Energy/Utilities
John Eckart has been promoted to senior vice president of Murphy Oil Corp. after working for the company since 1990. Eckart will continue to serve as the company’s controller and will report to newly appointed Executive Vice President Kevin Fitzgerald.
Financial Services
Andrea Devine of Little Rock has joined Arvest Bank as its newest mortgage lender. Devine will work out of the branch at 13800 Cantrell Road in west Little Rock. She previously worked as a preferred relationship manager in Dallas.
Gary Jones, a principal and broker with Cornerstone Business Advisors, has been designated a Certified Business Intermediary by the International Bus-iness Broker Association. He completed coursework in ethics, financial analysis, business pricing and valuation, legal and taxation and passed the CBI exam to earn the designation. He is one of five in the state to have done so.
Food Services
Chris Kramolis, area developer for Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma, was named the Area Developer of the Year by Tropical Smoothie Cafe for the second time. Kramolis oversees 13 stores and owns the Rodney Parham location in Little Rock. He plans to open several more stores in the first half of this year.
Rob Morris, general manager of Chili’s in Searcy, has been named the General Manager of the Year by Brinker Inter-national Inc. Profits, customer service and community involvement were deciding factors in the contest. Morris will receive the crystal Norman Brinker cup, a one-year lease for a new Lexus and $25,000.
Government
Tim Hutchinson, a former U.S. senator from Arkansas, has been named one of the 30 most influential lobbyists by First Street of CQ Press. Hutchinson is a senior adviser at Dickstein Shapiro LLP’s public policy and law practice and was chosen out of a pool of nearly 13,000 Washington lobbyists.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clay Fowlkes, Kyra Jenner and Candace Taylor and Paralegal Specialist Karen Gentry of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas; Susan Goldsmith, M. Randall Harris, Carl Malloy, Tim Akins, Frances Casteel, Kim Weems, Jeanette Miller and Sherri Funk, all of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; John Bishop of the Arkansas State Police; and Christine Larru and Jane Witten, formerly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Arkansas were recognized by Attorney General Eric Holder and Marshall Jarrett, director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, at the 28th Annual Director’s Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., in December in connection with their investigation and prosecution of Tony Alamo.
Health Care
Virginia Cobb and Walter Nunnelly III, both of Little Rock, Diane Lamberth of Batesville, Charlene Reed of Marianna and Ross Whipple of Arkadelphia have been selected to serve on the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Foundation Fund Board. They will serve three-year terms and may serve up to three terms.
Real Estate
Stacy Johnson Hamil-ton has become Pulaski Heights Realty’s newest executive broker. Johnson has been recognized as an emerging leader by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas.
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