New events, Crystal Bridges focus of Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber banquet

The collaborative nature of the Bentonville/Bella Vista community, as well as all of Northwest Arkansas, seemed to be a theme at the 88th Annual Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce Banquet held Thursday (Feb. 12) evening at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers.

The banquet began with Shelley Parson, chamber board chair, discussing accomplishments in 2014 and goals for 2015. The 2014 highlights included creating the NWA Technology Council and the Technology Summit, establishing a task force to examine growth opportunities in Bella Vista, creation of the a Small Business Week Committee, the NWA Business Women’s Leadership Network, numerous legislative events, groundbreakings, and networking events.

So what’s in store for 2015? Parson said there are many plans, but highlighted several features such as growing the Technology Summit.

“It’s already off to a good start,” Parson said of the summit. “It could become not just a signature event (for the chamber) but a world-class event.”

The chamber will also continue efforts to revitalize parts of U.S. 71, including an emphasis on the North Walton corridor. She cited a recent announcement about eight banks investing in revitalizing commercial business district.

“Northwest Arkansas has so much growth and potential and right now 71 doesn’t represent that,” she said. “This will be a big plus not just for the city (of Bentonville) but also for economic development.”

Parson also spoke of growing the chamber. The chamber gained 234 members in 2014 compared to 176 the year before.

The banquet also featured a conversation with Don Bacigalupi, the founding executive director for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. He recently accepted an appointment as the founding president of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is being built in Chicago. He will remain on the Crystal Bridges board.

Bacigalupi was interviewed by Sandy Edwards, museum deputy director. Bacigalupi and Edwards agreed there was a great deal of skepticism about the museum among the art community before Crystal Bridges opened. Now, many of the initial naysayers admit that some of their negative comments came from jealousy because arts patron Alice Walton was investing so much into a new museum and in a place where most had never thought of a fine arts museum being located, Bacigalupi said.

“There was so much positivity here that I almost forgot the negativity elsewhere,” he said.

The museum creators were astounded at how well the Northwest Arkansas community embraced the museum, including high numbers of volunteers and attendance once the museum opened.

“We would have felt good if we had 200,000,” Edwards said. “But we had 650,000 that first year.”

Bacigalupi said in the earlier years of Northwest Arkansas, the community had to bind together to survive and that spirit continues even now that the region is considered successful. He also spoke of the “collaborative spirit” that Northwest Arkansas uses when tackling problems and making advancements in the community, adding that issues are approached “in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-organized way.”

The banquet ended with annual awards being presented. The winners were:
• Spirit Award: Suzanne Nichols
• Ambassador of the Year: Nancy Morgan-Kalish
• Teachers of the Year: Kory Price, Greg Puckett, Sheila O’Neal, Ashleigh Dewey
• MainStreet Award: SourceGas
• WalStreet Award: Acosta
• R.E. Buck Award: Rob Brothers
• Arthur (Rabbit (Dickerson) Award: Dr. Don Cohagan