Arkansas Economic Developers hand out awards for development success, leadership

The Arkansas Economic Developers (AED) recognized four people for work in economic development circles, including Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Allen received the Outstanding Economic Developer Award. Allen has 16 years of economic development experience. Prior to joining the chamber, he worked for nearly 12 years as a project manager with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) leading economic development projects across the state.

Sen. Bruch Maloch, D-Magnolia, received the Legislative Leadership in Economic Development Award. Maloch, who represents Senate District 12 that includes Columbia and Dallas counties and portions of Clark, Grant, Nevada and Ouachita counties, has sponsored or co-sponsored bills that make Arkansas more attractive to manufacturers, according to the AED. He co-sponsored SB440 to create the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund to help in securing projects to Arkansas.

Sherry McDonnell who retired from Entergy, received the Maria Haley Lifetime Leadership Award for Economic Development. McDonnell joined Entergy’s Office of Economic Development in 1998. She retired from Entergy Arkansas in 2016 after 37 years of service. As Entergy Arkansas’s Community Development Program Manager, McDonnell provided consultation services on economic development funding, planning, hiring, business retention and expansion, community and economic development education, and site certification.

Patricia Nunn Brown of the AEDC also received the Maria Haley Lifetime Leadership Award for Economic Development. Brown has spent more than 40 years in economic development efforts at the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC), Arkansas Department of Economic Development (ADED) and the AEDC. Since being hired by the AIDC in 1975, she has worked in multiple roles including positions in administration, research, prospect development and management. In 2007, she was appointed director of the Minority Business Division of AEDC, the position she now holds.

The AED is an association of professional and volunteer economic developers in the state of Arkansas. AED was organized in 1976.