Benton Proud
With its efforts to improve the downtown area, the city of Benton is sharing what residents feel about the place they call home.
Benton Director of Marketing and Special Events, Lea Canady, has been reaching out to local business owners, residents and shoppers to hear how they feel about their home and why others should consider becoming Benton Proud.
Local resident Tia Wind moved to the area 11 years ago after her husband was transferred to North Little Rock for his work.“we wanted a community with a quaint downtown, like the one where we were raised in Lincoln, Illinois,” Wind said. “We drove through several surrounding towns looking for a downtown square, but a lot of the communities surrounding Little Rock don’t have them. But when we drove through Benton, we knew. 11 years later and our little downtown has transformed. Slowly, it’s waking up and we love being a part of it.”
Wind added that there is still work to be done in the downtown area, but that the improvements that have been made from when her family first moved here have been wonderful.
“We have a ways to go,” Wind said. “Buildings still need facelifts, wires need to be buried, sidewalks widened and hopefully back to two way traffic, but compared to when we moved, it’s night and day. Benton is full of potential.”
Burger Shack owner Luke Mooney told Canady he loves to call Benton home because it’s where his restaurant is located while workers at the downtown Benton location of Baja Grill like the fact that they can work close to where they live and can be near near their families.
“Benton has my heart,” said Lindsay Jordan. “We are a strong, proud community that takes care of one another the best we can.”
Michael Sacomani, owner of Saline River Canoe has also made his home and planted his business in the area.
“I live, play and work here,” Sacamoni said. “I love the community we have; it’s like my Camelot. It doesn’t matter where I go, I run into folks I know and we take time to chat. Benton is my home. Benton is where my heart is.”
One worker at Helping Hands worker told Canday that Benton is where the love of their life lives and that they call this place so
they can be with them.
Another resident told Canady that they moved to Benton 1. because it was just the right size to have good amenities like restaurants, shopping and parks but also great home prices and low crime rate. They also praised the Benton School District
“The area is small enough that is a tightly knit community,” the resident said. “For me, Benton is just the right balance of commerce buzzing through it but with woods and a beautiful, playable river on its edge.”
With features such as an extensive parks and recreation system, the city offer a number of areas for residents to relax and play.
Residents also said that the city fosters a small-town feel with big-city amenities. “We love and call Benton home because this is where we have chosen to raise our family, plant our business, serve in our church and community and invest in relationships and people that live here,” one resident told Canady. “We have friendships that have grown here within our community that will last a lifetime. Everywhere you go from the grocery store to the local restaurant you see friends and those in the community you’ve grown to love and cherish. I love the community events Benton has and to see how it’s growing and how businesses are investing in making our community better. There is so much we love about our community.”