What sets prosperous towns apart from others? How can cities attract new residents, companies and tourists? Mid-sized towns in Arkansas are leaning on their economic development alliances and chambers of commerce to bring in a steady stream of visitors and revenue, relying on unique and storied histories, as well as the most up-to-date technology, to achieve bright visions for the future.
BATESVILLE
There is no municipality in the state with more actual history than Batesville, which holds the designation of being the oldest city in the state still functioning. It has been known by three names since its founding — Napoleon, Poke Creek and, finally, Batesville, named after Judge James Woodson Bates, the first territorial delegate to Congress. The area around Batesville was ceded to the United States government in an 1808 treaty with the Osage tribe.
With a population of more than 11,000, the town has steadily grown since breaking the 10,000 threshold in 2010.
Crystal Johnson, president and CEO of the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, said tourism is an unexpected but major economic driver for the city, which is situated on the White River and is fairly close to outdoor recreation attractions such as Greers Ferry Lake.
Crystal Johnson
“By generating additional income that supports our local hotels, restaurants and retail partners, this growth leads to job creation and economic stability,” she said. “Because of the large role tourism plays in our community, tourism is a major component in our countywide strategic plan, IMPACT Independence.”
Infrastructure development is a plan priority. Johnson said by improving infrastructure, local residents benefit, as well as tourists. Last August, close to 80 percent of voters approved a bond refinance measure to invest more than $20 million in a new Riverside Park redevelopment plan. The project is expected to break ground in August.
“Our secret sauce in building community support is through community engagement and empowerment,” Johnson said. “Tourism provides opportunities for local community members to participate in decision making and provides increased ownership of the process and outcomes. It can truly foster a sense of pride and ownership among residents, leading to strong community cohesion. In addition to developing unique attractions and investing in infrastructure, marketing and promotion strategies are deployed daily.”
Johnson’s team uses social media and its website to connect, working with influencers to reach a broader audience.
“All strategies are driven by data and information,” she said. “I would encourage all communities to invest in tools that provide information and facts instead of operating from anecdotal information, which is the way we operated for years until investing in data and information.”
Modern technology has revolutionized the way chambers interact with their communities, providing more insight into how well their tactics are working.
The chamber provides its roughly 500 members access to business connections, events, programs, and increased visibility and credibility, but Johnson said the greatest benefit is the “power of collective action and having a united voice.”
“There is undeniable strength in numbers, giving us greater influence and effectiveness as a group rather than individually,” Johnson said. “By pooling our social capital, offering mutual support, sharing in risk taking and collaborating, we have proven success in driving change toward our common goals more quickly and efficiently with our business community at the core.”
Certainly a city on the move, Batesville’s chamber is tasked with staying ahead of the curve as trends and perceptions change almost daily in the information age.
“Relevancy is the No. 1 challenge facing chambers of commerce,” Johnson said. “With generational shifts and rapidly changing communities, it’s crucial that chambers evolve and adapt to the needs of their communities in order to remain relevant.”
EL DORADO
The El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce hosts events that focus on traditional family fun. CEO Bill Luther’s team uses digital tools to promote the town’s activities and economic opportunities.
Luther credits the chamber’s revamped website for helping boost tourism, noting its Facebook page has 7,500 followers. During events, the chamber team uses a service that counts the number of cell phones in an area mapped out by the user. Luther said there were more than 10,000 phones pinged at last year’s Christmas parade, which he estimated means as many as 15,000 people could have attended the event, including children and those without phones.
Bill Luther
“This year, it’s going to be a knockout,” he said of the 2024 parade, which will feature Charlie Brown and Lucy from the Peanuts gang, as well as the renowned Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the famed Budweiser Clydesdales.
Luther said El Dorado’s Mystic Creek Golf Course, ranked the No. 1 golf course in the state for the last three years and 34th in the nation by Golfweek, is a “super drawing card to El Dorado.” The chamber puts on an annual golf tournament at the course.
“We are cheerleaders for what is going on here — it’s just fantastic — between the Murphy Arts District, the South Arkansas Arts Center, Mystic Creek,” he said. “We also have a symphony and a historical preservation society.”
Luther said the chamber is proud of the Christmas parade and the golf tournament but is looking to add more annual events and noted a very specific type of gathering he hopes to attract.
“When you talk about a strategy, one of the things that we’re doing is trying to host state commissions,” Luther said. “It’s absolutely amazing how many people don’t know what’s going on south of the Arkansas River.”
The El Dorado Conference Center hosted the 2023 Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism, and the city has hosted meetings for the Arkansas Highway Commission, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Luther said such meetings help provide attendees with a new understanding of what El Dorado has to offer. Sometimes conference-goers will return on their own for a weekend getaway, he added.
BENTON AND BRYANT
Saline County on Little Rock’s southwest flank is the fifth most populous county in the state by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 count and boasts the second-highest median income. Together, the adjacent cities of Benton and Bryant drive a Saline County population of nearly 129,600. By itself, the county seat of Benton has more than 36,500 residents, making it the 12th largest city in Arkansas by population. Though Benton and Bryant are notorious rivals on the gridiron, the cities work together to keep Saline County moving in the right direction. The Benton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce are both members of the Saline County Economic Development Corp.
“It’s amazing. Most people have no idea what a chamber does,” said Gary James, president and CEO of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce.
Gary James
Over the past decade, the Benton chamber grew from the 17th largest in the state at 598 members and about $440,000 in yearly revenue to 11th place at 907 members and $852,000.
“We’re definitely a smaller chamber,” James said. “What we realized is you can’t really help your community if you aren’t financially strong.”
James, who said most people probably are not aware of what chambers actually do, started in Benton in 2011 after a 30-year career at the Coca-Cola plant in Little Rock. He grew the chamber staff from two to seven, and all are still in place.
He said his goal for the chamber is to support not just its members but the entire city and area and credited the resources supplied by groups like the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The key to operating a small chamber is learning from such bigger groups, he added.
“All the information they give us, we disseminate that to all of our different members and try to help them,” James said. “We take information from all those folks, and we make sure we’ll pick the things that will help our community, and we send it out to them.”
James said building relationships is key. The Benton chamber hosts popular fundraising events that include bingo four times a year. Proceeds have funded projects such as the city’s new mountain bike park and Benton’s annual fireworks display celebrating the Fourth of July.
James cited his working relationships with Lamont Cornwell, executive director of the Saline County Economic Development Corp., and Benton Mayor Tom Farmer as important to the chamber’s success.
“The three of us, we’re out in the public all the time, trying to share our story,” James said.
The Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, celebrates 50 years on Aug. 22. Shane Knight, president and CEO, said the chamber will undergo a rebranding campaign that includes a new mission statement focused on commerce and community.
Knight took on the role just three months ago, but he has hit the ground running with a focus on growing membership in the industrial sector. He said new industry members have improved networking among members, which allows startups and newer businesses to learn from the experience of the more established companies.
Knight is no stranger to commerce, having spent several years as a deputy director at the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District, which encompasses 10 counties and partners with organizations across the border in Louisiana and across the river in Mississippi.
“[We were] working with different chambers there and [observing] how they can expand — expand their membership, expand their opportunities,” Knight said.
He said the chamber has seen a “significant uptick” in membership since he started with a membership count of roughly 600.
Knight said he has noticed a widening age gap among local business owners but added that chamber networking opportunities improve communication between generations. Future chamber plans include more C-3 zone commercial properties and bringing in some “apex projects.”
“What we’ve done here is we’ve identified who and what we are as a community, and we’re going to play to that strength,” Knight said. “These particular projects play to that strength. It will enhance commerce, it will enhance community, and that’s what we’re about here at the Bryant Chamber of Commerce. It provides the overall atmosphere and lifestyle that we’re looking for here in the city of Bryant.”
As the Interstate 30 corridor through Saline County continues to develop, Benton and Bryant stand to benefit. James said Saline County is in the ideal spot for growth because it is strategically located between Little Rock and Hot Springs and Dallas and Memphis.
“Our main street is really I-30,” he said.
CABOT
It can be hard to strike a balance between having a quaint, peaceful Main Street and being labeled another bedroom community. Another suburb of Little Rock is stepping out of the shadow of the capital city while retaining its intimate charm. As the city of Cabot’s motto states: “It’s all here.”
“Cabot has a small-town feel but really has all you need right here with a very welcoming community,” said Gina Jones, president and CEO of the Cabot Area Chamber of Commerce.
Gina Jones
The chamber has a business membership of 571 and offers several networking and showcasing opportunities throughout the year.
“We focus on promotion of our businesses and do a lot of events that are geared toward networking,” Jones said. “We are very active on our Facebook page, as well, and love to share our member’s posts to help with promotion.”
One way Cabot helps chamber members succeed and attracts new businesses is through its unique incentive program.
“This program was created to encourage commercial development within the city limits and is the only one like it in the state,” said Alicia Payseno, director of economic development at the city of Cabot. “The goal is to attract economic activity by transforming commercial areas into vibrant and attractive mixed-use centers, retail hubs or revitalization opportunities.”
Alicia Payseno
The program also supports local commerce by offering micro-grants to existing businesses. The funds encourage capital improvements to buildings in use to make local businesses more competitive by helping improve access and signage and to assist in the beautification of the community.
The program was created in 2021, and Cabot has incentivised more than 25 businesses, adding almost $300,000 to the local economy.
“From supporting local entrepreneurs and business leaders to recruiting national retailers and developers, we are dedicated to enhancing the economic vitality of the city,” she said.
Payseno said she strives to “foster a pro-growth environment through business expansion, leadership collaboration, job creation, commercial recruitment and community development programs to grow the vision of Cabot,” a formula each chamber in the state can get behind.
Each chamber’s approach looks different. Some of the tools are the same, and some challenges are more common than others, but mid-sized Arkansas chambers use the most advanced technology at their disposal and pair it with the unique histories that make their towns special to boost tourism, industry and economic growth.
READ ALSO: 2024 Champions of Health Care
