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Mike Preston: Develop Rural Parts of Arkansas, Improve Workforce

2 min read

Four months on the job, and Mike Preston, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said he has helped to secure 22 new or expanding company contracts for jobs in the state.

Speaking to the Rotary Club of Little Rock on Tuesday, Preston said he “bought into the governor’s vision” before he even began his job, and now has specific goals for the AEDC and the state.

Preston said economic development is often focused on the bigger, metropolitan areas of Arkansas, but other cities need attention.

“We need to make sure we’re paying attention to rural areas of the state,” Preston said. “I want to get out into communities and have them tell me what is important and [the AEDC] will help.”

Preston said there have been seven Fortune 500 companies built in Arkansas — ones whose stories can be told, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tyson Foods Inc. and Dillard’s Inc. Preston said he hopes to use the draw of companies like those and the low cost of doing business in Arkansas to make the state a “business destination” — and not just in the U.S.

“I’m high on Arkansas,” Preston said. “I see us competing with China, Japan and Brazil. It’s a global competition.”

Preston also emphasized the need to expand and improve the state’s workforce. One way they’re working to do that is through Hutchinson’s technology education initiative, which requires all high schools in Arkansas to offer computer science courses. He said the initiative led to meetings with a number of technology companies in Silicon Valley in California, including Facebook and Intel.

Fiscal responsibility is another item on Preston’s agenda, what he called a “core value” for the AEDC. 

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