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The Arkansas CARES Act Steering Committee, established in 2020 to distribute $1.25 billion that the state government received as part of federal coronavirus relief legislation, appropriated $48 million for the Business Interruption Grant program to assist the service and hospitality industries.
Administered by the state Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Department of Finance & Administration, the BIG program awarded all but 11 cents of its appropriation to 2,136 businesses out of 3,118 applications received during the application period in November. The recipients were announced on Dec. 23.
The BIG program was limited to businesses with 250 or fewer employees in the personal care, tourism, travel, recreation and hospitality industries. The grants reimbursed a portion of eligible expenses associated with COVID-19 mitigation or government directives.
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Janet Stovall (on screen), a senior client strategist at NeuroLeadership Institute, talks to Little Rock Soirée Publisher Mandy Richardson about how organizations can best address issues of race in the workplace. (
Sarah Oden)
Barbara Sugg, CEO of Southwest Power Pool of Little Rock, presented key ways to assemble a successful leadership team. (
Sarah Oden)
Little Rock Soirée Publisher Mandy Richardson talks with Randi Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook Live, during the morning keynote session. (
Sarah Oden)
Little Rock Soirée Publisher Mandy Richardson (center) moderates a panel called How to Have the Hard Conversation. Panelists were: (left to right) Tamika S. Edwards of Central Arkansas Water, Esperanza Massana-Crane of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Martie North of Simmons Bank and attorney Zara Abbasi Wilkerson, owner of ZaraMadeIt. (
Send Windsor Door plans to add a third production line and a second shift at its Little Rock manufacturing plant, aiming to hire 42 people to meet commercial and residential demand.
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Tyson Foods To Significantly Invest In Arkansas Poultry Production Facility
Tyson Foods will invest $48M as part of its commitment to accelerate long-term growth of its poultry plant in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The company plans to create nearly 70 jobs by late 2021.
According to company officials, the project will increase capacity to the plant’s fully cooked processing lines that in part produces chicken tenders, chicken strips, boneless and bone-in wings and air-fried products. The investment will also add automated processes to product packing lines.
“The demand for convenient, high-quality chicken products continues to grow and we’re investing in projects that meet the needs of our customers and consumers,” said Donnie King, COO and Group President, Poultry for Tyson Foods. “We’d like to thank the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County for their assistance and support of this project.”
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Ceramics manufacturer CoorsTek Inc. announced Monday a $9 million expansion of its 230,000-SF manufacturing facility in Benton that will create 50 jobs.
The new investment comes a year after the company completed a $26M expansion that expanded its manufacturing capabilities for the aerospace and defense markets.
The latest expansion adds to those capabilities, the company said in a news release. The expansion of our Benton facility is a key step in our long-term strategy for CoorsTek supporting the evolution and innovation in the defense and aerospace markets, Co-CEO Jonathan Coors said in the release. Benton has long been an important manufacturing hub for us, and the support and partnership we have experienced from both local and state governments has been a driving factor in our desire for continued investment in Arkansas.