Northwest Arkansas, Little Rock leaders to meet

For more than a decade, the superpower business communities of central and Northwest Arkansas have competed for influence, sway and credit as the driving economic engine for Arkansas. Now, they're looking to join forces.

Representatives of the powerful Northwest Arkansas Council and the influential economic development arm of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce — 50 for the Future — will meet in Fayetteville for a working session, regional tour, and evening dinner.

"We're planning to talk about what we have in common and what we need to work on," Mike Malone, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said in an interview with Talk Business. The Council represents regional business interests in Benton, Washington and surrounding counties.

"We're hoping to start a dialogue,” he added.

"I think it's a great idea, something that the two groups need to do," said Stephens Insurance executive Marty Rhodes, the 2012 chairman of the regional Little Rock Chamber. "When you have a state our size, you want to make sure we're working together and collaborating."

On Thursday afternoon, Feb. 16, the Little Rock group will tour the new Crystal Bridges Museum with Northwest Arkansas influentials who want to highlight the $1.4 billion museum's potential to boost the state's image and impact the region's tourism economy.

Thursday night, University of Arkansas Chancellor David Gearheart — this year's Northwest Arkansas Council chairman — will host a dinner for the two groups at the alumni center on the Fayetteville campus. Ted Abernathy, executive director with the Southern Growth Policies Board, will speak about the potential for cross-region promotion and the need to work together for the state's greater good.

On Friday, leaders from the two regional groups will convene for private working sessions to hash out a direction for their efforts and to lay the groundwork for future cooperation. No formal agreements or commitments are expected.

"We're very excited. I think it's long overdue to bring central and northwest Arkansas together," Gearheart told Talk Business. "We're all part of one state, one community and I think working together for economic development is important to the state. I think it will help build relationships and break down barriers."

He's unsure if an eventual formalization of the working groups will materialize, but he sees no downside to it. A reciprocal trip to central Arkansas is likely later in the year.

HISTORY, ORIGINS
Northwest Arkansas' emergence during the last 10-15 years as a major economic hub for Fortune 500 company growth has been well-documented.

Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt have thrived in the high-growth years of population and commerce explosion in the region and they've survived during recent leaner times. The University of Arkansas' dynamic growth has also been a boon to northwest Arkansas' success.

Central Arkansas, home to the state's capital of Little Rock, has long been the center of economic and political influence in the state. It too has been home to many influential public companies like Acxiom, Windstream and the former Alltel. Privately-held Stephens Inc. is one of the largest off-Wall Street brokerage firms in the U.S. and is the holding company for billions of dollars of Arkansas business and personal investments.

During the last 10 years, population shifts have led to a growing balance of political representation between central and Northwest Arkansas, to the detriment of rural parts of the state. Combined, the two areas account for about 45 percent of all 135 state House and Senate seats under the new redistricting lines.

Nearly a decade ago, relationships between the two regions were strained by economic jealousies and, off all things, the scheduling of Razorback football games, when University of Arkansas officials limited the number of games at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium and moved them to the Fayetteville campus. Business people in both regions passionately defended and opposed the changes.

Those riffs have hopefully healed, several people interviewed for this article contend.

Last year, leaders from both communities realized that competition for education, business development, cultural assets and infrastructure dollars as well as political influence was an obstacle to future growth. Business leaders involved with the two groups began a dialogue to bring together their top brass to focus on the state's future.

After several efforts in 2011, the February 2012 meeting date came to fruition.

"I think the most important message to send is that we are one community, one state and we both have the best interest of Arkansas in mind," says Gearheart, who suggests that other regions of the state may also join this bi-regional effort as it advances.

Rhodes agrees, "When we're working together, we can better shape our future."