2015-09 faulkner county business journal

SEPTEMBER 2015

Michael Bynum and Dawn Johnson:

“Challenge accepted.”Long-time FauLkner

County residents tasked with growing eagLe Bank

& trust in Conway

PAGE 4D

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat2D — Sunday, September 13, 2015

solvingmysteries

Presented By:

Does finding new customers feel like detective work?

At Business Expo, promote your business and gain acompetitive advantage while developing newrelationships with other professionals.

TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFO:ConwayChamber.org | 501.327.7788

in business DATE:Thursday, October 15

THE SETTING:Conway Expo Center

& Fairgrounds

2015BUSINESS EXPO

TASTE OF CONWAYfeaturing

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Sponsorships and booth space are available for the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Business Expo and Taste of Conway until Wednesday, Sept. 30. The day-long event will take place Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Conway Expo Center and Fairgrounds. Southwestern Energy is the presenting sponsor.

RegistRation deadline set foR Business expo, taste of Conway

A seminar on marketing for small businesses is the first in a series of four workshops focused on the challenges and opportunities facing independently owned and operated enterprises.

Named the Conway Small Business Institute, the series is a collaborative ef-fort between the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the University of Cen-tral Arkansas’ Division of Outreach and Community Engagement.

The organizations formed the Insti-tute to accomplish goals outlined in Con-way2025, the city’s long-range strategic plan.

Small Business MarketingThe first session, Small Business Mar-

keting, is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, at UCA’s Brewer-Hegeman Confer-ence Center. The three-hour workshop, led by a group of small-business owners and marketing professionals, will last from 9 a.m. until noon. The cost to attend is $50.

Jamie Gates, executive vice president for the Conway Area Chamber of Com-merce, said there is no faster or more af-fordable business seminar available in central Arkansas.

“We realize a small-business owner’s

time is valuable, but so is the insight that will be available at this workshop,” Gates said. “If your small business puts any time or energy into marketing, I highly recommend finding time to attend or sending someone on your behalf.”

Gates will begin the interactive ses-sion with the fundamentals of small-business marketing. During the second hour, Jeff Standridge, vice president of sales and audience solutions for Acxiom Corporation, will discuss how small busi-nesses can make the most of a limited

WORKSHOP < 3D

Marketing workshop for small businesses set for Sept. 24

Nikki Newton, senior vice president and global director of institutional marketing for Waddell & Reed/Ivy Funds, will be the keynote speaker at the Conway Area Cham-ber of Commerce’s Minori-ty Enterprise Development awards gala. The event will take place Thursday, Sept. 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom on the Uni-versity of Central Arkansas campus.

Newton graduated from the University of Central Ar-kansas with a bachelor’s de-gree in economics and fi-nance. He earned an MBA with an emphasis in finance from Washington University Olin School of Business.

Prior to joining Waddell & Reed in 1998, Newton was af-filiated with Scout Funds (for-merly United Missouri Bank Institutional Investment Ad-visory) as a research analyst covering large and small val-ue. He was promoted to vice president and portfolio man-ager for UMB Investment Ad-visors Institutional in 1995.

Newton speaks globally on the domestic markets as well as lectures at his alma mat-er, Olin, on a variety of top-ics related to the investment management industry. Ac-tive in the Kansas City com-munity, he is a member and past president of the board for Community Linc, a mem-ber of the Chairman’s Coun-cil of the Greater Kansas City

MED < 3D

UCA alumnus, investment management expert to speak at MED Awards

Faulkner County Business Journal Sunday, September 13, 2015 — 3D Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

marketing budget.A panel discussion about smart practices for small

business marketing will feature small-business own-ers and marketing experts. Panelists include Jody Gatchell, owner of A&J Collision Repair; Kim Her-rington, founder and co-owner of Orsanna – a Con-way-based digital marketing and website design agency; and Drew Spurgers, owner and founder of Conway-based Kangabloo Creative – a firm special-izing in marketing for small-to-medium-sized busi-nesses and nonprofit organizations.

Following the panel discussion, Kara Darling and Adena White will discuss how small businesses can put the finishing touches on their marketing efforts. Darling is a graphic designer for the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the owner of Kara Dar-ling Creative, a virtual marketing services firm. White is director of communications for the Cham-ber and an accredited public relations professional.

How to RegisterThose who register for the Conway Small Busi-

ness Institute before the first session on Sept. 24 will be eligible to win one free booth at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo on Thursday, Oct. 15.

Expo booths are $300 for Chamber members and $500 for non-members. The winner will be an-nounced during the Small Business Marketing work-shop on Sept. 24.

The Conway Small Business Institute will offer its second workshop in October and the final two work-shops in the spring of 2016.

All sessions take place on the last Thursdays of September, October, February and March. The re-maining 2015-2016 sessions are as follows:

Oct. 29: Veteran-, Minority- and Women-Owned Business Certification

Feb. 25: Human ResourcesMarch 31: Small Business Finance

The registration fee is $50 per workshop. Partici-pants who register for all four sessions will receive a discounted rate of $175. Visit uca.edu/outreach/csbi to register or for more information.

WORKSHOP from 2DUnited Way, and past president of the American Jazz Museum.

In addition, Newton has been appoint-ed to the University of Central Arkan-sas Foundation board, where he currently serves as secretary.

The MED awards gala is an opportu-nity to celebrate the achievements of mi-nority entrepreneurs and the individuals and organizations committed to advanc-ing minority-owned businesses.

Award recipients will be announced prior to the event.

Limited tables are available for the MED awards gala.

Individual tickets are $45 and tables of eight are $350.

Those interested in attending should visit ConwayChamber.org or contact Therese Pollard, director of events, at 501-932-5411 or [email protected].

MED from 2D

The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual Wom-en in Business Awards will take place Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the Cen-tennial Valley Events Center. The awards luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m.

The Women in Business Awards honor individuals in the Conway area who have excelled in leadership and community ser-vice and who have inspired oth-ers on both a personal and profes-sional level.

The Chamber is accepting nominations for the awards now through Wednesday, Sept. 30.

A panel of Chamber executives outside the state of Arkansas will select the award recipients.

At the December event, four individuals will receive the “Out-standing Woman in Business Award.”

Those selected will embody high standards of excellence, ded-

ication and accomplishment to their respective organizations, in-dustries and to the business com-munity.

The “Diamond Achievement Award” will be presented to an individual with at least 25 years of professional experience.

This award recognizes a wom-an who has inspired and empow-ered many generations of women and who has had a positive im-pact on those in her profession and in the community.

To submit nominations for the Outstanding Woman in Busi-ness awards and/or the Diamond Achievement award, visit Con-wayChamber.org and click on the Women in Business icon.

For questions about the call for nominations, contact Mary Margaret Satterfield, director of events and Toad Suck Daze, at 501-932-5412 or [email protected].

Chamber accepting nominations for Women in Business awards

Panel discussion

will highlight “data district”

growthGovernor Asa Hutchin-

son will be a featured guest at the Conway Downtown Partnership Annual Meet-ing at Hendrix College on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The governor will speak about the relationship between downtown, economic de-velopment, and technolo-gy. The event will also fea-ture a panel discussion with leaders of four tech-oriented businesses located in downtown Conway: Josh Smith, Metova; Pete Tan-guay, RockPond; Michael

Rasmussen, Eyenalyze; and Bryan Throckmorton, Big Cloud Analytics.

“2015 has been an ex-citing year in downtown Conway,” said Kim Wil-liams, director of the Con-way Downtown Partner-ship. “I think it is one that has been defined by job cre-ation and technology. Those are going to be core themes of this year’s annual meet-ing.”

The Conway Downtown Partnership will also an-nounce the 2015 winner of the downtown “award of distinction.” The award recognizes an individual or business that has had a profound impact or influ-ence on downtown Conway.

This year’s Annual Meet-

ing is presented by Bear State Bank. Tables and tickets are still available. To reserve a place, please contact Kim Williams at 501-932-5407 or [email protected].

Governor to be featured guest at Partnership event

Asa Hutchinson


In September 2014, Executive Vice President Michael Bynum joined Eagle Bank & Trust to lead the company’s ex-pansion into Conway. An 18-year veter-an of the banking industry, Bynum is the President and Chief Lending Officer of the Faulkner County Market, where he oversees all bank branches in Faulkner County. The following month, Dawn Johnson joined Eagle Bank & Trust as Vice President, where she serves as the Manager of the Conway loan production office and a Loan Assistant.

Bynum and Johnson had worked to-gether previously at another Conway bank, where they were instrumental in opening a loan production office and a new branch. Upon learning that Eagle Bank & Trust was looking to expand its presence in Conway, Bynum and John-son – long-time residents of Faulkner County – decided to pursue the oppor-tunity.

“Basically, Dawn and I like challeng-es,” Bynum said. “We like to have a vi-sion, and have a challenge to get it done. We both had experience opening a bank and looked forward to doing it again in the Conway Market.”

In January 2015, Eagle Bank & Trust opened its Conway loan production of-fice at 805 Monroe Street. With a full-service branch in Vilonia, the loan pro-duction office in Conway is Eagle Bank & Trust’s second location in Faulkner County. The financial institution has plans to open a full-service branch in Conway subject to Arkansas State Bank Department approval.

Johnson said joining Eagle Bank & Trust was an ideal situation for her and Bynum as well as the bank. “The tim-ing was perfect,” she said. “Conway is a great market, and Eagle Bank & Trust was looking to expand. In addition, our bank had recently been purchased, so

we liked the idea of working for a small community bank. It was a good fit for us.”

Bynum said he and Johnson are in the process of looking for land to pur-chase for Eagle Bank & Trust’s full-service branch. “We’ve got our eyes on some property and are trying to get some things finalized before we pull the trigger. We’re hoping within the next 12 months to purchase some land and have a branch built.”

While the existing office only offers lending services, Bynum said the future full-service branch in Conway will have additional lending and retail staff. “We will probably hire another eight em-ployees – from loan officers to tellers,” he said.

While he is confident in his and Johnson’s ability to open a new bank, Bynum realizes opening a bank branch

in a new market comes with challeng-es. “Dawn and I have lived in Faulkner County for over 20 years and have es-tablished a strong customer base with a loyal following,” Bynum said. “However, we realize that new customers will not simply walk into our door.”

Bynum’s philosophy to success in banking is a simple one, but he says it is not necessarily easy.

“Building a future bank branch and expanding a team is exciting, but it’s also rewarding,” he said. “In my opin-ion, our success will come down to four things: 1) if the customer likes us, 2) if the customer trusts us, 3) if the cus-tomer knows we’re going to take care of their business and 4) most importantly it is all about growing and maintaining long term banking relationships.”

“We are committed to earning our customers’ business – whether they are

applying for a consumer, home, business or commercial loan. We’re going to han-dle things quickly and efficiently while providing a personalized customer ex-perience, which is central to the near-ly 100-year mission of Eagle Bank & Trust.”

About Eagle Bank & TrustLocally owned and operated in Ar-

kansas since 1919, Eagle Bank & Trust has 15 locations in 12 communities lo-cated throughout central and north-central Arkansas, including Conway, Little Rock, Heber Springs, Maumelle, Gravel Ridge, Sherwood, Vilonia, Quit-man, Rose Bud, Drasco, Fairfield Bay, and Greers Ferry.

To learn more about Eagle Bank & Trust, visit eaglebank.com. To contact Michael Bynum or Dawn Johnson at their Conway office, call 501-504-2200.

Michael Bynum and Dawn Johnson: “Challenge accepted.”Long-time

FauLkner County residents tasked

with growing eagLe Bank &

trust in Conway

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Staffed by Michael Bynum and Dawn Johnson, Eagle Bank & Trust’s loan production office opened in January 2015 at 805 Monroe Street in Conway. The bank plans to open a full-service branch in the city subject to Arkansas State Bank Department approval.


Price. Address Beds/Baths SQFT $/SqFt Built Subdivision $355,000 2825 Collins 4/5/0 3400 104.41 2003 Cresthaven$320,300 5140 Greystone 4/3/1 2961 113.10 2005 Fieldstone$300,000 4320 Gazebo 4/4/0 3153 100.70 2001 Sunderlin Park$275,000 4865 Prestonwood 4/2/1 2848 98.98 2005 Westin Park$270,900 2745 TJ Dr 4/2/1 2722 101.03 2006 Catherine Place

TOP RESIDENTIAL SALES, SEPTEMBER

SUBMITTED PHOTO

US Senator Tom Cotton addresses the Conway Area Chamber Government Affairs committee during a recent visit. Senator Cotton visited the chamber, Southwestern Energy, and Metova.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

US Representative French Hill briefs chamber representatives during a lunch held at UCA. Rep. Hill also met with leadership from Hewlett Packard and Conway Regional Health System.

COTTON, HUTCHINSON VISIT CONWAY

Faulkner County Business Journal Sunday, September 13, 2015 — 7D Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

Conway EconomyAt a Glance

By Roger LewisPulse of Conway Unemployment RateJuly 2015Seasonally AdjustedUS......................................5.3%Arkansas...........................5.6%

Not Seasonally AdjustedUS......................................5.6%Arkansas...........................5.8%Faulkner County.............. 5.3%Conway..............................5.1%

Sales Tax CollectionsConway*

June 12015.........................$2,146,6652014...........................1,919,615Percent Change...............11.8%

Year to Date (June)2015.......................$11,628.9492014.......................$11,265,428

Percent Change.................3.2%

Annual2014.......................$23,416,6282013.........................23,235,8912012.........................22,944,163Percent Change2013-14...0.8%*Tax Rate 1.75%

Faulkner County*June 12015............................$793,0822014..............................726,685Percent Change.................9.1%

Year to Date (June)2015.........................$4,309,7582014.........................$4,213,946Percent Change.................2.3%

Annual2014..........................$8,774,109

2013..........................8,588,8352012..........................8,465,686Percent Change2013-14...2.2%*Tax Rate 0.5%1 Paid to City and County in June

Restaurant Sales*July 2015.......................$14,502,7902014.........................14,628,203Percent Change-0.9%

Year to Date (July)2015.....................$107,192,7702014.......................102,272,772Percent Change................4.7 %

Annual Sales2014.....................$176,205,9652013.......................164,519,3692012.......................161,318,563Percent Change 2013-14...7.1%*Including mixed drink sales

Hotel SalesJuly 2015.........................$1,801,1092014...........................1,719,529Percent Change................4.7 %

Year to Date (July)2015.........................$9,463,5962014.........................10,239,784Percent Change................-7.6%

Annual Sales2014.......................$19,336,1692013.........................18,559,3082012.........................18,683,677Percent Change2013 – 2014 ...........................................4.2%

Real Estate Market*New and Existing

Residential Units SoldIn Faulkner County

Year to Date (July)2015...........................931 Units2014...........................859 Units

Percent Change.................8.4%

Average Price2015..........................$169,9442014..........................$152,788Percent Change.................8.6%* sold by realtorsData source: Cooperative Arkansas Realtors Association

Conway Building PermitsSingle Family Homes

Year to Date (August)2015.......................110 Permits2014.........................78 PermitsPercent Change..................41%

Annual2014.......................119 permits2013.......................147 Permits2012.......................186 Permits 2011.......................153 PermitsPercent Change 2013 – 2014-.........................................19.0%

Average Square Footage*Year to date (August)2015..................................2,9042014..................................2,878Percent Change.................0.9%

Annual2014..................................2,9292013..................................3,0022012..................................2,9102011..................................2,814Percent Change 2013-2014 ..........................................-2.4%* Total under roof

Average Construction Cost*

Year to Date (August)2015............................$241,6262014............................$219,765Percent Change.................9.9%

Annual2014............................$220,3112013..............................228,275

2012..............................207,5372011............................. 204,387Percent Change 2013 – 2014..........................................-3.5%*Not including lat or lot im-provements

Average Construction Cost Per Square Foot*

Year to Date (August)2015................................$83.202014................................$76.36Percent Change....................9%

Annual2014................................$75.222013..................................76.042012..................................71.332011..................................72.64Percent Change 2013 – 2014...........................................1.1%*Not including lat or lot im-provements -total under roof

Lottery SalesFaulkner CountyYear to Date (August)2015.........................$9,638,1672014...........................9,651,976Percent Change.............. -0.1 %Annual2014.......................$14,193,2042013.........................17,038,2772012.........................16,943,909Percent Change 2013 - 2014........................................-16.7%

Total StateYear to Date (August)2015.....................$281,941,0282014.......................273,285,324Percent Change................ 3.2%

Annual 2014.....................$401,251,3652013.......................432,932,7982012.......................452,245,217Percent Change 2013 - 2014 ..........................................-7.3%

Natural GasSeverance Tax Distribution

Conway Year to Date (September)2015............................$212,7612014..............................278,650Percent Change..............-23.6%

Annual2014............................$363,8372013..............................276,5232012..............................162,523Percent Change 2013 - 2014.........................................31.6%

All Other Faulkner County Municipalities

Year to Date (September)2015..............................$57,3892014................................70,206Percent Change..............-26.8%

Annual2014..............................$91,6102013................................69,6712012................................40,932Percent Change 2013 – 2014.........................................31.6%

Faulkner County*Year to Date-(August)2015............................$173,2572014..............................226,940Percent Change..............-23.7%

Annual2014............................$296,4112013..............................224,4552012..............................131,418Percent Change 2013 – 2014.........................................32.1%

*This is the amount received by the county government and is in addition to that received by the municipalities.

Information provided by Pulse of Conway

EconomyGlance

2015-09 faulkner county business journal

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