Grant will allow chamber larger role in economic growth

BENTONVILLE — The Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce launched on Friday an economic development initiative with the help of a Walton Family Foundation grant.

Graham Cobb, chamber president and CEO, would not provide the amount of the three-year grant, but said it will allow the chamber to play a larger role in economic development in Bentonville, which has been kept low-key by limited funding.

“This gives us the bandwidth to do more,” he said. “This allows us to beta test some ideas. We’re learning to fish, here. We’re not just given fish.”

Bentonville is the only one of the region’s four largest cities that doesn’t contract with the local chamber for economic development services. It did not renew its annual $100,000 contract in 2016 after a 2015 Pulaski County court ruling that said it’s illegal for cities to contract with chambers or other economic development groups if the use of the money cannot be accounted for.

The city, however, has been referring economic development inquiries to the chamber since two of the city’s economic development leaders — Troy Galloway and Brian Bahr — went on military leave late last summer leaving the Planning

Department’s resources are limited, said Mayor Bob McCaslin.

“We had to prioritize our tasks,” he said. “We have deferred that over to the chamber because we know that they have the best interest of our community at large in mind.”

McCaslin said he didn’t want to weigh in on whether the city would contract with the chamber again. He has said he will not seek re-election this fall.

“I would leave that for those who have far more legal understanding,” he said.

The new initiative will use data analysis to identify entrepreneurs who already have a vested interest in “quality of place differentiators” that Bentonville is becoming known for, Cobb said. They include amenities like the trail system and aspects like the arts, culture and culinary scenes.

The marketing effort will focus on attraction, retention and development of businesses to help Bentonville compete for emerging industries.

The program shares some recommendations of the Bentonville Blueprint, the city’s five-year economic development

plan adopted in 2015, but it’s not a stop gap for the city’s stressed Economic Development Department, Cobb said.

“At the end of the day, we want people to move here for the quality of life,” Cobb said. Those invited to come don’t necessarily have to fit in with the vendor community or serve Walmart. The initiative will bring talent and industry to Northwest Arkansas. “This, to me, is a step toward diversifying the economy.”

Diversifying the economy is one of the recommendations of the Bentonville Blueprint. The plan also suggests Bentonville position itself as an entrepreneurial hub, develop entrepreneurial programming and identify industries — such as retail technology and digital marketing — that have potential.

The program also will allow the chamber to connect small businesses and startup companies to resources in Northwest Arkansas to help them grow, Cobb said. It will enhance existing programs, like the Young Entrepreneur’s Academy, the NWA Women’s Conference and NWA Tech Summit, as well as develop new programming, he said.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are at the center of creating a more economically diverse region, said Jeff Amerine, founding principal of Startup Junkie Consulting.

Northwest Arkansas was “pretty much a wilderness” 10 years ago when it came to an entrepreneurial culture, he said, explaining the focus was real estate and geographic expansion of large businesses. Now, there’s support organizations, events and a community for entrepreneurs and innovators. Startup Junkie, for instance, hosts more than 200 events a year.

“We’re on the right track, but there’s a lot more yet to do,” Amerine said of the entrepreneurial scene today, adding it’s beneficial when other agencies like chambers, universities and foundations get involved in various ways.