
Best Nobel Laureate
The best Nobel laureate, at least from Arkansas, would undoubtedly be John Jumper, who also happens to be the first and — so far — only Nobel laureate from Arkansas. Jumper, who grew up on 10 acres just outside of Little Rock and is a 2003 graduate of Pulaski Academy, won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Jumper is now the director of Google DeepMind, a British-American artificial intelligence research laboratory based in London.
Worst Marketing Hype
Leaving millions of dollars in judgments and debt in its wake, Joseph Blake Smith’s SQRL C-store chain failed in spectacular fashion to live up to its marketing hype as the “world-class leading gas station and convenience store company” that is “revolutionizing the convenience store industry through laser-precision tactical service models.”
Best Host
There was a solar eclipse totality in Arkansas on April 8 and Russellville was right in the middle of it.
Arkansas Tech University hosted 24 scientists from the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, as well as three astronomers from the Paris Observatory who all wanted a front-row seat for the show. ATU President Russell Jones said the university also rented 185 spots in its parking lots for eclipse watchers.
Of course, there was a bit of a circus atmosphere too. The city had a mass-wedding ceremony for hundreds of couples who tied the knot during the eclipse.
Worst Heartbreak
An Arkansas businessman sued a Las Vegas exotic dancer, alleging that she left him with heartache and a multimillion-dollar hole in his bank account.
Fred Michael Brunner said in a lawsuit filed in Washington County Circuit Court that during the decade-long relationship with Melanie Beth Sterling, he lavished her with more than $3 million, a $720,000 Las Vegas house and trips. He is suing to get his money back and alleging fraud and breach of contract, among other allegations.
Brunner “apparently believes” that because he was generous with his gifts to Sterling, “that she was obligated to be available to him and remain committed to him until he decided otherwise,” Sterling’s court filing said. “Ms. Sterling is not his possession, though he has treated her as such.”
She denied any wrongdoing and the case was pending as of last week.
Best Takeoff
The federal government approved $300 million for a makeover at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith.
The base’s renovation is expected to cost $750 million and is needed for it to host the 10-year Foreign Military Sales pilot training program. The program will train foreign pilots from countries that have purchased F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
Worst Year for a Bank
Evolve Bank & Trust of West Memphis faced a series of disasters in 2024. In June, the Federal Reserve issued an enforcement action over deficiencies in the bank’s risk management. Days later, the LockBit ransomware group breached the bank’s systems, stealing customers’ Social Security numbers and account information, eventually leaking the data.
The fallout included multiple class-action lawsuits and a dramatic drop in trust assets under management. Evolve is also still dealing with ongoing issues from the bankruptcy of former partner Synapse.
The bank is approaching its centennial in 2025.
Worst Razorback Loss
After losing a football game to Missouri on Nov. 30, the Arkansas Razorbacks lost a companion of over 40 years, revered sports writer Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Holt collapsed at the stadium in Columbia after the game and died in the hospital a few days later. Managing Editor Alyson Hoge described Holt’s death on the job: “He was the last person walking up to the press box, and when somebody went looking for him, emergency personnel were trying to revive him. Bob was a graduate of the University of Missouri, and I thought it was notable that he was there, and doing what he had loved doing for more than 40 years.”
Best Green Steel Hub
Arkansas is pioneering a steel revolution in Mississippi County. While steel manufacturing traditionally produces a large chunk of global carbon emissions, Arkansas mills are making it cleaner. Nucor-Yamato pioneered using recycled scrap metal for structural beams back in 1992, Big River Steel became the nation’s first LEED-certified steel mill, and newcomer Hybar is building a $700 million facility that is set to be North America’s greenest rebar producer.
Worst New Digital Skills
Facing a rise of sophisticated hackers, nearly every sector in Arkansas faced a breach or ransomware attack in 2024, with Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Encore Bank, Evolve Bank & Trust and Arisa Health all disclosing cybersecurity incidents.
Worst Medical School News
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences reported a decline in applications to its OB-GYN residency program, following a trend for states with abortion bans.
Arkansas’ abortion ban took effect on June 24, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, putting an end to the legal protections for abortion.
The number of applications for UAMS’ OB-GYN residency program was 390 in the 2022-2023 academic year. The number fell to 319 a year later.
And for the 2024-2025 school year, the number of applications was 263, a 32.6% decrease from two years ago.
Best Use of a 2nd Chance
After a Vietnamese anti-aircraft round blew the B-52 he was navigating from the sky just before Christmas in 1972, Capt. Robert G. Certain’s life changed immediately, and then gradually.
Previously stationed at Blytheville Air Force Base and married to an Arkansan, Certain was held as a POW for 100 days after bailing out, but the Christmas bombing missions drew the Vietnamese back to the peace table, and Certain got a new lease on life. The Air Force sent him to seminary as a duty assignment, and he spent the next five decades as an Episcopal chaplain and priest.
Worst Timeline
The $187.3 million Interstate 30 widening project in Saline County was supposed to be completed way back in 2022, but repeated delays and problems dogged construction until the Arkansas Department of Transportation threatened to find the contractor, Johnson Bros. of Grapevine, Texas, in default.
ARDOT’s action came after citizens’ complaints, most notably from Hot Springs, which found its tourism affected by the traffic hassles. ARDOT’s threat of default apparently worked as the officials said construction improved significantly and the project was nearly finished as this edition went to press.
Best Continuation of an Arkansas Business Story
A few months after Arkansas Business reported the case of the Bentonville pediatric therapy clinic owner Anthony Christopher and the years of personal and legal chaos that ensued after he hired and then fired LaDonna Humphrey in 2018, a true-crime podcast called “Pretend” started a new season about Humphrey.
Over the course of the season called “Who’s Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey,” host Javier Leiva interviewed Humphrey’s former colleagues, friends and family about her.
One allegation included Humphrey’s use of anonymous emails and text messages to terrorize a professional associate. Humphrey denied sending the messages, claiming that her computer had been hacked.
In October, Leiva said on Facebook that the podcast series has had more than 1 million downloads.
Best Historic Proposal
Plans to bring new life to Little Rock’s Woodruff House are taking shape for co-owners Steve Gardner and Gabe Holmstrom. A nine-apartment configuration is under consideration for the 7,000-SF residence, built in 1853 for William E. Woodruff, founder of the Arkansas Gazette.
Worst Legal Consistency
Just days after hailing a settlement setting a 23.4% natural gas rate increase for Summit Utilities as the best deal possible for Arkansas ratepayers, Attorney General Tim Griffin drastically changed his position. After state lawmakers lambasted the increase, Griffin tried to back out of the deal, but couldn’t. Public Service Commissioner Justin Tate, an attorney, said it was too late for Griffin to have “the equivalent of buyer’s remorse.” The commission unanimously approved the rate on Nov. 21, but delayed half of its effect until spring.
Best Outdoor Project
The U.S. Forest Service announced its intention to issue a special use permit allowing the development of up to 100 miles of hiking-biking trails in an 8,832-acre patch of the Ouachita National Forest between Queen Wilhelmina State Park and Mena’s Ward Lake Park. Arkansas State Parks will be overseeing the project, which includes three mountain bike lifts.
Worst Local Control Irony
When voters statewide approved Ballot Issue 2 in November, they gave a victory to Local Voters in Charge, the measure’s sponsor. The 56%-44% vote amended the state Constitution to void a casino license for Pope County. In the 2018 vote that authorized casinos in Hot Springs, West Memphis, Pine Bluff and Russellville, voters from only one of those counties — Pope — rejected the measure. That led Local Voters in Charge to argue a casino was being forced on the county.
Ironically, in November, Pope County voters rejected Issue 2, 56%-44%, choosing to keep Cherokee Nation Businesses’ plans for a casino on track. But they discovered they weren’t in charge. Because of the statewide vote, the casino plan was all but dead.
Best Storm Recovery News
Of all the Little Rock properties damaged by 2023’s March 31 tornado, Pavilion in the Park has battled through perhaps the most daunting recovery. Work to restore the project’s complicated roofing system of concrete tiles and custom-glass skylight plus finish interior upgrades is moving toward a 2025 completion, with a tab rising north of $10 million.
Best AI Debut
John Brown University in Siloam Springs, became the first in-state higher education institution to offer a bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence beginning in the fall of 2024.
JBU, a private Christian university, began offering a minor in AI the previous year. School officials said it is the first Christian university to offer a degree in AI, which is predicted to become a $1.3 trillion industry by 2032.
Worst Weed Hype
Hemp was touted as a miracle crop for Arkansas farmers when it became legal to grow in 2019, but the reality has proved quite different. Licensed farmers have dropped from 125 in the first year to just 13 as of this past August.
Licenses for hemp processors dropped from 35 to 4.
Best Emergency Response
When the parent company of Wadley Regional Medical Center in Hope said it planned to sell its portfolio of hospitals as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, a local ambulance and health services provider rushed to help.
Pafford Medical Services Inc. of Hope agreed to buy the 79-bed hospital. Pafford, through its entity called Pafford Health Systems Inc., agreed to pay $200,000 and assume some liabilities to acquire the hospital from its parent company, Steward Health Care System LLC of Dallas, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on May 6.
Hempstead County and the city of Hope also pledged $1 million each to buy the hospital’s real estate from Medical Properties Trust Inc. of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Hempstead County Economic Development is a partner in the project as well.
In September, a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the hospital.
Worst Irrevocable Credit
A December 2023 decision became rueful for Greenbrier’s First Service Bank after issuing SQRL Holdings a $6 million irrevocable standby letter of credit to secure deliveries from World Fuel Services Inc. of Miami. Four months after the deal was struck, Joseph Blake Smith’s convenience store chain was in default and owing more than $6 million. The World Fuel-First Service tussle over a payout ensued.
Best News for Dental Students
The Lyon College School of Dental Medicine said it expects to see its first students in June 2025 and then watch them graduate three years later — a year earlier than most dental programs.
The three-year program is designed to save students money as they won’t have to pay for a fourth year of tuition.
Lyon College of Batesville announced the plan for the dental school, along with a veterinary school, in April 2022. After a proposal to place the schools on the Little Rock campus of Heifer International fell apart in November 2023, Lyon said that the veterinary school will be in Cabot and the dental school will be in Little Rock at 5 Allied Drive in the Riverdale neighborhood. n
Best Reason to Own Dillard’s Stock
In November, Dillard’s Inc. of Little Rock announced that the retailer’s board declared a special dividend of $25 per share on the Class A and Class B common stock of the company. That’s the largest amount in the company’s history.
The dividend will be paid on Jan. 6 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 13.
Best Jekyll and Hyde Act
As CEO of both Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp., Vernon “Buddy” Hasten takes opposite approaches to each. At AECC, he channels the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll, keeping revenue down, because it comes from members who use cooperative power. At AECI, however, he takes on the role of the rapacious Mr. Hyde, working to drive up revenue — a task the not-for-profit operation performed admirably in 2023, recording its best year ever with $1.99 billion compared with the previous year’s $1.16 billion.
Best Testament of Faith
Matt Jones, president of Legacy Capital Partners, described a wealth management tool that lets clients use their one-time tax exemption for gifts and still maintain a measure of control over the assets they give away. But it requires a lot of faith in your better half. It’s a spousal lifetime access trust. “Technically, the individual loses access, but as long as you’re in a stable marriage and you’re comfortable with your spouse being the beneficiary … you can access the funds through your spouse.”