honor of the publisher, his wife, Ben, and children Palmer Hussman, Olivia Ramsey and Eliza Gaines.

Ramsey and Gaines are also UNC graduates, and Hussman said it “honors the four generations of my family who have dedicated their lives to news.”

News of the gift set off some anger and eye-rolling at a time of austerity at Wehco’s papers. One ex-employee said equipment and facility upgrades have waited for years, lamenting years of pay freezes as well. But no Wehco funds went into the gift, and Americans can use their personal wealth as they see fit. It’s also hard to criticize supporting public journalism education.

At any rate, the North Carolina gift celebrates an Arkansas media dynasty.

Hussman’s grandfather, Clyde Palmer, bought the paper that eventually became the Texarkana Gazette in 1909 and built a hardy south Arkansas chain includ-ing properties in Camden, El Dorado, Magnolia and Hope. Hussman’s moth-er, Betty Palmer, met his father when both were journalism students at the University of Missouri in the late 1920s. Walter Hussman Sr.’s college room-mate, Donald W. Reynolds, became the millionaire philanthropist who built Donrey Media Group, once publisher of the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Hussman Sr. took over the family busi-ness after C.E. Palmer’s death in 1957, and while employees groused about pen-ny-pinching, he introduced innovations. In the 1960s, he installed a facsimile

network connecting his papers, allow-ing for expensive cold-type composition equipment to handle all ad production at a central site and share those ads with the entire newspaper group. News copy was shared the same way.

Hussman, who finished at UNC in 1968 and got an MBA at Columbia University in 1970, wrote for Forbes magazine for a year before joining the family business, winning with his own maverick ideas like free classified ads and promoting the Democrat as “Arkansas’ Newspaper” after the rival Gazette was bought by Gannett Co. of McLean, Virginia.

Hussman said one key to his mak-ing the UNC gift was the journalism school’s adoption of the core values (ArkansasOnline.com/CoreValues) he has been printing in Wehco’s 10 daily papers for two years. The principles, opening with a line from the legendary New York Times Publisher Adolph Ochs and ending with a quotation from Hussman’s father, emphasize impartial reporting, “deliver-ing the news honestly, fairly, objectively, and without personal opinion or bias.”

The pursuit of truth is the noble goal of journalism, the values say, and they call for opinion to be strictly distinguished from news, and for reporters to dig in and follow tips wherever they lead.

The values will be chiseled in granite in Carroll Hall on the Chapel Hill cam-pus, where journalism students routine-ly study. The coda is from Hussman’s father, who ranked a newspaper’s five constituencies this way: “first its readers, then advertisers, then employees, then creditors, then shareholders.” Keeping those priorities, “especially readers first, all constituencies will be well served.”

Hussman said he often turns to that quote for guidance. “I loved Dad, but his advice has been so useful practi-cally. After 40 years in this business, I still encounter new problems. But if you’re unsure what to do, you can look at that statement about who the newspaper should be serving, and in what order. You repeat that, and all of a sudden the problem untangles.” n

Hussman Values Chiseled In Stone at Chapel Hill

Word of MouthYou won’t fi nd many recipes at ArkansasBusiness.com/

Restaurants, but you will uncover the latest dish. From Jan Cottingham’s monthly Restaurants column to Whispers about what’s happening in the kitchen, you’ll get served up the latest on fi ne dining, neighborhood dives, menu changes and liquor laws. Subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter and get a full course of news, all suited to your taste. And while a gratuity is neither required nor expected, our news staff is always ready to receive your tips.

ArkansasBusiness.comDAILY ONLINE NEWS

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[email protected]

OuttakesKyle Massey

Publisher Editor Online Editor Print/Digital Reporter Mitch Bettis Gwen Moritz Lance Turner Sarah Campbell-Miller @mitchbettis @gwenmoritz @LT @ArkNewsGirl

Word of MouthYou won’t fi nd many recipes at

RestaurantsJan Cottingham’s monthly Whispersget served up the latest on fi ne dining, neighborhood dives, menu changes and liquor laws. Subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter and get a full course of news, all suited to your taste. And while a gratuity is neither required nor expected, our news staff is always ready to receive your tips.


A couple wounded last month in a mass shooting at a Texas Walmart filed suit against the Bentonville retailer, becoming the latest shooting victims to sue a business for failing to protect them.

Jessica and Guillermo Garcia said in their lawsuit that Walmart had a respon-sibility to protect its customers. “And Walmart failed to live up to this duty because it did not employ security guards to patrol the store,” according to a news release from the Ammons Law Firm of Houston, which represents the Garcias in the case filed in District Court of El Paso County, Texas.

The Garcias’ legal strategy — suggest-ing that a business failed to use reason-able care to protect its customers — is not new, said Timothy D. Lytton, a distin-guished university professor at Georgia State University College of Law and editor of the book “Suing the Gun Industry.”

What’s new about the case and simi-lar ones filed against businesses after mass shootings is how much money companies might have to pay in dam-ages, he said.

“That liability exposure for a mass shooting is actually very considerable because the injuries are so lethal,” Lytton said. “It’s more than just your average slip-and-fall or mugging in the parking lot. This is something that carries major liability implications for businesses, and so this is of concern.”

In May, MGM Resorts said it could pay up to $800 million to settle suits stemming from the October 2017 mass shooting from one of its Las Vegas hotels in which 58 people were killed and more than 400 were injured.

Attorney Patrick Luff of Houston, who represents the Garcias, said that as more mass shootings occur, more families are likely to sue the businesses where the shooting occurred for not keeping them safe. “Since Columbine in 1999, mass shootings have just become more and more common,” he said.

Retailers should be re-evaluating

their security measures — if they haven’t already, Luff told Arkansas Business.

The law, though, does not require a company to provide a 100% safe space, Lytton said. Stores, restaurants or any company that invites customers into its business has a responsibility “to take reasonable measures to protect people on the premises,” Lytton said. “So, given the current heightened risks or increas-ing frequency of mass shooting, part of that responsibility is to make sure that there are some safeguards in place.”

Making a business safer might include having security guards in stores and training employees what to do when there’s an active shooter, Lytton said.

The Garcias alleged that Walmart could have taken actions to make their El Paso store safer, but didn’t. Jessica Garcia was shot in both legs and her husband was shot several times, according to the lawsuit. They are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

“This tragic event will be with us for-ever and our hearts go out to the families that were impacted,” Randy Hargrove, a Walmart spokesman said in a statement to Arkansas Business. “Safety is a top priority and we care deeply about our associates and customers.”

Following the shooting at the El Paso store, Walmart said it will stop selling handgun ammunition and ask that cus-tomers not openly carry firearms into its stores. Since then dozens of other retail-ers have similarly said that they don’t want customers openly carrying guns in their stores.

Hargrove said once the company is served with the Garcias’ lawsuit, it will respond.

The success of the suit will depend “on what a jury thinks ‘reasonable care’ would require Walmart to do in the cir-cumstances,” Lytton said.

Stores will often argue that they owe no duty to customers. But Lytton said that in “the vast majority of jurisdic-tions” stores do have a duty. “The real question is whether or not they breached that duty by failing to take reasonable precautions,” he said.

Still, if the plaintiffs have a “plausible claim, stores are often quite quick to settle these claims,” he said. “Because in addition to the liability exposure, there are serious reputational concerns being pulled out into the press.” n

Business Worry:Will Gunfi re Victims Sue? First Electric Cooperative in

Jacksonville has nearly finished upgrad-ing a member’s home with automation technology to increase energy efficiency.

The project will give the utility a vehi-cle for educating the rest of its mem-bers, including businesses, on available technology and renewable energy. It will lower homeowner Tori Smith’s electric bill, too.

First Electric “wanted to be able to showcase a home and be able to incorpo-rate videos and some different messages to teach our members about energy effi-ciency, home automation, home technol-ogy and renewable [energy],” said Tonya Sexton, the co-op’s vice president of marketing and development.

“From our members’ perspective, and from Tori’s perspective, we’re hopefully helping her save money on her electric bill. No. 2, we’re educating her. And, No. 3, we’re able to use renewable,” she said.

The project includes installing several components at Smith’s 1,670-SF home in Jacksonville:

◗ A 4,000-kilowatt solar array donated by Today’s Power Inc. of Little Rock, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc.

◗ A Rheem Performance Platinum 50-gallon hybrid high efficiency smart tank water heater.

◗ A Google Nest, a smart program-mable thermostat.

◗ A Google Smart Light LED kit.◗ Smart LED bulbs.◗ A Google Home Hub and Google

Home mini smart speakers.◗ A Google Nest Yale door lock.◗ A Ring video doorbell.As of last week, all but the solar array

had been installed, and that work is expected to be completed by Oct. 1.

Sexton said in a news release that the utility expects to see Smith “saving 50% in energy usage just from the hybrid heat pump water heater and solar panels.”

Asked how much the project cost, she said, “If someone were to go out and do this project on their own, it would cost them probably somewhere, roughly, about $15,000. I’m going to say $13,000-$15,000.”

The solar array alone would have rep-resented about $10,000 of the cost.

The project didn’t require much labor, either: Two people from First Electric to aid in the installations, a plumber, an electrician and a few staff members to film the installations for promotional purposes.

Smith’s home was chosen because of its proximity to First Electric’s headquar-ters, the easy access it offered to Today’s Power and the feasibility of using solar energy there. In addition, Smith was a middle-of-the-road member in energy efficiency, and her house was relatively new — built in 2006 — but without auto-mation technology. Older homes weren’t

considered because they could need more work than simple installation of the new technologies.

Sexton said First Electric wanted the project’s results to be representative of an average member. The utility wanted the home it upgraded to serve as “a real-life, working example.”

“This is just a great tool for us to help our members find out more information about renewables and the value-added services that can give you instant access to your usage and the ability to control it,” Sexton said.

The utility will be monitoring Smith’s use of the technology going forward and plans to share with all of its members how much her electric bill changes.

In addition, Sexton said the project fits First Electric’s mission of improving the quality of life of its members, and Smith agrees that it’s improved her qual-ity of life.

Smith said she loves all the new tech in her home, and she said she’d “planted a seed” by describing the upgrades to friends who had not previously con-sidered installing auto-mation technology.

Smith also admit-ted that she’s “not tech savvy,” but First

Electric’s team explained how to use everything.

The project will be promoted on First Electric’s website, social media sites and in the monthly Arkansas Living maga-zine sent to members of electric coop-eratives around the state. Already, crews have filmed how-to videos the utility will share online, Sexton said.

She also said First Electric hopes that, within the next year, its Smart Hub mobile application could be integrated into Alexa and/or Google Home tech-nology. If that happens, members could say, “Alexa, how is my electric bill look-ing this month?” and in the next breath have Alexa shut off lights or adjust the thermostat. n

FECC’s Neighborly Lesson In Home Automation

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Texas state police cars blocked the access to the Walmart store last month in the aftermath of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. [AP PHOTO/

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ToriSmith


A few weeks back, I wrote an article about the demographic changes that are already putting

pressure on enrollment at private colleg-es in Arkansas. A trend story is less about any individual school than about factors affecting them all to some degree, so I interviewed the presidents of just three: Lyon College at Batesville, University of the Ozarks at Clarksville and my alma mater, Harding University at Searcy.

As I talked with Joey King, Rich Dunsworth and Bruce McLarty, I started to see a parallel between their line of work and my own. News and higher edu-cation are mature industries, and both had a fairly standard business plan that pretty much took care of itself. In the good old days, executives could concen-trate on the quality of the product, which would attract customers, who would pay for the enterprise. There were always executive decisions to be made — hiring, pricing, capital investments — but they didn’t face existential threats completely outside their control, and the pool of likely customers continued to grow.

Until it didn’t. Newspapers reached that point a couple of decades ago; colleg-es and universities are, in Dunsworth’s words, “looking at flat enrollment for the next four or five years and then some-thing of a cliff.” Not only are Americans in general having fewer babies, but col-lege-educated adults — the ones most likely to produce college-going children — are having the fewest babies.

The parallels aren’t perfect. News consumers can subscribe to multiple publications at the same time, and the cost to readers has increased but is still not prohibitive for most people. Students, on the other hand, rarely enroll in more than one college at a time, and the cost has become a genuine impediment.

I’m not here to debate whether higher education is worth the money. That’s like arguing whether a car is worth the money. There is no one right answer. If you need a car in order to make a liv-ing, then the right vehicle is worth some amount of money, even if you have to borrow the money and pay it back over time. Same for higher education.

But the cost of a college degree has inflated so much more than wages — and faster at public universities than at pri-vate. My article didn’t delve deeply into costs, but it is a factor that looms large in any discussion of higher education. Harding President McLarty described “a relentless drumbeat about the exorbitant debt that people are going into and ques-tioning the return on investment.”

College was historically seen as a desirable thing for any young adult with the interest and ability. But now, McLarty told me, “We’re having to defend the value of getting a college education, and we’re having to defend the value of being a broadly read and educated person.”

Forty years ago, when I was a fresh-man at Harding, my middle-class par-ents could tighten their belts and pay my tuition, room and board out of their income and household savings. To do that today is almost impossible even for upper-middle-class families and even with kids in state-subsidized schools. My husband and I set money aside every month for 20 years in order for our two sons to go to Arkansas state schools debt-free, but most families can’t do that — and many fami-lies that could just don’t make it a priority.

As of March 31, Americans owed $1.5 trillion in student loans, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and 34% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 are burdened with some stu-dent debt. Millions of Americans have student loan debt without having finished a degree, a prospect that makes my stom-ach hurt. That kind of debt generally can-not be discharged even in bankruptcy.

Plus, even a college degree doesn’t guarantee adequate income to repay stu-dent loans. My colleague Mark Friedman spotted a heartbreaking case when he was prowling through bankruptcy filings. A Fayetteville woman — her name doesn’t matter — is trying to get relief from her stu-dent loans, which date back to the late 80s.

After she finished her master’s degree in 2000, she owed about $23,500 at an annual interest rate of 9%. Over the past 19 years, through a series of personal and professional setbacks that have left her with little current income, she has paid more than $38,000 on that debt and the balance is now $37,700.

I wish I knew the right answer. As H.L. Mencken recognized a century ago, “[T]here is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plau-sible, and wrong.” Earlier this month, The Atlantic published an excerpt from a new book by Paul Tough, “The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us.” The article systematically deconstructs a popular myth that welders are in such demand that they can earn $150,000. The average is a bit over $40,000.

Tough’s case study is a young father from North Carolina who couldn’t finish an associate’s degree in welding because he couldn’t pass the English requirement — and had $19,000 in student loans. n

Email Gwen Moritz, editor of Arkansas Business, at [email protected].

Some 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day and, with the notable exception of presidential politics,

are rapidly exiting the workforce and elected office. What they leave behind is a decidedly mixed record of accomplish-ment. Right now, we’re going to concen-trate on a notable failure that is as hard to explain as this country’s crumbling infrastructure and a half-million deaths from opioid overdoses:

Vaping.By the time the first boomers were in

high school, the U.S. Surgeon General had already warned about the dangers of smoking. While the tobacco industry spent a few more decades denying that nicotine was addictive, the use of alter-nate nicotine delivery methods — gum, lozenges, patches — was a standard medical approach to smoking cessation by the time the youngest boomers were teens. Before Y2K, Congress and plain-tiffs’ lawyers pressured R.J. Reynolds to abandon the wildly popular Joe Camel cartoon mascot, which was as familiar to children as Mickey Mouse.

Americans gave up smoking, and nic-otine, by the droves. Nationally, smoking fell by two-thirds. So when e-cigarettes began to be commercialized early this century, we knew nicotine was addic-tive, and we knew that subtle appeals to children made for effective marketing.

And yet we let our country be flooded with an addictive, inhalable drug fla-vored like bubble gum and candy. The vape sellers insisted, with wide-eyed innocence, that they weren’t targeting kids or nonsmokers, just offering a fabu-lous, safer alternative to cigarettes — and we let them do it, without the kind of regulation or discouraging taxes that we apply to either cigarettes or medicine. And it turns out that vaping is not always safe and can even be deadly.

Millions of our kids are hooked be-cause we failed to say no to something that was waving every red flag. It’s not too late to do the right thing, but it is too late to be anything but ashamed. n

AnotherFailure

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Every organization has one. Some have a few. You, and everyone who

works for you, know who they are. Actually, they’re hard to miss. Above-average perform-ers, often they are considered rock-stars. Stereotypically they are found in sales, but also in operations, project manage-ment and even accounting. They can be anywhere in the organi-zation. They get a lot done. They deliver. Their results are mea-surable. They make themselves invaluable and invulnerable by delivering, no matter what.

And they leave a swath of anger, chaos and destruction in their wake.

They get their results by shortcut, intimidation or by simply ignoring anything they do not consider critical to their current goal. They’re hard to tolerate, and harder to fire. In general, sad to say, they are even harder to reform. They are what one of my visiting Vistage speakers labeled as “terrorists.”

Terrorists get a ton done, but at huge organizational, emo-tional and financial cost. They

are very focused on delivery, but step over cultural norms and business processes they see as unimportant, cumbersome or inconvenient. If you work in a business, you know them. The sales exec who does not think he needs to do the paperwork and finds pre-sale reviews unneces-sary. The program leader who cuts corners or purposely for-gets to include inconveniences like safety reviews, budget lim-its or progress reports. In short, they get things done in ways toxic to the larger organization.

These terrorists are a chal-lenge because, on the surface, they look like valuable get-it-done-at-all-costs members of the team. They’re often unaware that their tactics have an orga-nizational and productivity cost that can far outweigh the value of their results. Here are a few examples:

◗ High turnover: Often the best-performing employees leave an organization that tol-erates terrorist behaviors. The A players know they will find work elsewhere (especially with unemployment hanging around 3.5%). They are simply unwilling to tolerate being at the mercy of a terrorist.

◗ Sustainability of results: Projects that come together based on the force of will of a single strong, high-control lead-er often do not have the under-pinnings to hold together when scaled up.

What can look like a success-ful delivery “on time and on budget” will easily collapse over insufficient commitment or support. Also, shortcuts taken by a team more interested in

staying out of the boss’s way than creating a sustainable out-come are expensive and prone to failure.

◗ Culture is eroded: Others in the organization observe the terrorist flouting company val-ues and norms without sanction or correction, making organi-zational culture subject to deri-sion and cynicism.

◗ Productivity loss: The angst and anger over a terror-ist’s unwillingness to play by the rules creates distraction, resentment and poor perfor-mance in parts of the organiza-tion that are scrambling to do the cleanup terrorists leave in their wake.

The important thing to know here is that most terrorists are not trying to be difficult. They like seeing a direct line to get-ting visible results and are sim-ply oblivious to the upset and disruption they cause. Most that I have coached describe it as seeing a direct line to the goal, and that anything that slows them down or takes them off that line is an obstacle to be bowled over, eliminated or ignored.

Unfortunately, the boss is often so focused on the value the

terrorist can deliver that a lot of bad behavior is tolerated. A lot of money and energy gets spent offsetting the impact of the ter-rorist. Perhaps most damaging is when the boss knows about the behavior and puts up with it, sacrificing organizational culture, credibility and trust on the altar of avoiding conflict for short term gain.

When it comes to organiza-tional leadership, it is axiom-atic: You get what you tolerate.

Remember this when you consider that rock star sales exec who abuses office staff and is six months behind on paper-work; when your A players leave even though they are part of a plum project team; when you are tempted to look the other way for someone who is deliver-ing wins on the backs of others or making a sad joke of your organizational values: Your employees are watching. And as the boss, you get what you tolerate. n

I. Barry Goldberg is a cre-dentialed executive coach with a global practice and Vistage private advisory board chair. Email him at at [email protected].

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LONOKE COUNTY, ARKANSAS3rd DIVISION

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OFWENDELL LEE DILLARD, DECEASEDNO. 43PR-19-358

NOTICELast known address of decedent: 21 Orchid Lane, Cabot, Arkansas 72023Date of Death: June 22, 2019

The undersigned was appointed Administratrix of the estate of the above named decedent on August 28, 2019.

All persons having claims against the estate must exhibit them, duly verified, to the undersigned within six (6) months from the date of the first publication of the notice, or they shall be forever barred and precluded from any benefit in such estate.

This notice first published the 23rd day of September, 2019.

Sarah E. GrinnellAdministratrix203 Willow Street, England, AR 72046

HILBURN, CALHOON, HARPERPRUNISKI & CALHOUN, LTD.By: Michael E. Hartje, Jr.Post Office Box 5551North Little Rock, AR 72119Attorney for Estate

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS13th DIVISION

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OFDONALD L. LAMBERT, DECEASEDNO. 60PR-19-1828

NOTICELast known address of decedent: 2003 Lambert Road, Little Rock, Arkansas 72223Date of Death: July 21, 2019

An instrument dated August 25, 2015 was on September 5, 2019, admitted to probate as the Last Will of the above named decedent, and the under-signed has been appointed Executrix thereunder. A contest of the probate of the Will can be effected only by filing a petition within the time provided by law.

All persons having claims against the estate must exhibit them, duly verified, to the undersigned within six (6) months from the date of the first publication of the notice, or they shall be forever barred and precluded from any benefit in such estate.

This notice first published the 23rd day of September, 2019.

Peggy D. LambertExecutrix2003 Lambert Road, Little Rock, Arkansas 72223

HILBURN, CALHOON, HARPERPRUNISKI & CALHOUN, LTD.By: Michael E. Hartje, Jr.Post Office Box 5551North Little Rock, AR 72119Attorney for Estate

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EducationFrank Thurmond has joined the

University of Arkansas at Little Rock as a visiting instructor of English.

Pamela Bowie has joined Arkansas State University in Jonesboro as the senior director of admissions in the Division of Enrollment Management. Bowie returns to her alma mater after eight years working with higher education institutions

in Arkansas, most recently as direc-tor of admissions for the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Tech in North Little Rock.

Energy & UtilitiesJacob McClure has joined Entegrity,

an energy services company and solar developer in Little Rock, as a solar proj-ect manager, and Mark Lemkelde, who previously worked in Entegrity’s light-ing division, has been promoted to solar foreman.

Robert Smith has been promoted to director of engineering for Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. of Little Rock. Smith, a registered professional engineer, has been with AECC for more than eight years in mainte-nance and operations roles.

Matt Faries is one of four newly assigned Entergy Arkansas customer service representa-tives. Faries has moved from Marion to replace recently retired David Burnette in Walnut Ridge. Whitney Rial, formerly with Ritter Communications, has

replaced Faries in Marion. Omar Clemons, a former lineman and serviceman, has replaced recently retired Mike Duncan in the Russellville area. Chris Cook has been named the new customer service representative in southeast Arkansas. Cook, a senior engineering associate in Monticello, replaces Casey Perkins, who retired.

Financial ServicesGordon McGuire has been promoted to

research analyst at Stephens Inc. of Little

Rock. McGuire, who has been at Stephens since 2015, will expand Stephens’ bank analytical coverage across the Western portion of the U.S.

Health CareDr. Hunter Gibbs has joined the

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock as medi-cal director of adult inpatient units at the Psychiatric Research Institute. Gibbs is also an assistant profes-sor in the Department of Psychiatry in the

UAMS College of Medicine. He earned a bachelor’s in biology from Hendrix College in 2007 and completed his medi-cal degree and residency at UAMS. He recently completed a three-year stint as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.

Clare Brown, an assistant profes-sor in the Health Policy & Management Department of the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, was recently named a Fellow at the Institute for Medicaid Innovation, a nonparti-san research organiza-

tion in Washington, D.C., that provides independent information and analysis of the Medicaid program.

Dr. Erika Petersen, a neurosurgeon and researcher at UAMS, has been named by Nevro Corp. of Redwood City, California, as lead investigator for a major national clinical trial exploring a treatment for a chronic diabetic foot condition.

Dr. Phillip Doerner recently joined Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville as a hospi-talist. Doerner earned his medical degree at the Oklahoma State College of Osteopathic Medicine and com-pleted an internal medicine residency at

the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Dr. Jennifer L. Hunt, chair of the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Services in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has been chosen to receive the

2019 Emerging Leader Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges Group on Women in Medicine & Science Division. The award, only given to one woman each year, will be presented at the organization’s annual meeting in November.

Michael Manley has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional Campus as director of clinical integration. Manley earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the UAMS College of Nursing in 1990 and a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from the UAMS College of Nursing in 2009. He previously spent three years in the UAMS Strategy Office and 13 years as outreach director for the UAMS Center for Distance Health.

LegalJoseph W. Price II, an attorney at

Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull PLLC in Little Rock, has been reap-pointed as the Arkansas state membership chair for DRI, a national association of defense attorneys and in-house counsel. As state mem-bership chair until

October 2020, Price is responsible for membership, recruitment, retention and engagement on behalf of DRI within Arkansas.

Mike Willingham has joined the Wilson Law Group in Little Rock as the director of busi-ness development. Willingham has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, com-munications, business

development and strategic planning.

Media & MarketingMike Kemp’s photograph of World

War II veteran Bill Ledbetter has been accepted into the Loan Collection of Professional Photographers of America’s 2019 International Photographic Competition. Two additional images were accepted into the General Collection. Kemp’s work will be on display at the International Photographic Exhibition in Nashville in January. He is the owner of Mike Kemp Photography of Conway.

TechnologyAmanda Legate has

joined Mainstream Technologies in Little Rock as director of human resources. She is pursuing a doctor-ate in human resources development from the University of Texas in Tyler. n

Submit news items to ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers

Super MoverA closer look behind a prominent promotion This Week: Tony Warren, President and Managing Director of Euronet Software

New Job: Tony Warren has been promoted to president and managing director of Euronet Software of Little Rock, a division of publicly traded Euronet Worldwide. Euronet Software, with more than 120 employees, creates the payment processing technol-ogy used in ATMs, digital wallets, alterna-tive payments, point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce, cross-border money transfers, digital content distribution, and other transactions.

Experience: Warren joined Euronet in 1995. He became a vice president of Euronet Software in 2006 and was promoted to executive vice president in November 2017. “We are truly fortunate to have someone like Tony assume this critical role,” said Kevin Caponecchi, executive vice president and chief operating officer of epay, EFT APAC/MEAP and software at Euronet Worldwide. “His 24 years’ experience in the payments industry combined with his understanding of technology and leadership skills make him a fantastic choice to lead Euronet Software.”

Education: A Little Rock native, Warren earned a Bachelor of Business Adminis-tration degree in computer information

systems management from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. n

Movers Shakers+

Tony Warren, a Little Rock native, joined Euronet in 1995 and was most recently executive vice president. [PHOTO PROVIDED]

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Bio: Mark AbernathyBackground: Abernathy has 49 years of experience in the restaurant industry as a chef, owner, manager, consultant and developer. In addition to Loca Luna and the Red Door, he has been the creator, owner or executive chef of award-winning restaurants that include Abernathy’s, The Bijou, Juanita’s, Blue Mesa Grill and Bene Vita. He has been featured in newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, Bon Appetit and Southern Living. Abernathy represented Arkansas and Oaklawn Park as featured chef at the 2013 and 2014 Kentucky Derby’s Taste of Derby and was chosen again for 2020. He co-chaired the successful campaign to allow alcohol sales on Sunday in Little Rock restaurants and hotels.Education: Abernathy earned a bachelor’s degree in banking and fi nance at the University of Arkansas at Fay-etteville, did graduate studies in macroeconomics at the UA and studied Spanish at the University of Mexico. n

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Exec Q&ABusiness

Arkansas This Week: Mark AbernathyOwner and Executive Chef of Loca Luna and the Red Door restaurants in Little Rock

What is your signature dish and how long did it take to create it? Obviously, the World’s First White Cheese Dip. It was a variation of the Juanita’s cheese dip created by myself, Clyde Baker and Frank Mc-Gehee. We introduced it around 1998 at my restaurant Blue Mesa Grill. It’s hard to believe now, but with the exception of the Rotel-Velveeta dip here and there, cheese dip was not found outside of Arkansas. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that you saw it popping up on menus outside of our state.

Do you think tipping should be banned? No, but it’s complicated. Restaurant operators and food server industry groups want to keep tips, but I think the practice needs reform. My tipped employees who work fi ve or more shifts all make pretty good money. That is not the case for all food servers. However, if you do away with tipping and pay food servers higher hourly pay, you will see menu prices increase at least 10% to 20% to off set increased wages and payroll taxes. That raises the front-end cost of dining out and can hurt business. That $30 steak is now $35 or more. In many cases the food servers will most likely make less. That makes it hard for operations like mine to get and keep the best folks.

Could you describe the lifespan of a great restaurant, Juanita’s for example? What made it a hit and what ended it? After 15 years in the restaurant business in Texas and Mexico, I returned home to bring “real” Tex-Mex to Arkansas. People said I was crazy to open in that rundown part of town. I knew the expressway was about to open and that would change things. It was a cool building inside and out. Juanita’s was a huge hit. I then formed and chaired a committee with Joe Fox and others to create the South Main Improvement District (SOMA). I started playing in the bar with my band the Torpedoes, com-posed of remnants of the infamous Greasy Greens. Juanita’s became known for its legendary, nationally recognized live music program, in addition to having a reputation as a great Mexican restaurant. I had good partners and a great staff . Juanita’s

covered all the basics: excellent food, great service, great people, good unique vibes and strong leadership. What happened? Few people know this story. In 1992, I was the sole owner of the buildings, the parking lots and the majority stock in the restaurant. The restaurant had been doing great. All my loans were with Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association. When the S&L went under, the Feds called all my loans due immediately. It would be like waking up one morning and some-one says, “Pay off your house now or we’ll take it and sell it.” With super short notice I had to scramble to sell my controlling interest in everything in order to refi nance my holdings. Once the business was out of my control, I could no longer manage it properly. I didn’t like what I was now dealing with. Therefore, after 10 years of ownership, we closed Blue Mesa Grill and I transferred my ownership in Juanita’s. I moved on and opened Loca Luna. Juanita’s changed after that.

What is something about the restaurant industry that many people don’t understand? It’s really, really hard to make money if you are an independent operator, especially in Arkansas. We’re a poor state but our industry pays among the (if not the) highest sales taxes in the United States. We pay the nation’s highest mixed-drink taxes by far! In addition, the industry de-mands hard work, long hours, lots of luck and it’s still almost impossible to make it past fi ve years. You have to be a little crazy or a lot foolish to go into this business. To survive for very long you really have to know what you are doing or have a fi nancial backer willing to lose his ass.

What’s your biggest business mistake and what did you learn from it? In 1992, I created and chaired August in Arkansas, a huge nonprofi t music festival (boy, was it ever nonprofi t!). I had loaned the festival a lot of money. It was the largest live music event in Arkan-sas history and although it was a legendary, fantastic event, it was a big fi nancial failure. Regretfully, some good people lost some money and it absolutely clobbered me —

Abernathy was the founder of the Central High School Visitor Center & Museum.

and at the worst possible time (see the story about Madison Guaranty). A lot of the fault was mine: It was too big and too ambitious. We also had weather issues. From this I coined a phrase: “It’s a dangerous thing when you start believing your

own bullshit!” However, I learned I could bounce back from anything. Over several years I ended up paying many of the debts personally. I learned that real friends show them-selves when you are down. I learned to always be prepared to accept

the worst-case scenario because it can happen, so don’t believe your own BS. I am very successful now because of what I learned from my failures, plus the good folks who stood and still stand behind me today. n

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N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !N O M I N AT E N O W !NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED

IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

Category I (1-30 employees)Category II (31-55 employees)

Category III (56-150 employees) Category IV (151-499 employees)

Nonprofit Organization Business Executive of the Year

Nonprofit Executive of the Year Smart Corporate Giving AwardSmart Corporate Giving AwardSmart Corporate Giving Award

Lifetime of Leadership AwardLifetime of Leadership AwardLifetime of Leadership AwardLifetime of Leadership Award

DEADLINE: OCTOBER 18, 2019

A unique program built to foster personal development and professional growth in emerging business, policy and nonprofit leaders.

2020 CLASS SCHEDULE: FEB. 14, FEB. 28, MARCH 13, APRIL 3 & APRIL 17

For More Information Visit ABLeadershipAcademy.com/Inquire

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