“Five thousand or more people must have applied in the five counties served,” said Betty Smith, executive director of the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Economic Opportunities Commission.

Though the EOC offers assistance, the agency has already run out of funds for its low income home energy assistance program and is referring people to other organizations including Neighbor to Neighbor, Smith said.

EOC hopes that when the new fiscal year starts in October more funding will be available. It was not uncommon to see as many as 100 or more applications a day pour into the agency when the program began in January.

The Southern Good Faith Fund will offer assistance with utilities until the funding is depleted, said Angela Duran, the agency’s president.

Rosalie Tripp, program director for the Power to Care program at Southern Good Faith Fund, said the agency has received 100 more requests in July than the same time a year ago.

The program, which partners with Entergy, offers one time assistance to the disabled or those 60 years old and older who meet income eligibility requirements. Entergy matches donations up to $500,000 overall, Duran said.

“You can also donate to the program by checking the box on your Entergy bill or online and writing a check to Southern,” Duran said. “For those that don’t qualify we recommend calling Arkansas 211 (which refers people to other resources.)”

The number of people requesting assistance is expected to spike in the next few weeks as individuals receive their summer cooling bills, officials said.

Other agencies that offer assistance include Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas and Full Counsel Christian Fellowship.

HELENA-WEST HELENA.-The Delta Bridge Project, a comprehensive community development initiative in Phillips County, has awarded a $90,000, three-year grant for the Shepherd Delta Alliance partnership to place five summer interns with local non-profits and community based organizations, Circuit Judge Kathleen Bell, Chairwoman of the Delta Bridge Project Leadership Goal Team, announced today.

Pictured at First Bank of the Delta’s Cherry Street branch in Helena-West Helena are Circuit Judge Kathleen Bell, co-chair of the Delta Bridge Project Leadership Goal Team and five summer interns placed with local organizations as part of the Shepherd Delta Alliance, which will be funded with a $90,000 grant announced by the Delta Bridge Project. Pictured, left to right, are Ellie Simmons, intern with Delta Area Health Education Center (AHEC); Megan Steinhardt, intern with Boys, Girls, and Adults Community Development Center (BGADC); James Dick, intern with Boys and Girls Club of Phillips County; Judge Bell; Samara Francisco, intern with Boys and Girls Club of Phillips County; and Lolly Saleem, intern with Tri County Rural Health Network.

The Shepherd Delta Alliance, an initiative of Southern Financial Partners and The Shepherd Poverty Alliance, is designed to build the capacity of community based organizations (CBOs) in Phillips County to engage in meaningful community development activities while implementing pre-identified summer projects that utilize the extra manpower made possible by the interns.

The grant will support a three-year program in Phillips County with the goal of creating an endowment to make this intern initiative self sustaining in Phillips County. Participating organizations in this year’s program are the Delta Area Health Education Center (AHEC); Boys, Girls, and Adults Community Development Center (BGACDC); Tri County Rural Health Network; Boys and Girls Club of Phillips County; and Mid-Delta Community Services.

“Improving the capacity of local community organizations to launch and sustain development initiatives is important to the success of the overall revitalization strategy of the region,” said Judge Bell, whose judicial district includes Cross, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, St. Francis, and Woodruff counties. “In the future, interns from Phillips County Community College of the University of Arkansas will be included in the project, providing excellent leadership development opportunities for local youth.”

Local CBOs interested in securing the services of summer interns in future years should develop a proposal that states how the interns will be used and specifies the types of projects with which interns would be involved. Interested organizations should contact Michael Boone with Southern Financial Partners and the Delta Bridge Project at (870) 816-1121.

The Shepherd Poverty Alliance is administered by the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability at Washington and Lee University in St. Louis. The Alliance currently has partnerships with more than 60 agencies in 11 states and the District of Columbia and approximately 60 student interns annually.

The goals of the Delta Bridge Project are outlined in the Phillips County Strategic Community Plan, which was developed by more than 300 Phillips County residents during an 18-month strategic planning process.

The Strategic Community Plan is a blueprint for community development with 46 strategic goals and nearly 200 action steps—workable plans of action that provide organized community engagement in a comprehensive process involving each of the five fundamental pillars of community life: economic development; housing; education; leadership development; and health care.

The Delta Bridge Project has achieved unprecedented success bringing projects to reality and leveraging a total $59 million in investments to Phillips County since the first edition of the Strategic Community Plan was released in August 2005.

The Delta Bridge Project is spearheaded by Southern Financial Partners, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit lender and community development organization founded in 1986. Southern Good Faith Fund, Southern Financial Partners, and Southern Community Development Corporation are affiliates of Southern Bancorp, a $575 million rural development bank holding company with banking operations in Arkansas and Mississippi working to transform rural economies by stimulating investments in people, jobs, businesses, and property.

Contact: Dominik Mjartan (501) 372-4201 ext. 27 dmjartan@southernfp.org

They have declared bankruptcy and face foreclosure on their home of 16 years.

Amid foreclosure, bankruptcy, $4 a-gallon gas and spiraling food prices, the Redfords have downsized to one vehicle and eliminated all unnecessary expenses. Lately, they’ve been considering seeking help from local food pantries.

“Right now we don’t have money to do anything extra … we’re caught in the middle,” Nick said.

The Redfords are not alone in their battle to stay afloat in a souring economy, according to the state Department of Human Services, the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and other groups.

People across the state are going to food banks in record numbers, and the number of Arkansans receiving food stamps also has risen in the past few years, officials say.dm

“People don’t have the discretionary expenditures now because the gas is eating that up and they’ve got to cut back somewhere … and personal income isn’t going up that fast,” said economist Gregory Hamilton, director of research at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute of Economic Advancement.

From declining home construction and real estate sales in Northwest Arkansas to declining timber sales across the southern counties, many Arkansans are struggling along with the economy, Hamilton said.

Rhonda Sanders, executive director of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, which serves more than 900 agencies across the state, said many of those seeking help from food banks are families where one or both parents may work, but at minimum wage jobs.

“Clearly in the reports we’re getting back, we’re serving more families at the local level,” Sanders said.

Many of those, said Angela Duran, president of the Southern Good Faith Fund, are people seeking assistance for the first time.

“Increasingly we’re seeing people who before wouldn’t have reached for help from a food pantry or for food stamps, but they’re doing it now because they have no other choice,” she said.

During the first three months of the year, the amount of food distributed across the Arkansas Foodbank Network serving Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties rose nearly 37 percent over the same period last year, Sanders said.

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in Northwest Arkansas just in the pounds of food distributed,” she said.

The same holds true in other parts of the state. The number of people served by the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas has more than doubled from 8,721 in January to 20,484 in May, she said.

In Central and South Arkansas, the Arkansas Foodbank Network, which has offices in Little Rock, Arkadelphia and Warren, saw the number of needy rise nearly 14 percent from 103,750 in January to nearly 118,000 in April, Sanders said.

Statewide, the state food stamp program signed up nearly 28,000 new recipients last year, increasing the total number to 581,299, a 7 percent increase since 2005, according to DHS.

While more people are moving to food stamps to help meet their needs, Duran said the stamps’ purchasing power has dwindled.

“The food stamp dollar is not going as far as it used to because of the increase in various prices,” she said, noting a national study in May that found the cost of a dozen eggs was up 27 percent from a year ago, a gallon of milk increased 15 percent and a pound of chicken rose 73 percent.

The Benefit Bank of Arkansas, which in mid-February began helping the needy find and apply for public benefits they might not have known they were eligible for, has already received nearly 1,300 telephone calls for assistance, its board chairman, the Rev. Stephen Copley of North Little Rock, said.

“And that doesn’t include the people who are actually showing up at one of our sites for help,” Copley said.

The organization, which has opened offices in Hempstead, Izard, Mississippi, Montgomery, Phillips, Pulaski and Washington counties, also helps people with their utility bills and in purchasing food.

“There is really a sense of need. I anticipate it will continue to increase as the days, weeks and months go on,” Copley said.

At the Salvation Army thrift store in McGehee, Jason Martin said he has seen the number of bargain hunters rise sharply in recent months as shop owners elsewhere report a fall off in business.

“Businesses all over town are seeing a decline in business because people aren’t going out as much because of the high gas prices,” Martin said.

Dewey Sims, who runs Fishnet Missions in Jacksonville, said people are lined up outside the door when the food pantry opens in the morning.

Recently, an elderly couple sought help.

“They were very embarrassed,” Sims said. “They’d never had to do that before.”

Duran, the Good Faith Fund president, spoke of a Helena-West Helena woman who had been working full-time at a casino just across the Mississippi River but saw her hours cut in half applying for food stamps through the agency.

She said another woman who had been driving from Warren to Pine Bluff to attend a course on starting a small business had to drop out because she could no longer afford gas for the trip.

Betsy Reithemeyer, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, said often one of the parents has either job or been unable to find work because of the slowdown in construction.

“Much more consistently we’re seeing families with two adults and children coming in,” she said. “The cost of food and gas have just made it impossible for them to make ends meet.”

She said agencies in the northwest corner of the state are reporting as much as a 400 percent increase in the number of people seeking help.

As for the Redfords, they are seeking assistance from the community group Arkansas ACORN to avoid foreclosure and are able, for now, to rely on family and friends for other help.

“Right now we have been fortunate, but (food pantries and other public assistance) may be right around the corner,” Nick Redford said.

MARVELL, Ark.—The Delta Bridge Project, a comprehensive community development initiative in Phillips County, has awarded a $132,000, one-year grant to help fund redevelopment of substandard housing in Marvell, Steering Committee Chairman Elijah Mondy announced.

The $132,000 grant will be combined with private sector grant financing funds for a total investment of $196,215. The project will redevelop three houses and one duplex in Marvell to provide affordable rental housing for five low-income families. This project will be coordinated with the larger housing clean-up program for the City of Marvell funded in 2007 through the Delta Bridge Project.

The project will be coordinated by Southern Financial Partners and the Boys, Girls, and Adults Community Development Center (BGACDC). BGACDC has more than 50 housing units rented and is the largest landlord in Marvell, a city of 1,250 in Phillips County.

“We are happy that the Delta Bridge Project is supporting BGACDC’s efforts to develop safe affordable housing in Marvell,” said Beatrice Shelby, Director of BGACDC. “It’s good to know the project is supporting development activities in some of the smaller communities in Phillips County.”

Rent for each of the three houses (each with three bedrooms) will start at $400 per month. The two-bedroom duplex’s rent will start at $325 per month. The project is designed as a self-sustaining real estate development that will improve the quality of life for five low-income families by providing safe, decent, affordable housing. Delta Bridge has approved a clean up effort that will demolish 10 to 15 substandard properties in Marvell and position those sites for redevelopment. This project centers on the 12-block area around the MM Tate Building targeted for redevelopment.

Joe Black, Senior Vice President for Southern Financial Partners, said this project fits into two goals of the Phillips County Strategic Community Plan—development and implementation of neighborhood revitalization, and development and implementation of a program to educate prospective home buyers.

“This grant represents the latest example of the commitment demonstrated by the Delta Bridge Project to the long-term revitalization of Phillips County,” Black said. “People in Phillips County and everywhere in the Delta deserve access to safe, affordable housing, and this grant will help to accomplish this goal in Marvell.”

The goals of the Delta Bridge Project are outlined in the Phillips County Strategic Community Plan, which was developed by more than 300 Phillips County residents during an 18-month strategic planning process.

The Strategic Community Plan is a blueprint for community development with 46 strategic goals and nearly 200 action steps—workable plans of action that provide organized community engagement in a comprehensive process involving each of the five fundamental pillars of community life: economic development; housing; education; leadership development; and health care.

The Delta Bridge Project has achieved unprecedented success bringing projects to reality and leveraging a total $59 million investment in Phillips County since the first edition of the Strategic Community Plan was released in August 2005.

The Delta Bridge Project is spearheaded by Southern Financial Partners, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit lender and community development organization founded in 1986. Southern Good Faith Fund, Southern Financial Partners, and Southern Community Development Corporation are affiliates of Southern Bancorp, a $575 million rural development bank holding company with banking operations in Arkansas and Mississippi working to transform rural economies by stimulating investments in people, jobs, businesses, and property.

Contact: Dominik Mjartan (501) 372-4201 ext. 27 dmjartan@southernfp.org

Scott Shirey, the founding director of the Delta College Preparatory School in Helena-West Helena, a public charter middle school, has been named executive director of the program’s Delta Region, which may include as many as 12 KIPP schools in three additional Delta cities.

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“I think you’ll see probably massive consolidation here in Arkansas and I think that that’s probably under way right now and will continue,” Phillip Baldwin said after a speech at the Arkansas Small Business Awards luncheon. “We probably would anticipate growing ourselves as we acquire some banks that end up being sold.”

A timely example, First Arkansas Bancshares Inc. of Jacksonville announced Tuesday it would acquire Greers Ferry Lake State Bank of Heber Springs, which is owned by M&P Community Bancshares of Newport, and merge it into First Arkansas Bank & Trust.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but M&P CEO Jim Gowen Sr. said shareholders would reap a “substantial return” from the sale. Merchant & Planters Bank of Newport, owned by M&P, had assets of about $173 million. First Arkansas Bank & Trust had almost $487 million in assets as of March 31.

The announcement came a month after First Security Bancorp of Searcy announced it would buy Union Bank of Benton for an undisclosed sum.

Additionally, Conway-based bank holding company Home BancShares Inc. announced last week it would merge the Bank of Mountain View into Community Bank, pending regulatory approval, as part of an efficiency ad review study. Home Bancshares also recently announced it would acquire Centennial Bank of Little Rock.

A nationwide credit crunch, rising oil and gasoline prices, an economic downturn and all of the trickle down effects are playing a role in the bank consolidations past, present and future, Baldwin said.

Last month, ANB Financial of Bentonville was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency after experiencing large amounts of loan losses related to the downturn in both the construction and the real estate industry in Northwest Arkansas. Pulaski Bank and Trust Co., owned by IberiaBank Corp., purchased ANB’s local deposits prior to the closure and reopened branches in ANB’s nine offices.

But Randy Dennis, president of Little Rock-based DD&F Consulting Group, which provides consulting services to financial institutions, downplayed the effect the struggling economy has had on Arkansas banks so far, and said the banking community here is strong compared to other states, mainly because of agriculture.

ANB’s failure was due not so much to economic woes but overbuilding, and similar situations are unlikely to arise again anytime soon in Arkansas, Dennis said.

“Right now our banks have been minimally if at all affected by the subprime mortgage market,” he said. “If the downturn stays another six months and people get really scared and quit buying and you have commercial businesses falling off, then that’s where I think we’ll experience some troubles.”

Arkansas is strong capital-wise,” Dennis said. “I don’t see a lot of risky behavior in Arkansas banks, although there are probably a couple of smaller banks that might be on the edge.”

Many of the recent banking consolidations have been negotiated not because of trouble at one of the institutions, but because of the initiative of institutions with aggressive growth strategies, Dennis said.

Another factor, Baldwin said, is that Arkansas banks, especially in rural areas, are generally family-owned. Family members interested in running the bank are nearing retirement, and the younger generation has moved away and is not interested in taking over, Baldwin said.

“I think with the changes you’re seeing in the banking system, most families are saying let’s do our exit strategy,” he said.

Harvel spoke to a near-capacity crowd in the Walker Conference Center at Ouachita Baptist University. He and his wife, Barbara, then met with community members during a social event at DeGray Lake.

Harvel will also serve as president of the newly-established Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance. Groups included in the alliance are the Clark County Industrial Council and the Arkadelphia and Gurdon chambers of commerce. The new alliance will be governed by a board of directors consisting of the same five members of the EDCCC board. Shawnie Carrier has also been hired by the EDCCC as the county’s economic development director.

Monday, Harvel spoke about the role he will play in leading Clark County and how the new alliance will market this region in select areas. He is the former president and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and was also president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

After delivering an hour-long slide presentation covering everything from advertising campaigns to a project intended to begin generating leads for economic development, Harvel asked the audience “not to get too hung up on the details,” but to think about the “general overview” of his ideas.

He said he put off making a decision about the EDCCC for three months. “I didn’t want to do it unless I knew it could work.” The fact that his wife works at Ouachita made the decision somewhat easier, he said, “but that wasn’t enough. I spent a lot of time thinking about it.”

He shared stories about his experiences as a Chamber of Commerce director in Enid, Okla., Midland, Texas, El Dorado and Little Rock, stressing teamwork as the key to success.

“Despite the fact that you have a sales tax, you’ll be an absolute failure without a team effort,” he said. Last year, Clark County voters adopted a half-cent sales tax for economic development. The EDCCC was formed to administer those funds.

He said the city of Jonesboro, for example, works like “poetry in motion” because all of its economic agencies work together smoothly. “Intangibles can sell your community.”

He said Clark County has one thing going against it: “Geography.” Using slides to illustrate his point, Harvel said the county’s distance from a major metropolitan area is its biggest negative. “Then I looked at things to sell - not just how to get new industry, but things you can sell.”

He said he devised the Arkadelphia Regional Market as the main tool with which to sell Clark County. Industries and developers nationwide “don’t look at the name of the town, they look at the market,” he said. “Regional markets must be defined.”

Arkadelphia’s regional market, like all such markets, encompasses an area of 50 miles. It does not include such cities as Hot Springs, Conway, Bryant, Benton, or the other larger cities that are part of the Metropolitan Little Rock Alliance. The MLRA meets monthly, has its own budget and Web site, etc., he said.

“Yours doesn’t go as far as Little Rock,” Harvel said of Arkadelphia’s 50-mile circle. “It would be nice if it did, but you have to be honest about your region. You have to stay within the 50 miles. All those big towns market themselves under the brand name of ‘Little Rock.’ That’s a marketing word. How do you overcome the fact that you do not have a region and get the numbers and the data that you need?”

Harvel said he and the EDCCC will sell the Arkadelphia Regional Market. He said he will ask the universities for help obtaining demographics for the 50-mile circle. “We need the demographics for the entire circle. I don’t know what those numbers are, but with the demographics we can say, ‘this is our market.’”

He said a slogan has been created to sell the region: “Arkadelphia - Graduate to Good Living in Clark County.”

“You’ve got to market and sell the universities,” he said. “This is a university county.” He pointed out that alumni from both Henderson and Ouachita; supporters of the universities, and conferences and meetings involving the universities can help promote Clark County.

“That is your market,” Harvel said. “There’s not enough money in our budget to re-brand the region. People in Dallas who send their kids to Ouachita, they know where Arkadelphia is.”

He said the idea of having an alliance in the county “is the most important part. Economics knows no boundaries.”

As to how industrial prospects will be developed, Harvel said he wanted to provide “1,000 people with a lead card” containing information about Arkadelphia and Clark County. (Those attending were given cards asking for their contact information; those cards were to be filled out and mailed back to the Arkadelphia alliance.) He said it’s possible those people could develop leads on their own.

“I don’t know if it will work, but it won’t cost anything, and it won’t hurt,” he said. “Your job will be to always be thinking about how to bring some kind of business to Clark County. I’ve seen it work.”

He suggested awarding “the two or three people who brought us the best leads” at subsequent annual meetings.

Harvel identified the three places where the Arkadelphia market will be most heavily promoted: Dallas, Memphis and the rest of Arkansas. Dallas and Memphis are practical because the EDCCC’s budget can handle marketing in those cities, and because Interstate traffic makes them advantageous to Arkadelphia.

“We’re not going to go to another community in Arkansas and ask a company to pick up and move here, we’d never do that,” Harvel said, “but sometimes companies want to expand. We will certainly keep our ear to the ground.”

He said transportation is also a marketing tool for Clark County. He identified rail, I-30, and “direct flights and 18 hubs at Little Rock National Airport” as major selling points. “You start calling Little Rock’s airport your airport,” he advised.

Tourism and recreation are also tied to economic development, Harvel said. “You don’t have to build your walking trails, your lake, your trees.” Saying that most people “want to do at 4 o’clock what you can do every day,” Harvel showed a “livability” ad filmed in Clark County. The ad, which spotlighted DeGray Lake, the universities, biking trails, and other local activities illustrated a relaxing lifestyle.

“People are getting tired of cell phones,” Harvel said. “They want to turn them off after work.” He said an ad campaign called “Live like you’re on vacation” has been developed for Clark County. He also mentioned another campaign themed, “A university region majoring in recreation.” Both campaigns emphasize the brands of recreation and quality of life in Clark County.

Harvel said he will work closely with the Little Rock marketing firm Cranford Johnson Robinson & Woods. “I’ve worked with them for years and I’m comfortable with them,” he said. “I want to introduce this area to the state. You may think you are already well known, but you aren’t.”

He also introduced Carrier, who is a former employee of the Cross County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development. She will assume her duties with the EDCCC on June 30. Harvel begins work as president and CEO July 1. The EDCCC has not yet made their salaries available to the public.

While at the conference the Boys and Girls Club of Phillips County received the prestigious gold award for best Boys & Girls Club publication in the country. The local Boys and Girls Club’s 2006 Annual Report earned the highest honor such a publication can receive from the national BGCA organization, the Gold Marketing and Communication (MAC) Award. The award is presented to only a select few of the more than 4,300 Clubs nationwide.

“Receiving the MAC award really topped off a terrific conference for us,” said Board President Tim Schuringa, who along with Rolett was joined by board member Bernadette Messina at the event. “It really speaks to the terrific job Jason and his staff have been doing for the past two years and the strong community support we’ve received,” said Schuringa, noting that the winning annual report was designed mainly with volunteer help. Messina said the award was “the culmination of tenacity, talent and teamwork.”

One of the most popular events at the conference was the Alumni Hall of Fame Ceremony where this year’s inductees - Los Angeles’ Mayor The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa; MLB All-Star Dan Haren; NFL Hall of Famer Steve Largent; NFL referee Mike Carey; NBA All-Star Spud Webb; Chief Operating Officer of McCann Worldgroup in San Francisco Joe Burton; Joint Force Headquarters Deputy Commander Rear Adm. Earl Gay; BGCA Hall of Fame Inductee Craig Fitzgerald; renowned architect Timothy Holland; founder of top orthopedic company Greg Nelson and President of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Assoc. Dr. Dayna Wiedenkeller - received a standing ovation following their poignant remarks about how important the Club was to them in their childhood and how it taught them the importance of giving back. Law & Order star and Boys and Girls Club alum Courtney Vance served as emcee.

“We wanted to present proof positive that Boys & Girls Clubs of America has made a lasting impact on society, and honoring these outstanding alumni certainly illustrates this point,” said Roxanne Spillett, BGCA president and CEO.

One noteworthy session included alarming statistics on the “silent epidemic” of high school dropouts and Boys & Girls Club’s response with programs such as Goals for Graduation, Power Hour, Club Tech and CareerLaunch. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Laura Stepp presented a frank discussion on the increasing level of negative peer pressure facing today’s young women and encouraged Boys & Girls Club professionals and volunteers to take the necessary action to reduce high-risk behavior, including premature sexual activity and drug and alcohol abuse.

Both local board members and staff were also drawn to the entertaining and timely discussion on the hip hop culture presented by author and activist Kevin Powell. Powell, who was a part of the original cast for the first season of MTV’s Real World, has penned or edited three books, including Recognize, Keepin’ It Real: Post-MTV Reflections on Race, Sex and Politics, Step Into A World and Who Shot Ya?

Powell called on the hip-hop generation to grow up. “I think it is embarrassing when you see individuals in their late 20s through their late 30s still acting like children,” said Powell. “Not being serious about anything. Not owning up to any level of responsibility.”

Equally compelling were the remarks of business guru and BGCA alum Jim Collins. Author of the best-selling From Good to Great, Collins encouraged board members and executive directors alike to approach their Boys & Girls Clubs with the same business-like savvy, to illustrate the excellent return on investment their organizations offer their respective communities their organizations offer communities.

This year’s conference also served as the eighth anniversary of Boys & Girls Clubs Day for Kids (www.dayforkids.org). Club staff and board members learned about plans for this year’s celebration, slated for Sept. 20, which will feature more than 1,200 events involving millions - all celebrating the importance of adults spending meaningful time with the children in their lives.

“The Super Session on bullying lead by Michael Dorn was right on target for us because of all the many negative influences the youth we serve are facing,” said Rolett of the Boys & Girls Club of Phillips County. “Overall, the conference gave us great ideas, and most importantly, the opportunity to network with other Boys & Girls Clubs who are facing many of the same challenges we are here in Phillips County.” Messina had this to say about the conference “It was the most rewarding trip I have ever taken.”

The Boys & Girls Club has played an integral role in Phillips County for two years, providing daily programs and services to over 250 young people. The Club is open Monday thru Friday, offering programs in character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, the arts, health and life skills and sports, fitness and recreation. The renovation of the former H&M Lumber building into an 18,800 square-foot youth facility is currently under way and should be completed by early fall.

Visit www.boysandgirlspc.org for a PDF of the award-winning Annual Report and for additional information about the current construction project — or contact Jason Rolett at 572-1711.

The link between Brinkley and Batesville, Miss., would create a four-lane highway from Little Rock to Atlanta and would serve as a southern bypass around Memphis.

The connector is part of an ambitious $18.5 billion highway program developed by the Delta Regional Authority last year.

Authority officials presented their proposal for the interstate link at a Capitol Hill luncheon with congressional staffers and local officials from Arkansas and Mississippi.

The connector would ease traffic congestion where I-40 and I-55 converge in West Memphis, said DRA head Pete Johnson.

The new road could be an economic shot in the arm for the rest of eastern Arkansas, said state Sen. Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV of Pine Bluff.

“With this connector, it’s going to open up volumes of opportunity to new industry and business,” Wilkins said.

Wilkins’ Senate district extends to the Mississippi River in Phillips County.

The interstate link would include a new bridge over the Mississippi River at Helena, which alone could cost $800 million.

Congress is set to consider a new highway bill next year. The Delta authority is seeking a guaranteed federal funding stream for its nearly 4,000 miles of proposed highway projects.

Funding for the project in Arkansas is not in the state Highway and Transportation Department’s plans, but the state is aware that DRA and others see the connector as a long-range goal, said highway department spokesman Randy Ort.

About 15 miles of U.S. 49 from Helena west to Marvell is four lanes already. The other 35 miles of road west to Brinkley features passing lanes and fits “what the traffic warrants,” Ort said.

Johnson said the interstate connector would provide both economic and safety benefits.

He said he thought the connector would reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in Memphis, a key logistics hub in the nation’s transportation network.

Memphis boasts the world’s busiest cargo airport and is the nation’s third largest rail center.

It would also keep that network operating in the event a catastrophic earthquake renders the I-40 and I-55 bridges at Memphis impassable.

The bridge at Helena would be just outside the New Madrid seismic zone.

“A four-lane bridge south of the most likely spots for a devastating earthquake would give the nation a much-needed safety valve,” Johnson said. “We have to keep those trucks moving from east to west and from west to east to supply our citizens with the goods they need for daily life.”

The Delta authority was created by Congress to promote economic development in 240 counties in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Alabama.

Pete Johnson of Clarksdale, Miss., the DRA federal co-chairman, discussed the issue during a luncheon meeting on Capitol Hill.

The proposed route would include a new four-lane bridge over the Mississippi River at Helena-West Helena, Ark.

“The Helena bridge is the only bridge over the Mississippi River between Memphis and Greenville, Miss.,” Johnson said. “It’s imperative that it be improved. The Batesville-to-Brinkley connector would, in essence, provide a far southern beltway for the Memphis metropolitan area. This likely would produce economic benefits for Memphis since it would reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality there. I can assure you that air quality and traffic concerns play roles in economic development decisions.”

Johnson said the Batesville-to-Brinkley connector also would provide an alternative route for the nation’s heavy east-west traffic flow should a major earthquake occur along the New Madrid Fault, closing the Interstate 40 and Interstate 55 bridges at Memphis. Such an earthquake could create severe economic problems for the country since Memphis has become one of the world’s top logistics and distribution centers.

“A four-lane bridge south of the most likely spots for a devastating earthquake would give the nation a needed safety valve,” Johnson said. “We have to keep those trucks moving from east to west and from west to east to supply our citizens with the goods they need for daily life.”

The New Madrid seismic zone covers parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. The fault system stretches south from Cairo, Ill., through the Bootheel region of Missouri and into northeast Arkansas. It also covers parts of west Tennessee near Reelfoot Lake. Because of the geology of the area, large earthquakes in this region have the potential for more widespread damage than major West Coast earthquakes.

During the past 15 years, Memphis has emerged as a transportation, distribution and global logistics center. Memphis International Airport is the world’s busiest cargo airport. Memphis has earned that distinction since the Airports Council International began measuring cargo hubs in 1991.

Memphis is the nation’s third largest rail center, it has the fourth largest inland port and it’s home to one of three Northwest Airline hubs. Memphis also is the world headquarters of FedEx. Memphis serves more major metropolitan markets overnight by truck than any city in the country. If a product is shipped from Memphis, it can reach 45 states, Canada or Mexico by ground in two days or less.

“Memphis also has more experienced logistics workers per capita than any other city in the country,” Johnson said. “We can build on those strengths and improve the economy of the entire region by making additional transportation investments. New routes and new river crossings are needed to relieve congestion at points such as the Interstate 40-55 interchange in West Memphis, Ark. For interstate truck traffic that doesn’t require a stop in Memphis, the Batesville-to-Brinkley connector would provide an alternative, thus reducing congestion for those vehicles that do have to go through Memphis. It also would give companies with Memphis area operations the comfort of knowing that a nearby four-lane bridge exists just to the south of the most dangerous areas of the New Madrid zone.”

The DRA is a federal-state partnership that covers parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. Johnson serves on the DRA board with the governors of the eight states. Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama is the state co-chairman.

The DRA operates a highly successful grant program in each of the eight states. This program allows cash-strapped cities and counties to leverage money from other agencies. The DRA also has expanded its regional initiatives in the areas of leadership development, transportation, health care and information technology.

Those interested in more information on the authority’s activities can go to www.dra.gov.

Last year, the DRA unveiled its Delta Development Highway System plan. The plan was developed following input from transportation executives and local organizations in the eight states. Public meetings were held throughout the region. The U.S. Department of Agriculture funded the plan. The findings and recommendations were presented to the Bush administration and Congress for consideration. The proposed Delta Development Highway System consists of 3,843 miles of roads throughout the region. The estimated cost to complete the planned improvement projects along these roads is $18.5 billion. Of the roads in the plan, 27 percent provide four or more travel lanes already. The remainder are two-lane roads.

The DRA currently is working on a multimodal transportation plan for the region, which was mandated by Congress in the most recent highway bill. The multimodal plan, which will be completed in July, will build on the work done in developing the highway plan. The multimodal plan will address aviation, passenger rail service, freight rail service, short-line railroads, highway transportation, intelligent transportation systems and waterways.

“Improving the transportation infrastructure of the Delta is a focus for us,” Johnson said. “When Congress created the DRA in 2000, one of the investment priorities listed for the authority was the Delta’s transportation infrastructure. We’re already a distribution and logistics hub. But we must continue to invest in the transportation infrastructure in order to lower the cost of doing business. Public investments in our transportation infrastructure will strengthen the region’s economic position and in the process provide more good-paying jobs for those who live in the Delta.”

Baldwin spoke to the quorum court Monday night about the restructuring of the chambers of commerce in the county and the establishment of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance.

Under the regional alliance, the county’s chambers of commerce, the EDCCC, the Clark County Industrial Council, and other related entities will join forces. Paul Harvel, recently hired as leader of the EDCCC, will become the president and chief executive officer of the alliance, Baldwin said.

The establishment of the alliance is the first goal of the economic development portion of the CCSP. Each action step listed under the goal are the steps that have been completed to accomplish the goal. Another action step was completed last year, Baldwin said. That step was to pass and begin collections of the 1/2-cent sales tax for economic development.

Baldwin complimented Harvel for bringing the alliance into existence, even before he officially begins work. He is scheduled to take the reins of the organizations on July 1. “We’re following Paul’s lead,” Baldwin said. “He was a great find for us.”

The formation of the alliance will allow the area to become much more marketable to prospective businesses and industries, Baldwin said. “We’re excited about this. We think this will make a difference in our county.”

Baldwin urged the members of the court to attend a meeting Monday at the Walker Conference Center at Ouachita Baptist University. Harvel will explain further the alliance and his plans to bring more industries and jobs to Clark County.

County Judge Ron Daniell also encouraged all justices to attend the meeting. “It’s important for everyone to come out to the meeting Monday night” to hear about the plan, the judge said. The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 19.

In other business, the court passed a resolution allowing Randy Garner to officiate at marriages in the county. The resolution was brought to the court by Travis Berry, a local attorney, and sponsored by Justice of the Peace Jonathan Huber.

Berry’s daughter plans to be married in June, and wants Garner to perform the ceremony. Under state law, the quorum court may appoint persons to solemnize marriages, as long as no more than two persons for each 10,000 in population are appointed. Only one other such appointment has been made. Clark County Clerk Rhonda Cole is also allowed to administer the oath of marriage. Under state law, judges of courts, including the county judge, justices of the peace, some former justices of the peace, mayors and ordained ministers and priests are allowed to perform wedding ceremonies.

Garner is the education minister at Second Baptist Church in Arkadelphia.

Only JP E.B. Green voted against the ordinance, saying he was concerned that “we’d have a rush” of people applying for similar privileges.

In his report, Daniell told justices that the county road department crews are making repairs to county roads. The roads have been damaged by heavy rains and flooding this spring.

Paul Harvel, Euodias Goza, president of the EDCCC board, and Dr. Wesley Kluck, chairman of the Clark County Strategic Planning committee, met with officials in three towns on Friday. The first meeting was in Amity, followed by a visit to Gurdon and they ended the day’s meeting in Caddo Valley.

Goza told Mayor Alan Dillavou and members of Caddo Valley’s City Council and Advertising and Promotion Commission that the meeting was to explain what the EDCCC is trying to do in the county.

The meetings were Harvel’s idea, Goza said. He said Harvel has a strategy and a marketing plan for the county. “We have a great opportunity (for economic development) here in Clark County.”

Harvel said he wanted to go to the cities in the county and explain the regional development concept. “Across the country, economic development is known by regions,” he said. “Industries look at regions,” not cities or counties.

The name of a city in a regional name does not necessarily represent only that city, Harvel said. For example, the Metropolitan Little Rock Regional Alliance includes a much larger area than Little Rock. It also includes Conway, Cabot, Jacksonville and Pine Bluff.

The Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance, will not only include all of Clark County, but other cities and portions of other counties, he said. That will attract industries to the region.

Harvel said it was important for him to meet with officials in Caddo Valley to explain the concept. “I know your city is named Caddo Valley and we’re going to ask you to market (yourselves) under the name Arkadelphia.

“Arkadelphia is a marketing word” in the name, Harvel said, “not a location.”

The area of Interstate 30 and Highway 7, in Caddo Valley, will serve as the center of the region, Harvel said. The region will extend to about a 50-mile radius. He said he chose the area because he knows it is marketable. “Highway 7 contains some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.”

Not only does the area have the scenery, it also has DeGray Lake, the Ouachita Mountains, two universities and a state park.

Using tourism as a recruiting tool, Harvel presented two advertising concepts that have already been created. Both involve the educational opportunities in the area: “Graduate to good living in Arkadelphia,” and “Arkadelphia is a college town majoring in tourism.”

He said his office will be located at Ouachita Baptist University. The university is providing the space at no charge. The Alliance’s economic developer, Shawnie Carrier, will have offices in several locations around the county. One of Carrier’s offices will be in the Visitor’s Information Center at Caddo Valley. Harvel said he plans to ask the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for their help in establishing and maintaining the Visitor’s Center.

Harvel hopes to eventually see the construction of a new Economic Development Center that would house the EDCCC and the Chambers of Commerce.

The EDCCC has already signed a lease for office space in downtown Arkadelphia. Goza said the corporation will be trying to sublet that space until the lease has expired.

The center, funded by a $690,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, will be constructed by Southern Community Development Corporation (CDC) on 2 acres of land in the Clark County Industrial Park on U.S. 67 south of Arkadelphia.

The center will measure about 7,500 square feet; include adequate parking and classroom space; and meet all state licensing requirements. The center is specifically designed to serve children of employees working in the industrial park, but the facility will be open to all children in Clark County.

Construction of the center addresses a key need identified in the Clark County Strategic Plan, a public-private, comprehensive community development initiative developed by more than 500 Clark County residents during an 18-month planning process and formally announced in October 2007.

“The child care center is a direct result of the Clark County Strategic Plan, said Southern CDC President John R. French. “Very early during the planning process, it became apparent that there was widespread support for such a facility.”

Schools of the 21st Century educational programs from Yale University will be incorporated in the facility curriculum. Child care rates will be very competitive with the local market, and state child care vouchers will be accepted.

The $690,000 grant was awarded in September 2007 by the federal agency to Southern Financial Partners, which will transfer the grant to Southern CDC, the nonprofit real estate development affiliate of Southern Bancorp. Southern CDC is building the 7,525 square foot structure in the Clark County Industrial Park on two acres of land leased for $1 per year from the Clark County Industrial Council.

The completed facility will be leased from Southern CDC to the newly formed Clark County Child Care Inc., which is the nonprofit company that will operate and manage the facility.

Clark County Child Care Inc. will be governed by a nine-member board of directors including representatives of the Arkadelphia, Centerpoint, and Gurdon school districts; Southern CDC; Scroll Technologies, Member of the Danfoss Group; Petit Jean Poultry; Henderson State University; Ouachita Baptist University; and Southern Financial Partners.

The Helena club has been in existence for three years, and has grown to a staff of three full-time and 10 part-time employees and more than 250 “members” or boys and girls who use the facility.

The first year’s budget for the club was $150,000. It has expanded to $300,000 this year and will grow larger because the club is in the process of renovating a new facility.

The club’s board plans to establish satellite clubs in other communities in the county within five years. “That way clubs will be available to all areas of the county,” Schuringa said. “You want to reach every part of the community that you can.”

Boys and Girls Clubs of America is the top youth organization in the world, Schuringa said. The clubs focus on five different core areas: Character and leadership; education and career; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness and recreation; and specialized initiatives, which can include computer labs, special needs programs for handicapped kids and many others.

The Helena Boys and Girls Club is open every day after school and a few hours each day during the summer. It has a game room, a gymnasium a computer lab, a crafts room and other areas. Each club can set its own hours and membership fees, Schuringa said.

Setting the membership fee is important, he told the group. “You want to make the membership fee as nominal as possible so that everyone can be included, yet you want them to have pride in their facility. You want them to be invested in it.”

All kids 6 and up are welcome to participate in activities at the club, but the programs are aimed especially to kids who are considered “at risk,” he said.

To raise funds for their club, the board members used a presentation created with help from the national Boys and Girls Club organization, and showed it to every civic and community group, as well as business owners. “We had one business owner who committed to give us $2,000 a month for the first three years,” Schuringa said.

Some funding for the Helena Club was provided through the Delta Bridge Project, Phillips County’s strategic planning organization.

Estella Forte is the co-chairman of the committee. She said Max Brown has volunteered to help her chair the project. “We intend to start a really good club,” Forte said.

Another meeting to discuss the issue is set for Monday. A representative of the National Boys and Girls Club will be present to answer questions. The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Caplinger Center at Henderson State University.

The decision to unite was made by committees of the Economic Development Corp. of Clark County and the Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce. Other groups included in the alliance are the Clark County Industrial Council and the Gurdon Chamber of Commerce. There is also a spot for other organizations in the future, said Kelli Lancaster, president of the Arkadelphia Chamber.

The new alliance will be governed by a board of directors consisting of the same five members of the EDCCC board. Paul Harvel, incoming president and CEO of the EDCCC, will serve as the president and CEO of the regional alliance.

The EDCCC agreed to the union Tuesday night and the Arkadelphia Chamber approved the measure in a meeting Wednesday at noon. “This is the way most areas are going now,” Lancaster said.

Under the new organizational chart, Lancaster will become the chairman of the Arkadelphia Chamber so that Harvel can be president and CEO. Harvel will serve as president and CEO of all the organizations, reporting to the individual boards of directors.

Blain Smith, executive director of the Arkadelphia Chamber, will report to Harvel, according to the chart. The organization chart does not specify what role the Arkadelphia City Board of Directors will play in the alliance. The city board must approve the appropriation of funding for the Arkadelphia Chamber each year.

Members of the city board will define their role in the structure during their planning retreat this fall, said city Manager Jimmy Bolt. “We want to participate,” he said. The board could simply change their contract of services to work with the alliance instead of the Chamber, as it is now. “We’ll be looking at those same services,” Bolt said.

The board will maintain their same level of control, Bolt said, because they must determine the appropriation of city funds. “They have the say over how the money is spent.”

He said he is pleased with the new organizational structure. “It’s all about all of us pulling together. That’s good news.”

Conner Eldridge, a member of both the Chamber board and the EDCCC, agreed. “The beauty of it is maximizing the dollar,” he said.

By forming the alliance, the organization will be eligible to compete for grant funds as well as public money, he said.

The organization of the alliance allows more flexibility for funding, Lancaster said. “There are some restrictions on public money.” She said that money donated by the cities and county can only be spent for specific purposes, but the formation of the alliance will allow money to flow through to other needed purposes. “It makes us more competitive” for attracting jobs and industries.

Chamber members also emphasized the need for everyone to get on the same page regarding this new alliance.

“This is a step in the right direction,” said Blake Bell, a member of the Chamber board. He encouraged all Chamber members to go out and talk to others about the new plan and emphasize the positive action that can result. “It’s going to take all of us to do this.”

Also on Tuesday night, the EDCCC board approved the hiring of Shawnie Carrier as the economic development director. She was selected by Harvel for the position. Carrier is a former employee of the Cross County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development.

She has a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Arkansas State University and is a 2005 graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.

She will assume her duties with the EDCCC on June 30. Harvel will begin work as president and CEO on July 1.

The board unanimously voted to remove Midland and Helena-West Helena school districts from the list of fiscally distressed schools starting July 1. They are two of three districts that have been under state control for financial problems.

The board also removed the Hughes, Omaha and Turrell districts from the fiscal distress list.

At the same time, the board also added the Concord, Gentry, Greenland, Hartford, Hermitage, Murfreesboro and the Westside Consolidated school districts to the fiscal distress list.

Officials from Midland, which two years ago had expected to have at least a $278,000 budget deficit, reported Monday they expected to end the year with $1.6 million in the bank. The state had taken over the district, fired its superintendent and school board and worked to improve its money-management after it was put on the distressed list.

School board president Bryson Wood now has a better understanding of how to manage and control its finances.

“We’ve got a lot better feel now for what’s going on on a day-to-day basis,” Wood said.

The Helena-West Helena District, which in 2005 expected to end the year with a $2.2 million deficit, reported Monday that it expects to end the year with $5.3 million in the bank.

“We certainly attest to the fact that they are in better shape than they’ve been in for a long time,” superintendent Rudolph Howard told the state board.

State education commissioner Ken James has said the district’s financial problems were some of the worst he had seen.

“We hope we don’t ever find any other district with this laundry list of problems again,” James said.

School districts placed in fiscal distress by the state have up to two years to submit a plan showing how they will remove themselves from the classification, have the plan approved and successfully implement the steps. Then, the district can petition the board to be removed from the list.

Helena-West Helena and Midland were two of three schools that had been taken over by the state for financial problems. The financially struggling Bald Knob school district was taken over by the state last year after school officials predicted it would be $2 million in the red.

Local control could be restored to the district by June 2009.

Gentry, Greenland and Westside Consolidated had all appealed their placement on the distress list, but their appeals were denied by board members Monday. A hearing on the Mineral Springs school district, which had also appealed its placement on the distress list, was tabled until May.

Gentry, a 1,440-student school district, was placed on fiscal distress after state officials reported that the district expected to end the fiscal year with a negative balance of more than $254,000. Greenland was projected to end the year with a $288,971 deficit and Westside Consolidated was projected to have a deficit of $87,061.

Southern’s new approach called for a county-level, bank-centered development strategy that would engage the diverse communities situated around its headquarters in Helena-West Helena, Ark. Southern selected Phillips County, Ark., a highly distressed community deep in the Arkansas Delta, with a poverty rate of 30 percent, one of the highest in the country.

Southern Financial Partners provided funding for the community to hire an outside facilitator to walk the community through a resident-driven community planning process. Lasting more than a year and involving more than 300 residents, the planning process resulted in the Phillips County Strategic Community Plan. A 50-member steering committee unanimously passed the plan in January 2005.

The plan provided more than 40 strategic goals and nearly 200 action steps to help the community turn itself around in economic development, education, housing, health care and local leadership.

One of the key differences in Southern’s approach from typical development plans is that Southern is physically part of the local community, both in its banking and technical support services.

By helping to match community priorities to resources, Southern Financial Partners and the Phillips County community have leveraged more than $58 million for the community development project. Investments include a $25 million biodiesel facility, a $4.5 million new health-and-wellness center, a $1.5 million high-quality affordable housing complex and a public charter school. (The school is KIPP Delta College Preparatory School, where students who once scored in the bottom quartile in testing are now scoring in the top quartile.) While community development is often a process that requires a sustained effort to build momentum, Phillips County is demonstrating that change is possible even in the most distressed communities.

The active involvement of Southern’s banks in the community is a vital ingredient for success. Together, Southern’s banks and nonprofits can convene the business, public and nonprofit communities to address the full range of challenges that constrain a community. The power of the plan is also evident in the fact that the cities of Helena and West Helena set aside historical grievances and merged on Dec. 31, 2005. The combined city’s residents elected a new generation of leaders with the energy to implement a new vision and passed a two-cent sales tax, which really represents concrete evidence that the community is ready to invest in its future.

As the effort in Phillips County continues, Southern is successfully replicating its efforts in Clark County, Ark., and Sunflower County, Miss. The evidence to date demonstrates that a new community development model is emerging.

Ben Steinberg is president of Southern Financial Partners (SFP), a Southern Bancorp affiliate, which provides both comprehensive community development services in Arkansas and development lending in Arkansas and Mississippi. Southern Bancorp is a $575 million multibank holding company. While at SFP, Steinberg has focused on its DeltaBridge Project, a comprehensive community development initiative in Phillips County, Ark., one of the most distressed counties in the country. The project has invested more than $8 million in PhillipsCounty, leveraging more than $58 million in grants and loans for the local community. Steinberg joined SFP after working overseas for 10 years, primarily managing microfinance programs in Central Asia, the former Soviet Union and East Africa. In addition to his work at SFP, Steinberg serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ newly formed Community Development Advisory Council, the Local Advisory Council for the Mid-South Delta LISC and the Delta Cultural Center. In 2007, Steinberg received the Arkansas Business Nonprofit Executive of the Year Award.

Jerry Damerow is Chief Financial Officer of InterveXion Therapeutics LLC, a UAMS Bio-Ventures start-up company that is bringing to market two proposed prescription drugs developed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Damerow’s previous experience includes serving as Associate Director of UAMS BioVentures; as a Managing Partner for Ernst & Young operations in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Southeast Asia; and as a management consultant for early stage businesses.

Damerow’s civic and professional involvement includes serving as a member and past director of the Little Rock Rotary Club; as a University of Arkansas at Little Rock Business Advisory Council member; and as Board member and treasurer of CareLink.

“Jerry’s extensive experience in business and management will make him a tremendous asset to Southern Good Faith Fund’s board,” Duran said.

Kim Evans is a Research Associate and Nonprofit Coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Institute of Government. She coordinates the Nonprofit Management Graduate Certificate Program and directs the UALR Center for Nonprofit Organizations. Her previous experience includes serving as a Project Manager for the Public Education Foundation of Little Rock; an Assistant Attorney General in the Arkansas Attorney General’s Civil Division; and as a Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, and for the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Evans serves on the United Way Heart of Arkansas Board of Directors; as a member of various St. Vincent Health System boards, including the Board of Directors, Women’s Health Advisory Board and Foundation Board; and as a member of the Junior League of Little Rock.

“Kim has a lot to offer as a member of our board, particularly with her range of experience in both the legal arena and academic fields,” Duran said.

Ben Steinberg is President of Southern Financial Partners, a nonprofit lender and community development organization that, like Southern Good Faith Fund, is an affiliated nonprofit of Southern Bancorp. Under Steinberg’s leadership, Southern Financial Partners has helped leverage $58 million in grants, loans and public and private capital to improve life in Phillips County and an additional $8 million in grants, loans, public and private capital in Clark County.

Steinberg in February was named 2007 Nonprofit Executive of the Year by Arkansas Business. He serves on the Phillips County Chamber of Commerce board. He also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Community Development Advisory Council and the advisory boards for the Delta Cultural Center and Mid-South Delta Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which supports community development in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He also is a Rotarian.

“The leadership and vision demonstrated by Ben as President of Southern Financial Partners makes him a natural choice for Southern Good Faith Fund’s board,” Duran said.

Herman Davenport, Principal Consultant, with the Davenport Group, Inc. previously served as Community Affairs Officer for the Levi Strauss Foundation, providing development funding to low-wealth communities and neighborhoods. Davenport, an advocate for economic development, served on the board of the national Rural Community Assistance Partnership. He joined Southern Good Faith Fund’s board in 2002.

“Herman is one of the longest-serving members of our board, and his knowledge of our mission and commitment to building communities have prepared him well to serve as Chairman,” Duran said.

Southern Good Faith Fund achieves its mission of increasing the income and assets of working families in rural communities through the following programs:

• Asset Builders – Helps families achieve their dreams of owning a home, starting a business, or going to college through Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and SEED accounts.
• Business Development Center – Helps aspiring entrepreneurs to start a business or to expand a current business through training, business counseling, and assistance with technical issues, market research, and business plans.
• Career Pathways – Works with local community colleges to help students prepare for and obtain careers in various economic sectors, including business, education, manufacturing, emergency medicine and nursing, and welding.
• Project Deserve - Is a grant program, funded by Entergy and administered by Southern Good Faith Fund, which offers assistance once per calendar year to our elderly and disabled neighbors on fixed incomes.
• Public Policy – Develops policy reports, builds coalitions, and advocates for change at state and federal levels on issues of workforce development, higher education, asset building, small business development, child care work support, and a progressive tax system.

The total budget for the project is $10,000. SFP’s grant will be used to match a $5,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. The project will add a basketball court exclusively for children ages 6 to 13. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and be complete by the fall. Elaine is a city of 865 people located in Phillips County.

Mayor Webster (right) accepting the $5,000 grant check from SFP Community Development Officer Michael Boone (left) with Elaine Park in the background.

“Because of the popularity of basketball at Elaine Park, the existing basketball court is used to capacity by older children and adults,” Black said. “This basketball court will give younger children an opportunity to play on the south end of the park next to the playground and pavilion.”

Elaine Mayor Lucien Webster said the city has a tradition of providing quality recreational activities for youth, but the city’s ability to provide such services has been limited. In 2005, the city acquired 1 acre of land for the park and received a three-year $25,000 matching grant from the state Department of Parks and Tourism to equip the park with a basketball court, pavilion, picnic benches and tables, and a playground.

“The funding of this proposal will allow the city to invest money in proper maintenance equipment for the park,” Webster said. “We are grateful to Southern Financial Partners for providing the matching grant to make this project a reality.”

Contact: Joe Black (870) 816-1113 jblack@southernfp.org

McDaniel said he sent letters to about 60 companies that run 156 payday lending outlets in Arkansas, telling them to cease and desist their practices.

“In addition, I hereby demand you void any and all current and past-due obligations of your borrowers, and refrain from any collection activities related to these payday loans,” McDaniel wrote.

The attorney general said he made the demand on the basis of two recent opinions in which the state Supreme Court found the high interest rates payday lenders’ charge on short-term loans “unconscionable” and deceptive trade practices prohibited by the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

“These businesses will not disappear overnight,” the attorney general said during a news conference Tuesday. “Some will restructure themselves to avoid the law, some will operate without a license, making it more difficult for us to find them. Some will fold and some will fight us in court.”

McDaniel requested written responses from the companies no later than April 4, but said he expected a “long and difficult” legal fight to close the door on the industry in Arkansas.

The next step for payday lenders in Arkansas is uncertain, according to Cheney Pruett, spokesman for the Arkansas Financial Services Association, an industry trade group.

“It’s a little too new for us to respond as to what we will or will not do,” said Pruett, who’s father, Douglas Dwight Pruett, owns Cash Now of Arkansas LLC, a payday lending operation with seven locations in the state.

Cheney Pruett defended the industry, saying there is a demand for it among people who sometimes fall short of cash in between paydays.

An opposition group, Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending, is developing a payday loan alternative - a short-term loan at a reasonable interest rate - that it will shop around to banks and other financial institutions, spokesman Michael Rowett said Tuesday.

The state constitution’s usury provision prohibits anyone from charging more than 17 percent interest. But payday lenders have said the triple-digit interest rates they charge are allowed by the 1999 Check Cashers Act, which says a fee paid for holding a check written before the date it is to be cashed “shall not be deemed interest.”

Arkansas’ highest court addressed the conflict in two opinions this year.

Justices said the 1999 law did not give payday lenders “blanket protection” to exceed the usury limit. Additionally, in both cases, the court ruled that customers can collect the surety bond from a payday lender found to have violated the state constitution’s usury limit.

Todd Turner, an Arkadelp