Stone Ward

Stone Ward, the Little Rock marketing agency known for its creative work and “Building Good” ethic, doesn’t mind reports that its office has gone to the dogs.

Pets roaming the halls, a break room brimming with human treats and weekly trivia and miniature basketball games energize its Markham Street headquarters, routinely honored as “a great place to work.” A third of the firm’s 52 employees have been there a decade or more.

For the folks with their names on the door, Larry Stone and Millie Ward, devotion is professional and personal. After years as colleagues, they married in 1999. “Inquiring minds,” Ward replied jovially when asked about the anniversary. “What a wonderful 20 years it has been.”

“Last year was a momentous year for us,” said Ward, the company president. Stone is its creative executive and CEO.

With the “Building Good” mindset supporting an atmosphere of good partnerships, maximizing potential and giving back to the community, Stone Ward boasts that 30% of its 52 employees have worked there a decade or more; many clients are longstanding.

Last year it was listed by Inc. magazine as one of the best places to work in the marketing business, 12th among more than 70 ranked firms. “The annual list is based on trust, management, perks and employee confidence, and Stone Ward was the only Arkansas company included,” she said.

The firm started as Resnick Stone Ward in 1984 in what Stone describes as a “forlorn area of downtown Little Rock.” He laughed when an acquaintance joked that in those days, the now-popular tourist area was so rough that a person would be more likely to get murdered than get a cocktail. But big clients came, including Nickelodeon and TCBY. Terminix pest control and a slew of banks, including Worthen, joined the parade.

In 2007, Stone Ward opened its Chicago office, which brought in accounts like Snap-on Tools and U.S. Soccer. In 2010, the firm acquired the Allison Agency, and in 2017 Stone and Ward were inducted into the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame. “It’s been fulfilling and fun,” said Ward, wearing her perpetual smile. “And we’re still having fun.”

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