Pine Bluff Gets its Fourth Ace
Celebration Scheduled for July 12
The Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County has received official
notification of Pine Bluff’s recertification as an Arkansas Communities of
Excellence (ACE) participant, according to Alliance President and Chief
Executive Officer Jim Crider.
The Arkansas Department of Economic Development (ADED) will present ACE
certificates to representatives of the City of Pine Bluff during a 10:30 a.m.
ceremony July 12 at The Alliance, 510 Main Street in Pine Bluff. ADED Director
Larry Walther is scheduled to make the presentations.
 Pine
Bluff was the first Arkansas community to receive ACE recognition in March
1993. It has continued to utilize the community development process since that
time, with this latest recertification being its fourth.
The ACE program is designed to assist communities in enhancing quality of life,
job retention and competitive position in attracting new investments. It also
increases a community’s focus on infrastructure needs and assets, workforce
development and emerging new trends in employment opportunities.
Rhonda Dishner, The Alliance’s executive assistant for economic development,
served as chairman of the recertification project team. The Alliance is the
City of Pine Bluff’s designated ACE program coordinator.
Members of the project team were Bob Atkinson, Danny Birdsong, Joy Blankenship,
Rusty Boardman, Chris Brown, Tiffany Camp, Ronnie Cates, Bill Groce, Greg Gustek,
Wally Hunt, Tim Joyner, Kathy Majewska, Mary Morgan, Police Chief Daniel Moses,
Judi Norton, Fire Chief David Parsley, and Donald Sampson.
The committee’s submission of data for the recertification process included a
comprehensive overview of Alliance and community strategic plans, goals and
achievements during the past four years.
ACE component categories covered were: established business and industry,
manufacturing, knowledge-based companies, call centers, agriculture and
agriculture-related business, biotechnology, tourism, film and video production,
education, workforce development, health care, law enforcement, fire protection,
solid waste management, community beautification, and housing.
Supplemental data
also highlighted the community and its people, highways and streets, leadership
development, and technology/jobs.
Pine Bluff & The Bioplex Touted at
Bio 2005 Conference in Philadelphia
Jim Crider, President & CEO of The Alliance, and Art Norris,
Bioplex Consultant, joined members of the Arkansas delegation to work the
Arkansas exhibit at the Bio 2005 Convention June 20-22 in Philadelphia.
The exhibit, sponsored by ADED, was one of hundreds of exhibits from around the
world. Biotech business people, academicians, economic developers and others
from many countries and interests visited with this delegation at the booth and
in other conversations. The number and diversity of interests represented by the
participants made this trip extremely valuable for Crider and Norris. They
returned home with a long list of contacts for subsequent, and in some cases,
intensive follow-up. They were both very optimistic about how the community
might benefit from what they learned and how the follow-up interactions could be
keys to unlocking future growth potential.
alliance president & ceo is iom graduate
 James
V. Crider, President & CEO of The Alliance, recently graduated from Institute
for Organization Management (Institute), a four-year professional development
program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, held a the University of Wisconsin in
Madison. “I’m grateful for the privilege to have attended such an outstanding
education program. Many of the materials I brought from Institute played a
major role in helping the Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce attain a Three
Star rating as we sought reaccreditations with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,”
said Crider.
For more than 80
years, associations and chambers have used the U.S. Chamber’s Institute as a
training platform for the professional development of their future leaders.
Participants receive training in leadership, organization management
competencies, as well as targeted curriculum in membership, technology, and
financial management.
Graduates of
Institute receive the IOM recognition, signifying completion of more than 90
hours of nonprofit study and dedication to the nonprofit profession. Institute
students also earn points toward the Certified Chamber Executive (CCE)
designation.
The Institute program
offered at the University of Wisconsin is one of five Institute programs held
each year at U.S. college campuses. Nearly 1,500 individuals attend Institute
annually.
The U.S. Chamber of
Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing more than three
million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.
UAPB/SEARK scholarship 5K Run Planned
for October 8 at regional park
Saturday October 8 is the date for the Greater Pine Bluff Chamber
of Commerce’s fourth annual UAPB/SEARK College Scholarship 5K Fun Walk/Run at
Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Regional Park.
Starting time for the 5K will be 7:30 a.m. at the Softball
Complex in the park, with the route traveling along Lake Langhofer. The event is
a project of the UAPB/SEARK College Committee of The Chamber, chaired by Harvey
Post, vice president for student affairs at Southeast Arkansas College.
 Co-chairs
of the 5K are Vicky Culp of the National Center for Toxicological Research and
Gene Graves of the Pine Bluff Arsenal. The run will be coordinated by the Pine
Bluff Running Club.
“It is our goal to raise $4,000 toward our Two-Year Transfer
Student Scholarship fund,” Post says.
“We have one recipient who has completed her first year at the
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff,” Post says. “We have just completed the
application process for two scholarships to be awarded for the fall semester at
UAPB.”
The $4,000 scholarships are awarded to graduates of Southeast
Arkansas College who have completed the Associate of Arts degree in either
teaching or general studies in the academic transfer program or who graduate
with an Associate of Applied Science degree. Applicants must have already been
accepted as full-time students at UAPB. The scholarship is paid to the
university at $1,000 per semester.
For additional
information on the 5K, contact The Chamber at 870-535-0110.
Tours Show Quality of Life in Pine Bluff/Jefferson County
Chamber volunteers committed to marketing Pine Bluff and
Jefferson County to future residents are providing tours for local companies,
organizations and agencies as they recruit employees.
The Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce’s Community Marketing
Committee, chaired by Dr. Kaleybra Morehead of Southeast Arkansas College,
offers the service designed to promote the benefits of locating in Jefferson
County.
“Our service is offered to Chamber member businesses as a benefit
of membership,” Morehead says. “Over the past few years, our Chamber’s
‘community docents’ have worked hard to assist companies—and we have been
successful."
Morehead adds: “We are excited that our companies seek our assistance as they
visit with prospective employees. We want to remind all of our members that this
service is available.”
Twenty qualified, enthusiastic docents are available to
personally escort prospective residents on tours and acquaint them with the
outstanding quality of life of the area. Based on responses to a questionnaire,
the tours are tailored to the interests of the visitor, his/her spouse and
children.
For additional information on the services or to schedule a tour,
contact Judi Norton at (870) 535-0110.
Leadership Pine Bluff Class of 2005
Completes Course
 The Leadership Pine Bluff Class of 2005 has completed its intensive community
awareness and leadership skills development program and has celebrated its
graduation, Marty Casteel, chair of the Leadership board of directors, has
announced.
Lisa Thrash, representing the Junior League of Pine Bluff, was elected by her
classmates to serve a three-year term on the Leadership Pine Bluff Board of
Directors. Cathy Roper of Simmons First Trust Company was elected for a
three-year term on the Leadership Pine Bluff Alumni Association Board of
Directors.
Monthly sessions covered community topics ranging from education,
health and human services and history and diversity to city, county, state and
federal government. The group toured the National Center for Toxicological
Research (NCTR), the Office of Regulatory Affairs facility of the Food and Drug
Administration’s Arkansas Regional Laboratories, Jefferson Regional Medical
Center, the Arkansas Cancer Institute, Jefferson County Courthouse and the
Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center. Training programs focused dealing
with “the drama” at home and at work, business etiquette and diversity and
inclusion.
Tina Alexander, Pine Bluff Arsenal;
Delene Broeckling, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield; John Bynum
Pine Bluff Arsenal; Chris
Castoro, Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation; Patrick Colclasure; Central
Moloney, Inc.; Allen Crawford, Entergy Arkansas, Inc.; Frankie Dennis; General
Physics Corporation;
Eric Fredriksson, Sissy's Log Cabin;
Louise Hickman, Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Miriam Karanja, Southern Good
Faith Fund; Wanda Lindsey, Southeast Arkansas College; Dr. Margaret Martin-Hall,
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; Regina Montgomery, Entergy Arkansas;
Patrick Neece, Jefferson Regional
Medical Center; Leslie Peters, Pine Bluff Citizens Boys & Girls Clubs; Lanita
Plunkett, Rolling Pin Manufacturing; Rita Ratliff, DHHS/FDA/NCTR; Scott
Robinson, Ralph Robinson & Son; Carol Ann Rogers, PBNB; Cathy Roper, Simmons
First Trust Company; Regina Smith; Outreach Office for Chemical Disposal; Landon Taylor, Simmons First National Bank, Lisa Thrash, Junior
League of Pine Bluff and Nathan Van Genderen, Jefferson Hospital Association.
The graduates receive one-year complimentary memberships in the Greater Pine
Bluff Chamber of Commerce and in the Leadership Pine Bluff Alumni Association.
Leadership is a program of The Chamber and The Alliance and receives funding
through Partners in Progress IV. Ann Green, director of member services for The
Alliance, is coordinator.
(See more pictures from Leadership Graduation on Photo Gallery Page)
Judge Jones Given
National Paper Recycling Award
Jefferson County Judge Jack Jones has received a national award for the county’s
paper-recycling program. The American Forest and Paper Association has named
Jones as the first winner of the Ed Hurley Memorial Paper Recycling Award.
The association represents more than 200 companies that engage in or represent
the manufacture of pulp, paper, paperboard and wood products and employs more
than 1.5 million in the United States.
More than 200,000 pounds of paper products are collected each year from schools
in Jefferson County, the Pine Bluff Commercial and at a drop-off site at the
county Road Department. Approximately $4,000 is generated monthly from the sale
of the paper and the money is returned to the county’s recycling programs.
The award was named
for Ed Hurley, who was involved in the paperboard, container board and recycling
efforts for 35 years and was a staunch proponent of paper recycling.
Jefferson County Expands Tire Recycling
To Take in 9 Southeast Arkansas Counties
Jefferson County’s tire recycling program doubled its operation in May as a
second tire-shredding machine went online at the Jefferson County Recycling
Center.
The new shredder enables the county program to expand its capabilities to
provide tire recycling for all ten counties that participate in the Southeast
Arkansas Economic Development District. A ribbon-cutting event on May 11
attracted Southeast Arkansas city and county officials as well as
representatives of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
On June 1, the first load of tires—from neighboring Arkansas County—was
delivered to the Tire Recycling Center.
This tire-shredding venture, a part of the county’s broader recycling program,
is expected to benefit Jefferson County both ecologically and financially,
according to Jefferson County Judge Jack Jones. The tire chips are used to
produce tire-derived fuel for International Paper Company and the expansion is
expected to lead to the creation of several new jobs at the center. Recycling
tires keeps more space available in county landfills, Jones explains, citing the
ecological benefits.
The operation is not only the largest in Arkansas, but also the only
government-owned facility in the state, Jones says.
Funding for the
project included $100,000 contributed by the Southeast Arkansas Regional Solid
Waste Authority, $100,000 from ADEQ and $140,000 approved by the Jefferson
County Quorum Court to combine with $700,000 already reserved for the project.
Jones says that the equipment and facility make the tire-recycling program a $2
million asset for Jefferson County.
(See Tire Shredder Ribbon Cutting
Pictures on Ribbon Cutting Page)
UAPB PAYS TRIBUTE TO
JOHN H. JOHNSON DELTA PROJECT
Redcoats Chair Roy Ferrell (from left); Carl Whimper, director of
public relations at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and Wanda V. Neal,
The Chamber’s board chair; visit during a reception and tribute for John H.
Johnson at the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts Center on campus. Johnson is the
founder and chairman of the Johnson Publishing Company at Chicago, which
publishes Ebony and JET magazines. The tribute was one of the events in the
grand-opening celebration of the John H. Johnson Cultural and Educational Museum
at Arkansas City, Johnson’s hometown, in late May. A partnership between
Arkansas City and UAPB created the John H. Johnson Delta Cultural and
Entrepreneurial Center and Complex project.
Pick Up ‘Smoke Free Pine Bluff’ Kits
at The Alliance
“Smoke Free” decals and the Smoke Free Pine Bluff implementation
kits are now available at The Alliance at 510 Main Street.
On Thursday, July 7, the ordinance regulating smoking in most public places and
places of employment in Pine Bluff is scheduled to go into effect. The kits,
which were developed by the Jefferson County Tobacco Free Coalition and Smoke
Free Pine Bluff Coalition, are designed to assist business owners as they
prepare to implement the law.
Packets include decals and instruction for use, a list of Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) and a brochure that briefly describes the ordinance.
For additional
information contact The Alliance (870-535-0110) or the Jefferson County Tobacco
free Coalition (870-536-5551)
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