Arkansas Business Hall of Fame names new inductees

There is a football theme to the 12th year of the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, with two of the four new inductees being former high-profile Razorback players.

The four businessmen inducted into 2010 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame are:
• William E. “Bill” Clark, chairman and chief executive officer of CDI Contractors, Little Rock, Ark.;

• Jerral Wayne “Jerry” Jones, owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys Football Club Inc., Arlington, Texas;

• James E. “Jim” Lindsey, chief executive officer of Lindsey Management Inc., and owner and chairman of Lindsey & Associates Inc., Fayetteville, Ark.; and

• J. Thomas “Tommy” May, chairman and chief executive officer of Simmons First National Bank and Simmons First National Corp., Pine Bluff, Ark.

“We are excited that it is our 12th year to showcase the significant contributions of business leaders — who are Arkansans either by birth or by choice,” Dan L. Worrell, dean of the Walton College, said in a statement. “The Arkansas economy has been blessed with a tremendous base of business talent. We believe it is vital to the state and its future business leaders to honor and perpetuate these inductees’ names and accomplishments.”

Only three from the Fort Smith/Van Buren area have been inducted since the Hall of Fame was created in 1999. Don W. Reynolds (founder of Donrey Media) was posthumously inducted in 2000, Rollie Boreham (former CEO and chairman of Baldor Electric Co.) was inducted in 2002, and Robert A. Young Jr. (founder of Arkansas Best Corp.) was posthumously inducted in 2004.

The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame is permanently housed in the atrium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development at the Walton College on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

The selection process was chaired by Walton College alumnus Larry Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of First Arkansas Bank & Trust, Jacksonville, Ark. A nominating committee of 25 business leaders encouraged people throughout the state and beyond to make nominations, and then a selection committee of 12 business and community leaders reviewed the nominations and chose the inductees. Criteria for selection included: the significance of the impact made as a business leader, the concern demonstrated for improving the community, and the display of ethics in all business dealings. In addition, the inductee must be over the age of 60.

THE 2010 INDUCTEES (info from the Walton College)
Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1966. He founded CDI Contractors in 1987 when he partnered with Dillard’s Inc. to build a company that was owned equally by both. CDI is not only known for building Dillard’s corporate offices and stores across the country, but also for the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Episcopal Collegiate School and much of the Alltel campus.

Jones received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1965 from the Walton College and a Master of Arts in 1965 from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. While at the University of Arkansas, he was a Razorback football starter and co-captain when the team won the national championship in 1964. In 1971, the North Little Rock native founded Jerry Jones Oil & Gas Co. and continues today to serve as its president and CEO. He purchased the Dallas Cowboys football team in 1989, and within four short years, the team won its first Super Bowl.

Lindsey received a bachelor’s degree in education from the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas in 1968. A successful Razorback football player, he went on to a seven-year professional career with the Minnesota Vikings. He returned to Arkansas and used his professional earnings to buy the land where the Northwest Arkansas Mall is located. He founded Lindsey & Associates in 1973, which grew into one of the largest real estate companies in Arkansas and helped define the Northwest Arkansas region.

May received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1971 and an Master of Business Administration in 1972 from the Walton College. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970. He began his banking career with First National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans in 1972. He later joined Exchange Bank of El Dorado as vice president in 1976 and graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking in 1979. Upon the formation of Exchange Bancshares Inc., a holding company, in 1981, he was elected president and CEO. In 1987, he became president and CEO of Simmons First National Bank and president of Simmons First National Corp., with assets of $600 million. Today, the company owns eight Arkansas community banks, which operate through 86 offices in 48 communities, and has assets of approximately $3 billion.