Editor’s Note: “The Economic Development Side” originally appears in the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce’s weekly member e-newsletter. It is written by Rhonda Dishner, the Economic Development Alliance’s executive assistant.
How many meetings can one person have in a single day? Answer: Quite a few if the person is Lou Ann Nisbett, president of the Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County.
Last Wednesday was one of those days.
Her calendar was nearly back-to-back in scheduled meetings and conference calls. And that’s not counting the unscheduled communications.
Her scheduled events included an 8 a.m., a 9 a.m., a 10 a.m., a trip to Little Rock for a 11:30 a.m. luncheon that ended at 1 p.m., and a 3 p.m. back in Pine Bluff. Most of these were related to economic development projects. When the 10 a.m. meeting was postponed at the last minute, that time slot was used to prepare for other meetings.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Little Rock event was the annual luncheon for two non-profit organizations that support economic development efforts in the state: the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation, established in 1955; and the Arkansas Industrial and Economic Development Foundation, begun in 2011. The latter supports activities of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission—or AEDC.
Estimated attendance at the luncheon was 650. John Furner, president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club, was the keynote speaker.
Among other comments, Furner talked about an ongoing transformation at Sam’s Club, which he said is finding new ways to innovate with regards to products and ways to shop. The company’s target market is families that are focused on products and price, he said. He also emphasized the importance of STEM education for jobs of the future, and urged preparation because “there are jobs that will be gone.”
AEDC Commissioner Steve Lux, formerly of Pine Bluff, is AEDC’s current chairman. Nisbett reported an after-lunch “great discussion” with Lux about some of Jefferson County’s major projects. She also spoke with numerous colleagues from around the state, and had the opportunity to discuss local projects with at least two people from state agencies.
“I actually got a lot of work done at that luncheon,” Nisbett observed later. “At every turn or glance around the room, I saw another person that I needed to ask a question or catch up with about the status of a project.”