Forty Under 40: Kim Moore

Kim Moore, 34, always wanted to be an accountant.

“I had an affinity for numbers,” she said. “I never thought about doing anything else.”

Moore grew up in Springdale. She began working for A.G. Russell Knives Inc. in 1989 while she was still in high school.

In 1992, Moore earned an accounting degree from the University of Arkansas. She moved to Tulsa to work for Carapace Inc. She came back to Northwest Arkansas in 1993 and worked in accounting for Delta Systems Inc., Pel-Freeze and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.

Then, in 1997, Goldie Russell hired Moore to be marketing manager for the mail order company, which is now in Rogers.

Moore was promoted to business manager in 2001 and general manager in 2003. The job, she said, isn’t “routine or mundane, and that’s exciting.”

Moore works with Springdale High School’s Cooperative Office Education program, which places juniors and seniors in part-time office jobs.

Moore advises young people that “communication is key.”

“Be honest and straightforward,” she said, “but listen to the successful people around you.”