conway area chamber of commerce 2014 annual report

CONWAY2014 ISSUE NO. 1

A N N U A L R E V I E W

T A L E S O F

D i st i n g u i s h e d S e r v i c e A w a r d s

STEVEN STRANGE SR.

& LINDA TYLER

G o o d N e i g h b o r A w a r dDEBRA ROBINSON

B u s i n e s s E x e c u t i v e o f t h e Y e a r TODD ROSS,

PREFERRED MEDICAL

Y o u n g B u s i n e s s L e a d e r o f t h e Y e a r

DANNY PATEL,

COUNTRY INN AND SUITES

12014 CONWAY CHAMBER ANNUAL REVIEW

B u s i n e s s o f t h e Y e a r

O u t s t a n d i n g N o n p r o f i tFAULKNER COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING

O u t s t a n d i n g H o s p i t a l i t yCONWAY MANAGEMENT INC.

O u t s t a n d i n g R e t a i l e rBELL & SWARD

L a r g e E m p l o y e r (1 0 0 o r m o r e e m p l o y e e s)CONWAY REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

& KLAASMEYER CONSTRUCTION

S m a l l B u s i n e s s (9 9 o r f e w e r e m p l o y e e s)ARKANSAS EYE CARE GROUP

& ARKANSAS ROOFING KOMPANY/

EQUINOX OUTDOOR CONCEPTS


2014 WAS A BIG YEAR FOR

BUSINESS IN CONWAY. THERE

WERE OVER 100 RIBBON

CUTTINGS AND GROUND-

BREAKINGS ORGANIZED

THROUGH THE CHAMBER.

R i b b o n C u t t i n g s & G r o u n d b r e a k i n g s

THIS YEAR’S BUSINESS EXPO FEATURED BOOTHS FROM 118 EXHIBITORS, WITH 24 TASTE OF CONWAY PARTICIPANTS.

B u s i n e s s E X P O & T A ST E O F C O N W A Y


M e l i s s a B r i t t o n

CONWAY MANAGEMENT

C h a s i t y C a m p b e l l BODYWORKS SPA & ABUNDANT WELLNESS

L o r i R o s s S c r o g g i nCONWAY REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

T e s s F l e t c h e rCHILDREN’S ADVOCACY ALLIANCE

FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, THE CHAMBER HOSTED THE

WOMEN IN BUSINESS LUNCHEON, WHICH RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING

WOMEN IN BUSINESS. THE 2014 AWARD RECIPIENTS WERE:

C E O L U N C H E O N P R O G R A M

W a lt C o l e m a n , CONTROLLER, HIGHLAND DAIRY AND

RETIRED NFL REFEREE

PANEL WITH T h e V i l l a g e a t H e n d r i x , MODERATED BY

MELISSA DUNBAR-GATES

PANEL WITH P h i l i p T a p p a n , THE PURPLE COW RESTAURANTS;

F r e n c h H i l l , DELTA TRUST & BANK; U m a n g P a t e l , CONWAY MANAGEMENT &

HOW DO YOU ROLL?; W a r d D a v i s, THE VILLAGE AT HENDRIX

R i c h i e A r n o l d, CONWAY CORPORATION

W o m e n i n

B u s i n e s s

A c a d e m i c s i g n i n g d a y

RECOGNIZING THE HARD WORK OF OUR

AREA’S HIGHEST ACHIEVING HIGH SCHOOL

SENIORS, ACADEMIC SIGNING DAY HONORED

28 STUDENTS IN 2014:

C o n w a y H i g h S c h o o l 22 GRADUATES

C o n w a y C h r i st i a n 4 GRADUATES

St. J o s e p h 2 GRADUATESA FUN DAY OF NETWORKING

AND TEAM BUILDING FOR

OUR 36 BOWLING TEAMS!

B o w li n g f o r B u s i n e s S

A d v o c a t e f o r O p p o r t u n i t y A w a r d

CHARLES HOLLOWAY JR., FAULKNER

COUNTY BRANCH OF THE NAACP

O u t st a n d i n g M i n o r i t y B u s i n e s s o f t h e Y e a r

SANDSTONE REAL ESTATE GROUP

O u t st a n d i n g Y o u n g M i n o r i t y P r o f e s s i o n a l

OSMAR GARCIA,

FIRST SECURITY BANK

L i f e t i m e A c h i e v e m e n t A w a r dDR. LLOYD HERVEY

SERICIA COLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MOSAIC TEMPLARS

CULTURAL CENTER, WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR THE 4TH

ANNUAL AWARDS GALA. RECOGNIZED AT THE DINNER WERE:

M i n o r i t y E n t e r p r i s e

D e v e l o pm e n t

OUR CEO LUNCHEON PROGRAM IN 2014 WAS BIGGER THAN

EVER! THE LUNCHEONS, HELD AT CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE,

FEATURED THE FOLLOWING SPEAKERS:

D i a m o n d A c h i e v e m e n t a w a r d w i n n e r

L o r i C a s e M e lt o nARVEST BANK


D i a m o n d

CONWAY A&P COMMISSION / CITY OF CONWAY

CONWAY CORPORATION

P l a t i n u m

CRAIN BUICK GMC / CRAIN KIA SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY COMPANY

G o l d

ACXIOM CORPORATION

CONWAY REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

CRAFTON TULL

CENTENNIAL BANK

FIRST SECURITY BANK / CREWS & ASSOCIATES

FIRST SERVICE BANK

REGIONS BANK

UCA FOUNDATION

VIRCO MANUFACTURING CORPORATION

S i lv e r

ARVEST BANK

CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE

CONWAY MANAGEMENT INC.

HENDRIX COLLEGE

HEWLETT-PACKARD

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION

LOG CABIN DEMOCRAT

NABHOLZ CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION

PARK HILL HOME

SIMMONS FIRST NATIONAL BANK

SMITH FORD

SNAP-ON EQUIPMENT

B r o n z e

501 LIFE

ARCARE

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE,

RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION

ARKANSAS BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD

BANK OF THE OZARKS

BAPTIST HEALTH

BHP BILLITON

CALDWELL TOYOTA

COVINGTON ROOFING | COVINGTON

PROPERTIES | COVINGTON CONSTRUCTION

DELTA DENTAL OF ARKANSAS

GARVER

INTERNATIONAL PAPER

JSI METAL RECYCLING

MAGIE-MABREY EYE CLINIC, PA

MCDONALD’S

PREFERRED MEDICAL

ROGERS GROUP

SALTER PROPERTIES / SALTER

CONSTRUCTION / METRO SQUARE

TEXTBOOK BROKERS

TIPTON & HURST

US COMPOUNDING


CENTRAL ARKANSAS’S

RETAIL LANDSCAPE

WILL BE FOREVER

CHANGED IN 2016 WHEN

THE CENTRAL LANDING

AND LEWIS CROSSING

DEVELOPMENTS OPEN

THEIR DOORS. THE

FORMER AIRPORT AND

LIVESTOCK AUCTION

SITES WILL BE HOME

TO NATIONALLY KNOWN

BUSINESSES LIKE

DILLARD’S, SAM’S CLUB,

ACADEMY SPORTS AND

MORE. THE PROJECTS

ARE ESTIMATED TO

BRING UPWARDS OF

$100 MILLION IN NEW

RETAIL SALES.

WHEN BAPTIST HEALTH BROKE GROUND

ON ITS NEW CONWAY FACILITY LAST

JULY, IT CEMENTED CONWAY’S ROLE AS A

REGIONAL DESTINATION FOR HEALTH CARE.

THE $130 MILLION, 96-BED FULL-SERVICE

HOSPITAL WILL EMPLOY APPROXIMATELY

450. THE HOSPITAL WILL OPEN IN 2016.

IT’S HARD TO GET 78% OF PEOPLE

TO AGREE ON ANYTHING. BUT

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED

WHEN MORE THAN 3 OUT OF 4

CONWAY VOTERS SAID YES TO $23

MILLION IN ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

DURING THE SEPTEMBER BOND

ELECTION. THE IMPROVEMENTS

WILL DECREASE TRAFFIC ON OAK

STREET AND DAVE WARD DRIVE,

PROVIDE CONNECTIVITY TO THE NEW

CENTRAL LANDING, AND CONNECT

THE NEW SOUTHERN INTERCHANGE

TO CONWAY’S LOCAL STREETS.

A I R P O R T G r a n d

O p e n i n g!

MORE THAN 30

YEARS AFTER

IDENTIFYING THE

NEED FOR A NEW

AND EXPANDED

AIRPORT, CONWAY OPENED

THE NEW DENNIS F. CANTRELL

FIELD IN LOLLIE BOTTOMS

IN SEPTEMBER. THE $30

MILLION AIRPORT OFFERS A

LONGER RUNWAY (5,500 FEET),

INCREASED HANGAR SPACE,

AND ADJOINING INDUSTRIAL

PROPERTY FOR AVIATION-

RELATED BUSINESS.

B o n d I s s u e P a s s e s/ R o a d s I m p r o v e m e n t s

B a p t i st H E A LT H

C e n t r a l L a n d i n g/ L e w i s C r o s s i n g

11

WHEN MC HAMMER WAS ANNOUNCED

AS A TOAD SUCK DAZE HEADLINER, FEW

KNEW THAT HE WOULD BE IN TOWN FOR

MORE THAN A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE.

THE RAPPER TURNED TECH MOGUL

ANCHORED A PANEL OF NATIONALLY

RESPECTED JUDGES AT THE FIRST-EVER

“LAUNCH PAD.” THE STARTUP BUSINESS

PITCH COMPETITION ATTRACTED DOZENS

OF APPLICANTS FROM SEVERAL STATES,

ALL COMPETING FOR $15,000 IN PRIZES.

L A U N C H P A D



M a r k h a m St r e e t R e d e v e l o pm e n t

IN JULY, THE CONWAY

COMMUNITY GOT A

FIRST LOOK AT PLANS

FOR A NEW AND

IMPROVED MARKHAM

STREET CORRIDOR.

THE GENERATIONS-

OLD SCRAPYARD WAS

PURCHASED AND

CLEANED. IT WILL ONE

DAY BE HOME TO AN

AMPHITHEATER. THE

PLAN ALSO CALLS FOR

BIKE LANES, ON-STREET

PARKING, SIDEWALKS

AND STREET TREES.

B E F O R E

A F T E R

13


#1THE FASTEST-

GROWING LARGE

CITY IN THE STATE

THE WASHINGTON POST, JUNE 2014

# 3 THE MOST AFFORDABLE COLLEGE TOWNS

THE SIMPLE DOLLAR, JULY 2014

#250 GREAT AFFORDABLE

COLLEGE TOWNS IN THE U.S.

GREAT VALUE COLLEGES, JUNE 2014

# 4 6/2 0 0THE BEST PLACES FOR BUSINESS

AND CAREERS

FORBES, JULY 2014

#2 8/ 3 812014 ECONOMIC STRENGTH RANKINGS FOR

METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND

MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS

POLICOM, JUNE 2014

IF YOU’VE NOTICED THAT CONWAY AND

FAULKNER COUNTY ARE GROWING ECONOMIES

THAT STILL OFFER GREAT VALUE, YOU AREN’T

THE ONLY ONE. A NUMBER OF NATIONAL

PUBLICATIONS FROM THE WASHINGTON POST TO

FORBES MAGAZINE RECOGNIZED OUR ECONOMIC

SUCCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY.


FOR THE FOURTH YEAR

IN A ROW, THE CVB

SPONSORED THE HIGH

SCHOOL ALL-STAR GAMES

AND COACHES CLINIC

ON CAMPUS AT UCA.

EACH YEAR, THE STATE’S

BEST ATHLETES FROM

EIGHT SPORTS SPEND

A WEEK ON CAMPUS

AT UCA PREPARING FOR

THE GAMES. DURING THE

SAME WEEK, COACHES

FROM ALL OVER THE

STATE PARTICIPATE IN

CLINICS AND MEETINGS.

IN OCTOBER, THE WALL THAT HEALS,

A HALF-SCALE REPLICA OF THE VIETNAM

VETERANS MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,

MADE A WEEKLONG VISIT TO CONWAY. THE

CVB PARTNERED WITH THE UCA VETERANS

DAY COMMITTEE TO BRING THE WALL TO

CONWAY AND PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY

FOR SCHOOL GROUPS, VETERANS AND

TOURISTS TO VISIT A NATIONAL MONUMENT

THEY MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE EVER HAVE

THE CHANCE TO SEE.

A&P TAXES WERE UP

EACH MONTH OF 2014

COMPARED TO SAME-

MONTH SALES FOR

2013, WITH THE HIGHEST

INCREASE BEING IN

AUGUST WITH TAX

COLLECTIONS UP 11.27%.

T H E N U M B E R O F T o u r n a m e n t s H e l d i n C o n w a y i n 2 01 4

A & P T A X E S

A L L ST A R G A M E S

T h e W a l l t h a t H e a ls


C o n w a y A r e a C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e B o a r d

BRET CARROLL, CHAIR

JEFF STANDRIDGE, PAST CHAIR

LANE HOUSLEY, VICE CHAIR

JAY MYERS, TREASURER

BRAD LACY, PRESIDENT/CEO

BILL ADKISSON

DR. AMANDA BLEDSOE

DR. THOMAS CABANTAC

SCOTT CHAMPLIN

JASON CULPEPPER

MERLE CUNNINGHAM

ALLEN DODSON

LEE HARRIS

GREG HUNT

DARREN JONES

CATE KETCHESIDE

ALAN KIZER

BOB LEFFERT

DR. GREG MURRY

TOM POE

CARTER ROOK

JERRY RYE

DR. MELANIE SMITH

DR. BRAD TEAGUE

TAB TOWNSELL

DAVID TRAYLOR

KEVIN WARD

SHELIA WHITMORE

LORI WINDLE QUINN

ANDREA WOODS


C o n w a y A d v e r t i s i n g & P r o m o t i o n C o m m i s s i o n

C o n w a y D o w n t o w n P a r t n e r s h i p B o a r d

C o n w a y D e v e l o pm e n t C o r p o r a t i o n B o a r d

VISIT US ONLINE ATCONWAYCHAMBER.ORG

JERRY ADAMS

JOHNNY ADAMS

BUNNY ADCOCK

BILL ADKISSON

RICHIE ARNOLD

SCOTTY BELL

JACK ENGELKES

MARK FERGUSON

BILL HANNAH

SHERRY SMITH

RONNIE WILLIAMS

BILL BETHEA, PRESIDENT

FRANK COX, VICE PRESIDENT

LORI QUINN, SECRETARY

BUNNY ADCOCK

JACK BELL

MIKE COATS

STEPHANIE COVINGTON

ALAN ENGLISH

TJ JOHNSTON

GREG NABHOLZ

DOT WELCH

KENT WELCH

KIM WILLIAMS

BETH YOCKEY

REGGIE ROSE, CHAIRMAN

JEREMY GARDNER, VICE CHAIR

ANGELA BAGBY

ANDY HAWKINS

RAY KORDSMEIER

MIKE KRAFT

SHELIA WHITMORE

900 Oak Street, Conway AR 72032 | 501.327.7788 | 866.7CONWAYConwayArkansas.org | [email protected]

conway area chamber of commerce 2014 annual report

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