Then & Now: Moore settles in as CFO at Butterfield Trail Village

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following story appeared in the April 16 issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Then & Now” is a profile of a past member of the Business Journal’s  Forty Under 40 class.

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Kim Moore had worked for more than 20 years at A.G. Russell Knives in Rogers before her daughter started to look for a job as a certified nursing assistant.

When her daughter found a position at Butterfield Trail Village in Fayetteville, Moore also saw the retirement community had an opening for chief financial officer. She thought it would be a place she’d also like to work as it was resident focused, followed a servant-leadership business model and provided an opportunity to do something different. She applied, and after a series of interviews, started in the position in June 2017.

“It’s very different,” she said. “At A.G. Russell, you’re selling a high-quality product to customers. At Butterfield, it’s a lot about giving back and that interaction with the residents.”

Other differences between working at A.G. Russell Knives and Butterfield Trail Village are it’s a nonprofit organization with a board of directors and has 200 employees. Also, the residents are engaged as the community has a variety of daily events, such as musical performances, wellness programs and off-site happenings. It offers Village Tours, which are trips residents can take, and most recently, the trip was to Costa Rica, where residents went on ziplines. The community provides transportation for residents to appointments and events at the Walton Arts Center or Arkansas Razorback games. Other community aspects include an aquatic center, two gyms, a hiking club and a ping pong team that won a tournament in Tulsa.

“It feels like family here,” said Moore, adding her favorite part of the job is the approximately 400 residents.

As CFO, Moore, 47, oversees the business office, analyzes finances and works on projects to support other directors. Recently, a point of sale system was installed to allow residents to pay for items using their key fobs. Each resident receives a set amount in an account to spend each month, and the fob allows them access to that account to purchase items such as at the on-site store or bistro, which opened in November as part of the $6.7 million Commons Center project. The project added 17,000 square feet, including a new entrance, grand porte cochere circle drive and a 200-seat performance hall.

In October, Moore earned an MBA from John Brown University, which she called a career highlight. She completed coursework from the Rogers campus of the Siloam Springs-based private Christian university.

Another career highlight was her time working to improve efficiencies at A.G. Russell Knives. In 2009, Moore was promoted to executive vice president, from general manager. She remained in the executive position until she started as CFO at Butterfield Trail Village. At A.G. Russell Knives, Moore reported to the president of the company, Goldie Russell, and founder A.G. Russell III, whom she considers mentors and were hands-on owners.

In 1989, Moore started working for A.G. Russell Knives while she was in high school. In 1992, she earned an accounting degree from the University of Arkansas and moved to Tulsa to work for Carapace Inc. She returned to Northwest Arkansas in 1993 and worked for Delta Systems Inc., Pel-Freeze and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. In 1997, Goldie Russell hired Moore as marketing manager. Moore was promoted to business manager in 2001 and general manager in 2003. In 2005, Moore was named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class.

As executive vice president for A.G. Russell Knives, she oversaw accounting and human resources and helped the owners on mail order strategy and analyzing the results. The company had between 40 and 50 employees and the number rose before Christmas during the holiday shopping season. The majority of its business was mail and internet orders, but it also operates a store in Rogers, along Interstate 49. The business sells knives ranging from $9.95 to $25,000, and orders reached a peak of 120,000 in a year. Along with knives, it also sold leather goods, watches, gun accessories and outdoor-related items.

Moore is a Springdale native and continues to reside there. She and her husband, Mike, have three daughters. She likes to cook and enjoys spending time with family, often attending her youngest daughter’s volleyball games. Recently, she’s started to attend Women in Networking Northwest Arkansas meetings.