Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

AEDC Director Visits County

Clark County's industry was shown how much appreciated it is at a luncheon Tuesday, July 7.

Brown Hardman, president of the Clark County Industrial Council, talked of the honor it is to have such existing industries as are in the county. "If we'd had this meeting 12 or 13 years ago," he said, "we might have had a night watchman here."

Barbara Pardue, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, was the keynote speaker for the day.

She talked of working with the CCIC on the equity buy-down program to help the Arkadelphia area rebuild after the tornadoes of March 1, 1997.

But, her main topic of discussion was how the AEDC now focuses more on working with industries already located in Arkansas, while still doing some recruiting for new industry.

Clark County, she said, has a lot to celebrate with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.

However, she told those gathered the people who should be thanked were not present. This is the employees who work at the companies, helping make them successful.

When out recruiting new industries, Pardue said, the recruiters are asked what makes Arkansas different. The answer is the people of the state. Arkansans are willing to work hard and long hours to get a job done.

Still she said, all jobs in the state have merit no matter what they are and all deserve respect.

But, the idea of recruiting new industry is to try and create jobs with higher wages for the workers. This, she said, is as important as creating new jobs.

"The best sales force for new industry is the success of the state's existing industries," Pardue said. "If they do well, others are willing to come here and give Arkansas a chance."

Pardue, who still lives in Warren with her parents and twin children, said she is also concerned about rural development. These people have different needs, she said.

"Clark County is the only county in the state with two Arkansas Communities of Excellent (ACE). It's also one of the first to have an ACE community."

Gurdon and Arkadelphia, Pardue said, use the same industrial park, and such partnerships are rare, but are the key. "It works in Clark County," she said.

Last year the area was devastated by the tornadoes, but partnerships developed, the area showed its strength and began working on rebuilding downtown Arkadelphia and redesigning it.

Housing, she continued, is a huge aspect in economic development, which is why the AEDC supports the equity buydown program.

Diversity is another key to success. "We've been riding high with the economy and worry how long it will continue. Diversity is the key to protecting it and you have it in Clark County."

The area, she said, began with wood products as the base industry. However, there are now fewer than 400 sawmills in the state. The county now has a solid tourism base, good health care, aerospace technology along with the manufacturing and service industries. There are telecommunication industries in the area which will soon be able to take advantage of a fiberoptic system. "It goes from one end of the spectrum to the other."

Eventually, she said, the economy will slow down, but Clark County will be ready and should be able to handle it with little or no problems.

Resource groups are important as well, Pardue said. The county is structured to bring new people in, educate them and their children from kindergarten through college and offers good transportation facilities.

The AEDC, she said, looks at education as a vital part of economic development. It's the key to the future workforce for industries.

Today's industries stress lifelong learning and computers. The world of work is constantly changing, as are the economy and environment. Workers must be prepared to deal with these changes and have the education necessary to compete.

Young people, she said, need to know there will be jobs for them once they complete their education. Because of this, the AEDC has made changes to be a better teammate with educators and industries.

The AEDC is also working with local businesses and state agencies to focus on existing industries, though the agency is still recruiting outside Arkansas.

The AEDC works to help existing industries with expansion plans. It has four foreign offices, in Europe, Asia, South America and Mexico.

The idea is to create new niche areas for high tech jobs, along with jobs in bio-technical jobs for the agri industry.

She said the concept of ACE is being examined to broaden the scope to possibly include counties. Cities will now be looked at on a population basis for ACE certification as well. This should make the program more flexible, Pardue said.

"Arkansas has a great future," she said. "The key is being confident and committed."

Five Fortune 500 companies are in this state, she said. These include Tyson's Poultry, Wal-Mart, AllTell, Beverly Enterprises and Riceland Foods. All but Beverly began in rural Arkansas. Beverly, Pardue said, began in California, but moved its operations to Arkansas.

"We need to have vision," Pardue said. "There is no reason we can't grow more Fortune 500 companies here. We're blessed in Arkansas and will be a leader in economic development in the next century."