2010-10 faulkner county business journal

This November’s election has been one of the most politicized, advertized and scrutinized in decades. Voters have been overwhelmed with televi-sion ads and direct mail. However, two issues that could affect voters more than who their next Senator or Con-gressman is have gone mostly un-noticed. That has some local leaders very concerned.

TWO ITEMS THAT MAY GO OVERLOOKED, PAGE 5

Issuesunnoticed

FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL | 3

W elcome to the second is-sue of the Faulkner County Business Journal.

As an “early adopter” of this pub-lication I hope you see improvement and value in every issue. This month’s Journal promises to not disappoint. Our feature story is on Arkansas Constitu-tional Issues 2 and 3. With the Novem-ber election approaching, we thought it was important to shed some light on

these two lesser known ballot ques-tions. We also get a look behind the scenes at one of Conway most excit-ing new businesses, First Orion. In two years, First Orion has carved a place for themselves in the smartphone app market. Finally, we take a moment to preview two of the Chamber’s highest profile events. Taste of Conway and Business Expo. The two events take place on Oct. 26 and 27 at the new Faulkner County Fairgrounds. There is

still time for your business to participate in Faulkner County’s largest business event. This year we’ve got something for everyone whether you’re a business owner, employee or just a neighbor in Faulkner County. With these stories and more we hope to give you the most in depth look at Arkansas’s most exciting economy. Enjoy.

BRAD LACYPRESIDENT, CONWAY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Technology, poliTics, food and more

Days LakeGentry Lake Robins Lake

Laurel Park

Mountain View Park

Airport Park

Gatlin Park

Fifth Avenue Park

CollegeHendrix

Central ArkansasUniversity Of

Baptist CollegeCentral

Cantrell FieldDennis F

ClubValley GolfCentennial

Cadron ValleyCountry Club

ClubCountryConway

Oak Grove Cemetery

Tyle

r St

Skyline Dr

E Oak St

S Sa

lem

Rd

Caldwell St

S Harkrider St

Oak St

Don

aghe

y Av

eD

onag

hey

AveMeadowlake Rd

Highway 60 W

Sale

m R

d

Harkrider St

Prince St

Old Morrilton Hwy

Dave Ward Dr

E Oak St60

365

266

286

60

60

286

286

65

64

65

65

65

65

64

64

64

65

40

40

Brumley

Gleason

1125 Charlotte Cir.

384 Pippinpost Dr.

1040 Georgetown Dr.

730 Slope Dr.

1305 Josita Circle

1045 Burrow Ave.

14 Summerland Ct.

TOP 5 RESIDENTIAL hOmE SALES IN fAuLkNER cOuNTy - SEPTEmbER 2010Price Address Bed Bath HBA Subdivision Sq. Ft. $/Sq. Ft. Built City$650,000.00 384 Pippinpost Dr. 5 6 0 Pippinpost 5,800 116.38 1993 Conway$336,231.00 1045 Burrow Ave. 3 2 1 The Village at Hendrix 2,102 159.96 2010 Conway$290,000.00 1040 Georgetown 4 3 1 Chestnut Meadows 2,804 106.63 2008 Conway$267,000.00 730 Slope Dr. 4 3 0 Saddletop 2,797 96.17 1993 Conway$266,000.00 1305 Josita Circle 4 2 1 Catherine Place 2,747 97.56 2006 Conway

4 | FAULKNER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

The current economic slowdown has displaced a record number of workers nationwide. Central Arkan-sas has not been immune to the job losses. This had one Conway organi-zation feeling the impact in a big way.

The Conway Adult Education Center is an organization dedicated to the phi-losophy of life-long learning. Their goal is to meet the challenges of change by helping adults and families become more functional and productive through education and training. Through workforce development programs like Career Readiness Certification and

Technology Certification, CAEC helps workers in transition find their best place in the local economy.

Ruth Ann Williams, director of the CAEC, said layoffs from regional employers created an overwhelming demand for CAEC’s services. “The number of dislocated workers coming

to our WAGE Training center created a situation where we needed waiting lists.

“The majority of people were coming from manufacturing plants such as SAS and IC. The employees needed to change their career paths. Therefore, we needed computers to assist more people,” she said.

That is where the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the Con-way Development Corporation stepped in. In May, the CAEC put to use 10 new Hewlett-Packard workstations purchased with a $10,000 joint grant from the Chamber Education Com-mittee and the Conway Development Corporation.

Brad Lacy, President of the Cham-ber, said he viewed the $10,000 as an investment rather than a gift. “CAEC fills a crucial role in our local economy. Making sure they have the tools they need to train and retrain our workforce is an obviously important part of our economic development strategy.”

According to Williams, the worksta-tions have been in constant use since they came online.

“Many of our students have found jobs using their new skills, and many have entered postsecondary school. It’s been wonderful. We’ve had such a demand for our services. I don’t know how we would have handled it without the computers.”

parTnership benefiTs TransiTioning workersDisplaced workers from IC and SAS use new HP workstations at Conway Adult Education provided by a grant from the Conway Chamber and Conway Development Corpora-tion.

STEPPING INIn May, the Conway Adult Education Center put to use 10 new Hewlett-Packard workstations purchased with a $10,000 joint grant from the Chamber Education Committee and the Conway Development Corpora-tion.

This November’s election has been one of the most politicized, advertized and scrutinized in decades. Voters have been overwhelmed with televi-sion ads and direct mail. However, two issues that could affect voters more than who their next Senator or Congressman is have gone mostly unnoticed. That has some local lead-ers very concerned.

The issues at hand are two amend-ments to our state constitution. They each impact in some way the ability for public bodies to bond finance large projects. Without their passage, many say infrastructure development and cor-responding job growth in Arkansas will be at a standstill.

Issue No. 2Issue No. 2 is an amendment to the

state constitution’s laws on usury and interest rates. The amendment would remove the existing method of deter-mining the interest rate cap on all gov-ernmental bonds and loans. Tax-backed municipal bonds are responsible for the majority of municipal capital projects in Conway. These are things like streets and fire and police stations.

Tax-backed bonds are currently lim-ited to interest rates only 2 percentage points above the Federal discount rate. That rate is at a historic low. This has created a situation where public bonds in Arkansas have become difficult, if not impossible, to sell. The impact has been a virtual moratorium on locally financed public investment.

Conway Mayor Tab Townsell says the halt in construction isn’t because of economic woes, but because of statu-tory restrictions. “No city or county has issued tax-based bonds in two years. Conway has the means to help itself, if it weren’t for these super restrictive state usury laws. We could raise $40 million in new revenue without raising taxes. We wouldn’t need the federal government’s stimulus plan. We could lift ourselves by our own bootstraps.”

While they face the most restrictive guidelines, municipal governments are far from the only organizations that rely on bond financing for public necessi-

ties. Any public bonds paid back with revenue other than taxes are also tied to below market rates. Conway Cor-poration is currently planning a new wastewater treatment facility to replace the Stone Dam facility and accommo-date growth.

The project is currently scheduled to go to bid in mid-2011.

Unpredictable bond markets and interest rates have Conway Corp. CEO Richie Arnold on edge. “Without passage of Issue 2, it is possible that we would be unable to raise the funds necessary to complete this important project.”

Arnold says the alternative is to utilize debt with “shorter maturities which re-quire higher than desired retail rates.”

Issue No. 3In 2004, voters overwhelmingly

passed an economic development in-centive known as Amendment 82. That incentive allowed the state to issue bonds to recruit companies that cre-ated 500 jobs and made a $500 million capital investment. The incentive was designed mainly to attract automotive

manufacturers. Since its passage it has never been used.

Issue No. 3 seeks to give the Gover-nor and the Legislature the authority to issue bonds to recruit companies and remove the requirements job creation and capital investment restrictions. It offers the state much greater flexibility while preserving the existing cap on the annual amount of money that can be dedicated to bond repayment. The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce recently identified 25 major economic development projects that landed in Arkansas’s border states. These were all projects that Arkansas competed for unsuccessfully.

Together these projects created more than 10,000 jobs and represented $4.5 billion in investment.

Conway Area Chamber President Brad Lacy says now is the time to change the incentive. “Arkansas is los-ing economic development projects to surrounding states. They have bonding tools and flexibility that aren’t available to us. History shows, that when Arkan-sas has the opportunity to compete on equal footing, we win more than our share.”

Two voTing issues ThaT may go unnoTiced in november


There are Chambers of Commerce around the country that chomp at the bit to inject themselves into every political race. That hasn’t been our model and we don’t expect that to change. However, when we can fill the role of educating voters about little known, but very important, issues affecting their economic security we feel a responsibility to speak.

Issue No. 2 is an amendment that will allow communities to help themselves. Currently, antiquated state finance laws combined with a modern day reinvention of federal interest rate policy prevents cities like ours from in-vesting in their own infrastructure, using their own money. In plain speak, state law keeps public bond rates so low that no one wants to buy them. They are so low, in fact, that they jeopardize our ability to take on any signifi-cant public repair or construction projects. Things like streets, wastewater facilities, fire stations. Necessities. Passing Issue No. 2 will allow public bonds to be issued at competi-tive rates. It will let communities build the infrastructure and facilities they need to not only survive, but thrive.

Issue No. 3 will give Arkansas the same tools to compete for jobs that neighboring states have had for years. In 2004, Arkan-sans overwhelmingly voted for Amendment 82. Amendment 82 gave our state the ability to issue bonds for large economic develop-ment projects. Really large projects. So large that this incentive has never been used. Meanwhile, no less than 25 companies have invested over $4.5 billion and created over 10,000 jobs in our bordering states because they are able to compete for smaller invest-ment, but equal impact projects. Passing Issue No. 3 will remove the current invest-ment threshold that is honestly unrealistic. Arkansas’s state government will have an economic development incentive they can use.

We don’t doubt that voters from either party will go to the polls with newfound energy and purpose this November. Please save some of that energy for these important issues that don’t necessarily lead the ballot. The combination of these two amendments passing gives Conway and Arkansas the abil-ity to prepare for economic growth strategi-cally and compete for jobs tactically. That is how job creation works. That is why we ask you to vote FOR state Issues No. 2 and 3 on November 2nd.

We Wouldn’t Ask if it WAsn’t importAnt


This October 26th and 27th Faulkner County’s business com-munity will have an opportunity to “explore” the local economy like never before. Chamber VP of Opera-tions Bart Shaw says that this year’s Business Expo and Taste of Conway will take on an “Explore” theme that complements the size of the event and the 2010 presenting sponsor, Chesapeake Energy.

“Chesapeake is a leader in gas exploration. Our local economy has grown to a size where it takes events like these just to keep up with new business opportunities. Explore is an invitation to small businesses, job seekers, entrepreneurs and residents to participate.”

Business Expo and Taste of Conway outgrew the Don Owen center just in time to take advantage of the new Faulkner County Fairgrounds Exhibi-tion Hall. The 40,000+ square foot facility gives Business Expo almost unlimited opportunities to expand the footprint of the expo and programming. Shaw expects over 100 exhibitors for the Expo and close to 1,000 attendees

for Taste of Conway. He also says that he hopes this year’s event won’t just be bigger, but better. “We’ve added so many facets to these two events. Taste of Conway will have more restaurants and more interactive, creative displays than ever before. We’re going to an-nounce the results of the Conway2025 plan at our first ever Business Expo Breakfast. The expo itself will have a

full slate of programs and some sur-prises as well.”

The Business Expo will kick off at 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 26th with the Taste of Conway event. Attendees are able to sample featured selections from over 30 area restaurants and cater-ers. The event takes place in the midst of Business Expo booths and offers exhibitors an opportunity to showcase

their business in a fun, casual setting. Wednesday will start with an 8 a.m.

breakfast for community members and exhibitors. This year the Conway2025 strategic plan will be released during the breakfast. Attendees will be the first to see the results of the yearlong planning effort. At 9:00 the formal expo begins. Throughout the day there will be speakers and panels on issues affecting small business. Chesapeake Energy will be on hand to talk about the business opportunities related to Compressed Natural Gas engines. They will have on hand a “chopper” that was featured on the hit television show “Orange County Choppers.” The cycle runs on compressed natural gas. Chesapeake will be joined by more than 100 other exhibitors from all sec-tors of central Arkansas’s economy.

Tickets to Taste of Conway are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets to the breakfast announcing Conway2025 results are $10. They are available at the Conway Area Chamber of Com-merce. Attendance to Business Expo is free. Businesses interested in having a booth at Business Expo should e-mail [email protected] or call the Chamber at 501.327.7788. For more information, visit www.ConwayArkan-sas.org.

new locaTion, programming and sponsor in sTore for conway business expo

The Chamber Expects more than 100 business to participate in this year’s Business Expo on Oct. 26 and 27.

More than 30 area restaurants and caterers are scheduled to participate in the 2010 Taste of Conway. Tickets are available at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.


BY ROGER LEWIS

The gas exploration industry has an annual im-pact exceeding $115 million on Faulkner County’s economy in terms of employment, taxes, pay-ments to vendors and royalties. It is a buffer that has helped keep Faulkner County from sliding into the national recession.

The estimated $115 million for 2010 consists of $70 million in wages, $12 million in purchases of goods and services, $7.7 million in Ad Valorem taxes, $428,000 in severance taxes and $25 million in royalties to mineral rights owners.

Considering that Conway is the trade center for Cleburne, Conway and Van Buren counties, where the majority of the wells are located, much of the economic gains in those counties finds it way to Faulkner County further surpassing the estimated $115 million impact.

WaGESAccording to the Arkansas Department of Work-

force Services, there are 35 firms in the Natural Re-sources and Mining sector in business in Faulkner County, employing an average of 770 employees with a weekly wage average of $1,678. It is the highest weekly wage of any business segment in the county. This amounts to a weekly payroll of $1.3 million and an annual payroll of approximately $70 million.

InduStRY SuppLIERS and SERvIcESThere are countless other employees serving the

industry through contracted services and suppli-ers. Data for the amount that the firms engaged in gas exploration spend on goods and services in the county are not available. The amount of money is formidable and I’m going to roughly estimate it to be around $12 million annually.

ad vaLOREm taxESAd valorem taxes are taxes paid on the assessed

value of property. The value of natural gas produced, transmission lines, real estate and personal property owned by the gas exploration companies are all sub-ject to ad valorem taxes.

The tax rate in Faulkner County varies by school district and city. They range from 42.2 to 53.7 mils (total of county, city and school district). An average of 50 mils is used for calculations in this article.

The assessed value of gas produced in Faulkner County for 2010 to date is $19,384,110. A projected value for all of 2010 is $30 million. The taxes on $30 million at 50 mils, is $1.5 million. The majority of the tax revenue goes to Greenbrier and Quitman school districts where most of the wells are located

in Faulkner County.The assessed value of the transmission lines is

$13.6 million and the tax revenue on these lines is $681,000.

Personal property, essentially machinery and equipment, owned by this industry is assessed at $54 million. The tax revenue on this is $2.65 million.

Most of the trucks are leased by the exploration companies and the personal property tax paid by leasing companies is not identified as to the lessee.

Real estate owned by the industry is assessed at $5.7 million by the County Assessor’s office with es-timated taxes of $285,000. The majority of this real estate is located in Conway, and the city, school dis-trict and county are all recipients of this tax revenue.

Southwest Energy is building their regional office in The Village at Hendrix with an estimated cost of $14 million. The taxes on this building are estimated at $140 thousand and will not be paid until 2012.

Altogether, ad valorem taxes paid by this industry in Faulkner County are estimated at $7.7 million for 2010.

ROYaLtIESOwners of the mineral rights are paid a royalty on

gas produced. The minimum royalty rate, by law, is 12.5 percent of the wellhead price. Many have nego-tiated rates of 15 percent and higher.

The well head price of natural gas has been se-verely depressed, and the monthly average of $4.40 per thousand cubic feet for 2010 is down from $8.07 for 2008. The estimated wellhead value for natural gas production in Faulkner County for 2010 is $180 million. Royalties’ on this production at 12.5% is $22.5 million, and at 15% it is $27 million. We will use $25 million as the estimated figure.

SEvERancE taxThe severance tax on natural gas was increased

by the Arkansas legislature in 2008 from three tenths of one cent (.003) per thousand cubic feet to 5 per-cent of the well head price with provision for a lower rate for the first 24 to 36 months. The severance tax revenue in 2008, under the old rate was $1.3 million. For 2010 the revenue is projected to be $55 million.

Ninety-five percent of the severance tax revenue goes to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD). By law, AHTD must distribute 30 percent of revenues to cities and counties for roads and transportation.

The formula for distribution differs for counties and cities. The city of Conway will receive an esti-mated $218,000, other municipalities in Faulkner County will receive $41,000 and Faulkner County will receive $169,000 in 2010 for a grand total of $428,000.

More information on the impact of the Fayetteville Shale can be found at Pulse of Conway website, pulseofconway.com.

f’ville shale exploraTion boosTs faulkner economy

unemployment RateJuly 2010

US ....................................9.5%Arkansas ...........................7.4%Faulkner County ............. 7.5%Conway .............................6.4%

Labor ForceJuly 2010conway

Employed .......................25,674Unemployed ....................1,753Total ...............................27,427

Faulkner county*Employed .......................51,525Unemployed ....................4,150Total ...............................55,675*Includes Conway

Sales tax collectionsconway*

June2010........................$1,829,2782009........................$1,753,505Percent Change 4.3%

total Year to date (June)

2010 .....................$10,662,2062009 .................... $10,140,174Percent Change: 5.2%*Tax Rate 1.75%

Faulkner county*June

2010...........................$668,6122009...........................$689,479Percent Change -3.0%

total Year to date (June)2010........................$3,731,7692009 .......................$3,775,880Percent Change -.1.2%*Tax Rate 0.5%

Restaurant SalesJuly

2010 .................... $11,707,4072009......................$10,978,330Percent Change 6.2%

Sales year to date (July) 2010......................$80,311,9312009 .....................$76,674,525Percent Change 4.8%*Includes Alcoholic Beverages

Hotel Sales (July)2010........................$1,543,5282009 ...................... $1,406,913Percent Change 0.9%

Sales Year to date (July)2010......................$10,835,9362009..................... $10,375,531Percent Change 3.6%

Building permitsSingle Family Residents

Year to date through august2010 ...................... 175 permits

2009 ..................... 198 permitsPercent Change 3.2%

total for the Year2009 ..................... 259 Permits2008 ..................... 192 PermitsPercent Change 34.9%

average construction costYear to date (august)*

2010.......................... $172,4782009...........................$176,662Percent Change -5.9%*Not including land or lot improvements

average Square FootageYear to date (august)*

2010 ..........................2,6302009 ..........................2,583Percent Change: 3%* Total under Roof

Lottery SalesFaulkner county

August ......................$1,322,82From Inception* ....$17,141,758Per Capita ...................$160.47

total StateAugust .................$34,963,177From Inception* ..$442,844,870Per Capita ....................$155.09* Lottery began Sept. 28, 2009

natural GasWellhead price per mcF*

august2010 ......................... $4.222009.......................... $3.142008 ......................... $8.32

Yearly average2009 ......................... $3.712008.......................... $8.072007.......................... $6.372006 ......................... $6.402005 ......................... $7.332004 ......................... $5.462003 ......................... $4.882002 ......................... $2.95*1000 cubic feet

number of Wells*Faulkner County .................215Total in Field ...................2,866*As of Aug. 19, 2010

Estimated Life timevalue of production*

Total Field ........$6,255,299,107*As of June 10, 2010

natural Gas Severancetax distribution

conwaySeptember ...................$17,597Year to date .................163,316

Faulkner countySeptember ...................$13,662Year to date ...............$126,563

Information provided by pulseofconway.com

Conway Economy at a Glance

area family dining specials


MONDAYSDenny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under) eat free *4-9 p.m.

Gusano’s Pizzeria2915 Dave Ward Dr., Suite 7329-1100Kids get 8-inch pepperoni or cheese pizza, drink included for $1.99 with purchase of adult entrée

Mazzio’s Italian Eatery2475 Washington Ave.327-67032 FREE kids meals with purchase of a 2 or more topping large pizza from the regular menu.

4 FREE kids meals with purchase of two large pizzas with 2 or more toppings *After 4 p.m.

Shorty Smalls1475 Hogan Lane, Suite 123764-1845Kids eat FREE*3-10 p.m. (close)

The Fish House116 South Harkrider St.327-9901Kids eat FREE with purchase of adult din-ner *After 4 p.m.

Stoby’s Restaurant805 Donaghey Ave.327-5447Kids eat FREE with purchase of adult entree *4-11 p.m. (close)*Limit two kids per adult

Stromboli’s2665 Donaghey Ave.,Suite 101327-3700Kids (12 and under) eat FREE with pur-chase of adult entrée*Dine-in only

TUESDAYSDenny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under)

eat free *4-9 p.m.

Gusano’s Pizzeria2915 Dave Ward Dr., Suite 7329-1100Kids get 8-inch pepperoni or cheese pizza, drink included for $1.99 with purchase of adult entrée



The Fish House116 South Harkrider St.327-9901Kids eat FREE with purchase of adult din-ner *After 4 p.m.

Stoby’s Restaurant805 Donaghey Ave.327-5447Kids eat FREE with purchase of adult entree *4-11 p.m. (close)*Limit two kids per adult

WEDNESDAYSDenny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under) eat free *4-9 p.m.



Stromboli’s2665 Donaghey Ave.,Suite 101327-3700Kids (12 and under) eat FREE with pur-chase of adult entrée*Dine-in only

THURSDAYSDenny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under) eat free *4-9 p.m.



Moe’s Southwest Grill625 Salem Rd., Suite 9336-6500Kids eat FREE with purchase of an adult entrée *Dine-in only

FRIDAYSDenny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under) eat free *4-9 p.m.



SATURDAYSDenny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under) eat free *4-9 p.m.



Oak Street Bistro800 Fourth Ave.450-9908Kids eat FREE all day

Pizza Inn - Hogan815 Hogan Rd., Suite 1327-1900Pizza Inn - Oak724 Oak St.329-3881Kids eat at buffet for $0.99*11a.m.-2 p.m.and 5-9 p.m.

SUNDAYS

Denny’s Restaurant815 East Oak Street329-6638Kids (10 and under) eat free *4-9 p.m.



Oak Street Bistro800 Fourth Ave.450-9908Kids eat FREE all day

Lenny’s Sub Shop605 Salem Rd., Suite 9336-8813Kids eat FREE*Two children per adult

Smoothie King985 Carson Cv., Suite D336-9555Kids get FREE smoothieswith purchase of adult smoothie *Noon-4 p.m.

f’ville shale exploraTion boosTs faulkner economy


What kind of company is First Orion? We are a privacy company dedicated to providing

consumers with Privacy, Protection and Preference on all their phones. We started with the smartphone world but will soon be available on Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP).

When did First Orion open for business?Feel free to include any “milestone dates.” Official

business operations commenced on August 1, 2008 right here in Conway. A significant milestone was December 15, 2009 when we released the first ver-sion of PrivacyStar. February 19, 2010 was huge as we were featured for the first time by RIM (maker of Blackberry).

Since that time we’ve been a featured app 12 times. August 5, 2010 – we released the Android version of PrivacyStar and featured Caller ID for users. Septem-ber 3, 2010 – we released our Super App for Black-Berry which leveraged BlackBerry new Push Platform technology and added other enhancements.

Describe is the relationship between First Orion and PrivacyStar?

PrivacyStar is our service. First Orion is the cor-porate entity. We have started using PrivacyStar as our main name as our customers recognize it much easier.

How has the launch of PrivacyStar gone?

We’ve got over 300,000 registered users, filed over 70,000 complaints for our users with the FTC and CRTC. And, we’ve done over 4 million caller look-ups to identify calling numbers for our users. The Caller ID feature on Android and select BlackBerry smart-phones is awesome.

How can people get PrivacyStar protection on their phone?

Download PrivacyStar by visiting our website, App World for BlackBerry users or the “Market” for android users. It is easy and only takes a minute to download and register.

Why locate in Conway, Arkansas?

The technical skills needed for our business are available here in Conway. As our business grows, Conway will continue to offer all skill sets needed, including technical, sales, customer service, etc. Con-

way is unique in that the pool of technical companies and the job availability continues to generate a very skilled work force.

What are the next steps for First Orion?We will implement PrivacyStar on our third platform

– the new windows 7 mobile platform that will be soon be available. Also, our implementation on a VOIP platform will be either by year end or first quarter. Ad-

ditionally, expansion in other geographies will begin soon. However, critical for our long-term success is the continued enhancements to our service – such as address book protection and synchronization, SMS blocking, Caller ID for all smartphones, etc.

How many employees does First Orion cur-rently have?

13 employees.

local company is emerging as a maJor player in The ‘app’ indusTry

FCBJ had the opportunity to interview Jeff Stal-naker, CEO and President of First Orion. First Orion is a two-year-old technology company headquar-tered in Conway.

Jeff Stalnaker, President and CEO of First Orion, says their PrivacyStar smartphone app has been downloaded by over 300,000 users.

pattiCakes Bakery


whaT’s ThaT gonna be?PattiCakes is a “scratch bakery dedicated to serving desserts reminiscent of a visit to Grandma’s.” It is also the des-

sert and baked goods supplier for Stoby’s restaurants in Russellville and Conway. This is their second location. They will be open Tuesday-Friday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. PattiCakes will offer pastries, cookies, fudge, celebration cakes and a small take-out deli section. For more info visit www.pattiCakesbakery.net.

n Where is that? pattiCakes is located at 2106 Robinson Ave.,

behind Stoby’s restaurant.

n When will it be completed?

pattiCakes expects to be open by early November

n Who’s building it? pattiCakes is operated by Patti Stobaugh. Moix

Construction is the general contractor on this 1,400-square-foot remodel.

2010-10 faulkner county business journal

Documents

taste of conway

business owner

business expo

conway organization

conway adult education

catherine place

months journal

josita circle1045 burrow