Welcome to the Fayetteville Chamber Blog

BOST, Inc. was founded by a Fort Smith pediatrician, Dr. Roger Bost in 1959.  He wanted to provide a way to empower children with disabilities, so they could grow up to live independent, fulfilling lives.  Little did Dr. Bost know that his idea would now serve over 1,100 children, as well as adults, in 28 Arkansas counties!

When I found out that BOST was having an event in April to help fund their housing project in Rogers, I reached out to BOST Events Coordinator, Alexa Cueto so I could help.  Our local Chambers of Commerce had just joined forces to help BOST break ground for the Rogers Housing Complex on April 14th.  This complex will house 6 adults and will be completed in 2017.  Now they needed to raise money and awareness for this housing complex, and the idea of the Inaugural Chef & Winemakers Dinner was born.

By Samantha White
CGMA Magazine

How often do you really listen to what  your colleague or team member is saying to you?  Faced with multiple deadlines and demands, it can be easy to hear what you expect to hear and seek to move on down your list of tasks, rather than taking the time to listen to what is actually being said.

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By Sabine Vollmer
CGMA Magazine

Email messages have become the primary communication tool in business settings.  But writing an efficient work-related message is easier said than done.

Work email is a waste 17% of the time, according to a survey of about 2,200 CFOs in the US.  Being copied on irrelevant messages (27%), receiving messages that could be better delivered another way (19%) and long, rambling messages (14%) are major culprits, according to the survey, which was conducted by financial staffing firm Robert Half.

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Article written by Jan Cottingham of Arkansas Business Journal.

Two days before journalists reported that Wal-Mart planned to offer two-day delivery service — a retailing model pioneered by Amazon — Matt Waller addressed the importance of understanding retail logistics, e-commerce and the millennial shopper.
The effort has resulted in a robot bustling about on campus and plans for flying drones.

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Written by Chamber Champion: Chung Tan
 
I was pretty excited when the Chamber received a request from the Community Creative Center (CCC) to volunteer at their location.  I have always liked what they are doing in the community through art.  The Center is a visual arts organization that is located in the Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios on W. Spring Street in Fayetteville.  CCC is a nonprofit that provides a full spectrum of visual arts classes to children and adults alongside with specialized workshops, summer, after school and intersession arts camps, and gallery and studio space for local artists.  Classes include clay and ceramics classes, watercolor, mosaic and mixed media arts classes. 
 
My volunteer hours were spent organizing and tidying up its mosaic classroom.  I got to separate the different types of materials such as tiles and glass used to create the mosaic.  I also toured the various classrooms and saw amazing works of art.  The folks at CCC are doing something right and we thank them for adding life to our residents!
 
For more information on CCC, please check out their website at http://communitycreativecenter.org/. To support or to volunteer at the CCC, please contact Barbara Putnam, Executive Director, at  479-571-2706 or barb@communitycreativecenter.org.

Written by Chamber Champion: Brenda Turner

I always wondered what they do at the Community Creative Center.  I had a chance to volunteer in March and April.  When the Center has events, they will have a drawing for a handmade item.  I was there to help log in all the entries for the drawing. 
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The Community Creative Center is a visual arts organization located in Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios.  CCC provides a full spectrum of visual arts classes to children and adults along with specialized workshops, summer, after school and intersession arts camps, and gallery and studio space for local artist.

I walked in at the right time to catch Faith Nelson, Education Program Manager spinning clay on the wheel.  You can tell she really enjoys making pottery and she is breathe of fresh air to work with.
If you are wanting to do something different with family, friends or by yourself, check out the CCC website at www.communitycreativecenter.org or call them at 571-2706.

John James is passionate about the myriad challenges and limited opportunities of turning an idea into a multi-million dollar enterprise in Arkansas.  He's done it before, is doing it now, and says more should be done by governments and the business community to foster startup success.  Michael Tilley of Talk Business & Politics sat down and visited with John for this cover story.

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