For Architect Ron Woods, Early Recognition Led To A Well-designed Career

Editor’s note: This story, written by Casey Penn, appears in the latest magazine issue of Talk Business Arkansas, which you can read online at this link. 

From a young age, Ron Bene’ Woods loved to draw. The awards and attention his hobby gained him throughout his school years proved that he had skills. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, he also developed early the drive to make a good living. Somewhere around middle school, an insightful teacher helped Woods connect these two dots by steering him in the direction of architecture – a field in which he could be both artistic and earn a good living.

Looking back decades later from his desk at Woods Group Architects in Little Rock, the take-home lesson is clear: Boys and girls, listen to your teachers. Doing so has certainly worked out well for this successful entrepreneur.

Raised in Little Rock, Woods is one of three children born to Dr. and Mrs. William H. Woods. Dr. Woods is a professor and former chairman of the Division of Natural Sciences at Philander Smith College, Arkansas’ oldest historically Black college. Woods’ parents also are the owners of Uncle T’s Food Mart, a convenience store that has been in the family for more than 50 years and is still going strong in the city’s downtown area. His father’s business skills were a big influence on Woods, who believes strongly in the importance of self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. “For me, that means creating businesses that will sustain your lifestyle while offering products that are going to benefit society,” said Woods.

A graduate of Georgia Tech University (1982) and Louisiana Tech University (1985), Woods gained a range of experience by working at some of the state’s prominent architectural firms including Cromwell Architects & Engineers. While employed at a small design firm, The Renshaw Firm Architects, Woods learned to juggle many hats. “It was me and him. He did the marketing, and I put out the work,” said Woods. “I got the chance there to do everything.”

Wood’s project management experience increased after he moved to Stuck Associates Architects, where he had the opportunity to manage a number of large projects. In 1992, Woods founded his own company initially known as Architecture Innovations Group. It helped that he was the winner of a contract to design a 30,000-square foot multipurpose complex for Philander Smith College.

From 1997-2007, Woods partnered in his firm with local construction developer and the first minority architectural graduate from the University of Arkansas, Wali Caradine, to create Woods Caradine Architects. While working together, the two benefitted from each other’s strengths. He explained, “Wali liked construction administration and meeting people – being a contractor. I liked designing and putting together buildings. We both did the things the other didn’t enjoy, which made for a good working relationship.”

The partnership lasted for ten years until the duo – still close friends and colleagues today– decided to go in different directions. At that time, Woods changed his firm’s name to Woods Group Architects.

During the firm’s 20-year history, Woods and his staff have been involved in many key projects in the state, including the Clinton Library and the Statehouse Convention Center expansion. In terms of something close to a “specialty,” the firm has completed a large number of projects in education, particularly at the college level, including Philander Smith College, the University of Arkansas, the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Little Rock Job Corps Campus and Mid South Community College.

The next area of most frequent specialization for the firm would be recreational facilities projects, indicated Woods. “Right now, we’re working on a facility for Little Rock called the West Central Community Center,” he said. “That will be going into the Rosedale Ball Park area off of John Barrow Road.”

Woods is a graduate of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program. He is an active member of several professional and community organizations such as the American Institute of Architects, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), Quapaw Quarter Association and Downtown Little Rock Community Development Corporation.

This past May, the SBA recognized Woods’ dedication to his work and the public by giving him the 2013 National Graduate of the Year Award. The award recognizes hard work, innovative ideas and dedication to community that, together, help drive the nation’s economic growth.

His firm is one of the state’s largest minority-owned architectural firms. Being minority-owned does make a difference, said Woods, who described architecture as a tough field for a non-Caucasian male. “Nationally, minorities make up less than 2% of the profession – and only two of us in Arkansas. The thing about architecture that makes it tough is that it’s one of the most political professions you could enter. We get our business by word of mouth, but mainly by the circles that we can get into. Being a minority, it’s harder to get into the circles with the decision makers on architectural projects. But I guess one of the things that set me apart is that I kind of knew this coming out of Georgia Tech.”

Woods learned early how to persevere. “The good thing is, when you do good work, people recognize it,” he said. “A lot of work I’ve received since reorganizing the company has been from people calling me because they know the quality of my work. Learning more of the political side of things – the marketing – has helped me, too, now that I’m back on my own.”

The firm and family are Woods’ deepest passions. He’s been married to wife Freda for 24 years and has two college-aged children and one in middle school. His latest love is “golf.” His new passion for the golf course has been a strong one that he says he’s had to rein in a time or two.

But then, golf can be a good connector, as Woods rationalized with mock conviction. “One of my golfing buddies is from one of my church projects that I’m working on now – 8th Street Baptist Church – it’s under construction,” he laughed. “We kind of solidified our relationship on the golf course.”

Woods has also long been working on another passion – a personal real-estate development. King-Bates Plaza, as he has dubbed it, is a 16,000 square-foot office retail complex that Woods first started in 2007 before the recession. “I’m trying my best to get it going this year. It wasn’t feasible then, but after things turned around in 2011, I began looking at it again and last year began making significant progress. Located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Daisy Bates Boulevard, the project is also across the street from the Woods family’s convenience store, which will move into the Plaza when it is finished.

For Woods, this will be a full-circle event. The tried-and-true architect will have built a new home for the family business – that family from whom he inherited his successful skills as both an artist and entrepreneur.