Then & Now: Todd Rudisill transitions from corporate to nonprofit

Editor’s Note: The following story appeared in the Dec. 9 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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Perhaps the most traumatic experience a business professional can endure is getting laid off.

In April 2017, it happened to Todd Rudisill, after nearly 16 years of an upwardly mobile career in the internal communications office at Tyson Foods. The company eliminated his job and a handful of others in Springdale.

Rudisill was 47 years old. A decade earlier, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal recognized him as a member of the 2007 Forty Under 40 class.

The job cuts were related to the company’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Hillshire Farms in 2014.

“They gave my job duties to a person in Chicago,” he said during a recent interview. “It was not fun.”

In the immediate aftermath of being let go, Rudisill, an easy-going and sociable fellow, did not lose perspective.

“I was proud of what I accomplished in 16 years at Tyson Foods,” he said. “That wasn’t going to change.”

Rudisill also gave himself time to decompress. He took advantage of not having to be at work by spending more time with his wife, Robyn, and their two small children.

He eventually began to think about a job search. Numerous interviews with different marketing agencies did not pan out.

It was Rudisill’s wife who suggested he consider a career in nonprofit work, something with which he was familiar and successful.

Throughout the 2000s, Rudisill volunteered with the regional chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA). He was part of the planning committee for the inaugural Paint the Town Red event in 2001. AHA’s annual fundraiser in downtown Fayetteville grew from $17,000 that first year to roughly $150,000 in 2009.

In 2007, Rudisill was named the AHA Charles and Nadine Baum Volunteer of the Year.

Today, Rudisill helps raise money for the Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life, a Rogers nonprofit launched in 1995. He started as the development manager in June.

Kendrick Fincher, 13, died in August 1995, several days after suffering heatstroke during a middle school football practice in Rogers. His mother, Rhonda Fincher, launched the nonprofit to promote proper hydration and prevent heat illness through education and supporting activities.

The Kendrick Fincher nonprofit has three signature events annually: a gala, golf tournament and 5K/youth-run. Rudisill said his goal is to increase annual sponsorships outside of those events. Beverage companies Gatorade and Niagara Bottling are two of the nonprofit’s more significant supporters.

Rudisill said additional sponsorship dollars would help fund new hydration programs for the elderly, as well as cool tub programs for area high schools, junior highs and middle schools. The nonprofit is developing those for 2020.

Rudisill also co-owns a side business with his brother Brian that keeps him busy. Greek Productions started as a disc jockey business in Fayetteville in 1993, catering to fraternity and sorority parties.

Since 2008, the company is known as Groove Productions, concentrating primarily on weddings and corporate events.

“When we started getting married and having kids, we pulled back on the frat life and 2 a.m. parties,” Rudisill joked.

Groove Productions will work about 30 weddings a year on average. In addition to music and professional light shows, the business also offers a photo booth, which has proved to be very popular.

The Rudisill brothers are the only two employees, and they don’t advertise. Todd Rudisill said strong relationships with former brides, vendors and venues give them all the work they need.

“We’ve been asked about expansion,” he said. “From a business standpoint, we can control our customer service, our brand and our reputation by not having other people work for us.”

Rudisill, a Pine Bluff native, is a self-described die-hard fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks. He’s a member of Tusk to Tail — a group of Hog fans who have been tailgating together for more than a decade, and a content partner of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal — and he’s attended a game in all 14 football stadiums of the Southeastern Conference.

Rudisill has been married for 10 years. He and Robyn have an 8-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.