Arkansas Business

Buckley O'Mell

If you enjoy what you do, then you will never work a day in your life, or so the saying goes. For Buckley O'Mell, a real estate broker at Flake & Kelley Commercial, the saying rings true.

"Work is fun," O'Mell, 32, said. "Getting to take part in shaping the landscape of the community" is what he truly enjoys about what he does both in his work and community involvement, he said.

In addition to representing various corporate clients, including Panera Bread and Starbucks, for the past four years, O'Mell has been managing the 82-acre retail development of The Village at Brodie Creek at the intersection of Col. Glenn Road and Interstate 430.

"The scope and impact [that project will have] on that intersection is pretty massive," he said.

Business was in his heart from an early age, but O'Mell didn't become sure about exactly what he wanted to do until, while attending law school at the University of Arkansas, he took a summer clerkship that turned into a two-year crash course in real estate at Wal-Mart Realty.

Outside of work O'Mell stays busy with community work. He is an active member of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Create Little Rock, the chamber's young professionals group.

He is also a firm supporter of the city's park system and was recently appointed to the Little Rock Parks & Recreation Commission. He serves with the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and the MacArthur Park revitalization group, where he is the fundraising chairman for a dog-park project.