Then and Now: Toni Lindsey is passionate about politics, Razorbacks

Toni Lindsey is called “Mama T” by business leaders thanks to her work with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Arkansas program. She calls former Arkansas Razorbacks coaches Houston Nutt and Nolan Richardson her friends thanks to her previous job with the University of Arkansas Athletic Department.

It’s been an interesting career path for the Jacksonville native who grew up watching the Razorbacks and dreamed of running for president.

Lindsey has been the State Chamber’s director of government affairs since late 2016, the year she was recognized as a Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Forty under 40 honoree. She manages community relations with northwest Arkansas Chamber members and elected officials while also lobbying elected officials at the state Capitol.

That part of the job brings her to Little Rock to work to pass pro-business legislation such as tax incentives and bills that boost manufacturing and workforce preparation. She helped pass legislation that moved school board elections to the primary and general elections. Another law required internet retailers to charge sales taxes so they wouldn’t have an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar companies.

Lindsey, 46, said the key to influencing legislators is to “Be honest. Never lie to them. Give them both sides of the issue. Tell them why it’s good for our state. And maintain a relationship with them. Don’t just call them when you want something or you need something. But first and foremost, be honest. The first time you lie to a representative or a senator, they’re going to remember that. They don’t forget those things, and the next time you come to them on a bill, they’re not going to trust you.”

She began directing the Leadership Arkansas program with Class 13 in 2018 and is now leading Class 19. The program brings business leaders ages 29 to 69 from across the state together to visit communities that showcase critical parts of Arkansas’ economy and culture. The class has had record numbers of applicants the past few years. Fifty-three individuals were selected to participate in the 2024-25 program. Participants call her “Mama T.”

“It’s a nine month personal and professional development program that takes you around the state and allows you to see the amazing things that are happening in Arkansas, but also what’s going wrong, and ways to get plugged in, and ways to get more involved in your community and your schools and your businesses, and to make this state even greater,” she said.

It was Leadership Arkansas, in fact, that led to Lindsey’s job at the Chamber of Commerce after she participated as a class member. The experience, she said, “really reignited my passion for politics and government. When I was younger, I used to say I wanted to be the first woman president of the United States. I was going to run in 2020, even had my campaign signs designed.”

Lindsey previously had worked 17 years for the University of Arkansas Athletic Department. That experience started when she was a college student majoring in political science and communication and working with the football team. She’d gotten to know the coaches and Athletic Director Frank Broyles. When she graduated, she asked Broyles if he would help her get a job with the Dallas Cowboys. Instead, he offered her a job.

“So, quite an amazing opportunity for a new college graduate,” she said.

Lindsey started as an assistant helping produce Nutt’s and Richardson’s coaches’ shows but after a year took over production. At the time, the shows were done in house.

“I still consider Coach Richardson and Coach Nutt friends to this day,” she said. “They were just so great to work with, so trusting. It was a great working relationship, and I learned a whole lot along the way.”

That part of her job ended when the athletic department sold the shows’ rights. At that point, her responsibilities shifted to special events, which included championship recognitions and reunions. One brought all of the Razorbacks’ Final Four basketball teams to Fayetteville. Another celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1964 national championship football team.

That team, coached by Broyles, featured future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, future Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, future real estate titan Jim Lindsey, and future Razorbacks coach Ken Hatfield. It finished the season undefeated and ranked number one in two polls. The players gave her a 1964 national championship ring, a replica pendant and a jersey with her name on it.

“I like to say that I have 50 new grandpas,” she said.

When she’s not traveling the state with Leadership Arkansas or lobbying the Legislature on behalf of the Chamber, Lindsey spends time with her husband, Michael, and son, Thomas Gray. They travel, read, and cook. Thomas Gray is an open heart surgery recipient, and she has served as president of the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary.

“He just turned six,” she said. “He’s my ‘why’ for everything.”