First National Makes Move

FNTC, LLC d.b.a. First National Title Co.
Owner: David M. Harrison and seven other investors
Address: 304 Airport Road, Suite B, Bentonville 72712
Phone/Fax: (479) 464-4995 / (479) 271-7889
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, or by appointment
Startup date: Jan. 3

Coming home is great, but David M. Harrison said it’s been especially nice for him because of the team he’s pulled together to form First National Title Co. and the estimated $80 million in title work it contracted the first month in business.

“We have an excellent team that came over here from another title company,” Harrison said, adding that the group has more than 85 years of combined experience in the title business.

Harrison, who formed the new Bentonville title company with seven other investors, is a Fayetteville High School graduate who earned a law degree and has worked in the finance industry in other parts of the state in recent years.

The company formed under a separate LLC, but in affiliation with First National Title Co. of Little Rock. Both are authorized agents for First American Corp., a nationally known title insurance underwriter.

First National Title has six employees, including Harrison and title professionals Steve Pangle, Polly Pangle, Beverly Chappelle, Linda Winters and Debbie Pappas.

The company offers an online service to its customers that provides constant updates of the title process, Harrison said, calling it “second to none in the marketplace.” Declining to say how much was invested to launch First National Title, Harrison said the technology and the experienced staff the company started with added up to a substantial investment.

The title company leases about 2,700 SF on Airport Road in Bentonville, but has plans to eventually take over the entire 5,500-SF building it now shares. Harrison said the company will also open an office in Washington County in the coming year.

Fulmer Counts On His Expertise

By; Lori Harrison Stone

Summary: J. Timothy Fulmer, opens his own CPA office in Rogers.

J. Timothy Fulmer, CPA, P.A.
Owner: J. Timothy Fulmer
Address: 2301 W. Walnut St., Suite 11, Rogers 72756
Phone/Fax: (479) 936-7393 / (479) 936-7399
Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, or by appointment
Startup date: Oct. 15

J. Timothy Fulmer has taken his expertise in tax accounting and opened his own CPA office in Rogers.

“I’ve got a lot of tax experience and that’s basically what I bring to the table, that’s my focus,” Fulmer said.

The new office also does some audit work and accounting for small businesses.

Fulmer has 15 years accounting experience. He worked as a CPA in Fort Smith for about 11 years before he and his wife relocated to Northwest Arkansas. He had partnered with another CPA firm his first few years in the area but decided last year he’d rather have his own firm.

The new office has two employees in addition to Fulmer — a staff accountant and a receptionist. Fulmer plans to hire another CPA in the coming months, but he’s not in any hurry.

“For a CPA, quality staff is real important,” he said. “I just want to be real deliberate about my growth.”

Within the next three years, he’ll likely add the new CPA and one other accountant to the staff. By then, the lease on the 1,200 SF office space he’s rented will be up and he’ll have to move if he wants the staff to grow more, Fulmer said.

He invested about $20,000 to open the new CPA firm. Fulmer said it started out as personal investment, but he’s obtained a business loan since the office opened in October. The firm is already making a profit, he said.