Business Weekly E-Newsletter

June 16-20, 2008

Leadership Arkansas Class II Plans Final Session

Tyson Foods CEO Dick Bond, Sam’s Club CEO Doug McMillan and University of Arkansas Chancellor-Elect Dave Gearhart will be featured speakers at the final Leadership Arkansas Class II Northwest Arkansas Session on June 26-27, which will cover infrastructure challenges and the Northwest Arkansas economy.

The State Chamber/AIA Board of Directors and the Executive Committee will meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at the Holiday Inn in Springdale in conjunction with the Leadership Arkansas Class II session and graduation. After the board meeting, directors and prospective members in the Northwest Arkansas area are invited to join members of Leadership Class II for a reception and dinner at the Holiday Inn. The reception will offer excellent networking opportunities.

This remaining Leadership Arkansas session represents an outstanding investment opportunity in which companies and organizations can participate. By helping sponsor one of the activities, companies and organizations have the chance to personally meet and get to know these individuals who will be leading Arkansas in the future.

Partner sponsorships at $1,000 include an invitation to a reception and dinner with Leadership Arkansas class members, signage at the event and inclusion in the promotional and printed materials for the session. Presenting sponsorships at $2,500 include all of the above plus an opportunity to present during the session and an opportunity to place a company brochure or message in the participants’ notebooks.

Sponsors to date for the remaining session include: Cox Communications, University of Arkansas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CJRW – Northwest, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Stephens Inc., Littler Mendelson, P.C., Cross Gunter Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C., CDI Contractors Inc., Arkansas Western Gas Co., Tyson Foods, Inc., Acxiom Corporation, Warner Smith & Harris, PLC, Waste Management and Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce.

Leadership Arkansas Class II is sponsored by Southern Bancorp. For further information on Leadership Arkansas, contact Susie Marks at 501-210-4206 or e-mail her at smarks@arkansasstatechamber.com .

Governor Beebe to Speak at Leadership Arkansas Class II Graduation

Seventy members of Leadership Arkansas Class II will graduate on Friday, June 27, at the Holiday Inn in Springdale.

Governor Mike Beebe, honorary class chairman, will be the guest speaker at the graduation ceremonies, which begin at 11 a.m.

Leadership Arkansas Class II graduation is presented by Harps Foods.

Applications Being Accepted for Leadership Arkansas Class III

Applications are now being accepted for Leadership Arkansas Class III. In just two years, this program has become one of Arkansas’s most respected and trusted leadership organizations. Before clicking on the link below to the application, please review the following information designed to provide you with a greater understanding of Leadership Arkansas.

Leadership Arkansas’s mission is to build a strong, diverse, statewide network of leaders with a shared commitment to connect our communities and to make Arkansas a better place in which to live and prosper.

One of the many ways the organization is working to accomplish that mission is through its annual class program. Class members are chosen to participate in a stimulating and thought-provoking educational program that consists of a series of six day-and-a-half sessions held in locations throughout the state.

These sessions include programming on issues critical to Arkansas, leadership skills assessment, and relevant information on Arkansas’s history, demography, diversities and opportunities. One of the most rewarding and lasting benefits of the program is the valuable time spent interacting with other leaders from a variety of professions, philosophies and parts of the state who represent Arkansas’s diverse ethnic and racial composition.

Graduation from the class does not signify the end, but the beginning of a lifetime of opportunity as a member of Leadership Arkansas. For the graduates of the Leadership Arkansas program, we will convene regular meetings, regional and statewide, to facilitate continuing issues-oriented education, advanced leadership training, networking and the opportunity for members to work together toward shared goals. 

SELECTION CRITERIA

The Leadership Arkansas Recruitment Committee seeks to identify those individuals most likely to utilize their leadership abilities for the long-term benefit of Arkansas. The Selection Committee strives to select participants who will provide the class with broad professional, geographic, ethnic and gender representation. Basic criteria for selection are:

• A commitment, motivation and interest in serving Arkansas.
• A concern for Arkansas’s welfare, demonstrated by past community and statewide activities.
• An interest in seeking key volunteer and/or appointed state leadership roles.
• Potential or existing occupational responsibilities that have significant influence on important issues facing the state.
• A commitment to continued involvement in Leadership Arkansas.

Should you have any questions about the application, or about Leadership Arkansas, please call Susie Marks at 501-210-4206. Click here to download the application.

Welcome to Our June New Members

Thanks to the following companies and organizations that have joined the State Chamber/AIA during June:

Alcoa
Brown Engineers, LLC
Farris Hauser Matthews, Inc.
Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority
General Dynamics Armament & Technical Products
Hot Springs Village Area Chamber of Commerce
Malmstrom White Company
Methodist Family Health, Inc.
Ozark Mountain Poultry, Inc.
Packaging Specialties, Inc.
Pine Bluff Arsenal
PIZO Operating Company LLC
Securitas Security Svcs, USA
T.A.D. Total Advantage Design

Federal Minimum Wage to Increase to $6.55 an Hour in July

The Arkansas Department of Labor reminds employers that the federal minimum wage will increase in July. Covered nonexempt workers will be entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008. The current rate is $5.85 per hour. It is scheduled to rise to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009. 

Arkansas’s minimum wage is currently $6.25 an hour. In states such as Arkansas where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher rate. The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child-labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments.

SBA Launches Tax Savings Resource Center

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has created an online tax savings resource center to help small businesses understand how they can benefit from the 2008 economic stimulus package signed into law by President Bush earlier this year.  

The package includes the following tax incentives for businesses: a 50 percent bonus depreciation allowance on equipment purchased and placed in service in calendar 2008 and an almost 100 percent increase in the amount (from $128,000 to $250,000) that a business can expense for equipment purchased and placed in the business tax year beginning in 2008.

SBA’s new tax savings resource center demonstrates the benefits entrepreneurs can gain from the 2008 economic stimulus package. The center, located on www.sba.gov/stimulus ,
contains three resources on the package:

1. Fact Sheet The fact sheet provides a clear explanation of the small business tax benefits.

2. Depreciation Calculator This useful tool provides an estimate of the first-year depreciation available under the provisions.

3. Online Seminar This brief tutorial summarizes the tax benefits and concludes with the depreciation calculator.

These resources should help small businesses take advantage of the stimulus package.  However, because there are exceptions and additional requirements, small businesses are encouraged to contact their tax advisor to determine exactly how the provisions and implementing tax code of the 2008 economic stimulus package apply to their business. Click here  for additional information regarding tax changes. 

Thanks to Our Pinnacle Members

Welcome to our three newest Pinnacle members: Alcoa Gum Springs, Crossland Construction and Waste Management.

We wish to express special thanks to all of our Pinnacle investors, the respected companies that support the State Chamber/AIA at the highest annual investment levels. We appreciate all that they do for us.

APEX
Alltel Corporation
Entergy Arkansas, Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

SUMMIT
Chesapeake Energy, Inc.
Cox Communications
Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods
Tyson Foods, Inc.

PEAK
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Arvest Bank
AT&T Arkansas
CenterPoint Energy Southern Gas
Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas
FedEx Freight - East
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Harps Food Stores, Inc.
Kraft Foods
Oaklawn Jockey Club
Pathfinder Exploration LLC
Petrohawk Energy Corporation
SemGroup LP
Southern Bancorp, Inc.
Southland Park Gaming & Racing
Southwestern Energy Company
State Farm Insurance
Weyerhaeuser Company
Windstream Corporation
XTO Energy, Inc.

CROWN
Acxiom Corporation
AEP Southwestern Electric Power
Albemarle Corporation
Alcoa
Alta Resources LLC
American Greetings Corporation
America's Car-Mart, Inc.
Arkansas Employees Federal Credit Union
Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corporation
Arkansas Western Gas Company
Bank of the Ozarks
CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company
Crossland Construction
Deltic Timber Corporation
Dynegy
Entegra Power Group LLC
Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc.
Forest Oil Corporation
Glad Manufacturing/A Clorox Company
Golden Living
International Paper Company
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Lion Oil Company
Metropolitan National Bank
Murphy Oil Corporation
Nabholz Construction Corporation
Nucor-Yamato Steel
OG+E
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Philander Smith College
Pinnacle Foods Group LLC
Potlatch Forest Products Corporation
Pulaski Technical College
Rheem Air Conditioning Division
Riceland Foods, Inc.
Signature Bank of Arkansas
Simmons First National Corporation
Stephens, Inc.
Storm Cat Energy
Suez Energy North America
The Clorox Company
The Trane Company
US Bank
Waste Management
Wright Lindsey & Jennings

Calendar of Events

June 26 – 27                        Leadership Arkansas Class II Session
                                    Northwest Arkansas Economy/Infrastructure Challenges
                                    Fayetteville/Springdale

June 27                        Leadership Arkansas Class II Graduation
                                    Presented by Harps Food Stores, Inc.

October                        80th State Chamber/AIA Annual Meeting