Commission
The Arkansas Economic Development Commission receives direction and guidance from the AEDC Commissioners. The Commission consists of 16 members appointed to four-year terms by the governor. These appointments are made with the advice and consent of the state Senate. At least three members are from each of the four congressional districts and four members are appointed at large.
The structure consists of a chairman and vice chairman of the Commission, an executive committee, a technology growth committee and a bond guaranty/small business loan committee that approves the guaranties of amortization payments on Act 9 bonds, as provided for in the Industrial Revenue Bond Guaranty Law. Currently, the commission's chairman is Steve Ronnel and the vice chair is Ed Drilling.
Stuart Dalrymple
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- President. Dalrymple Commercial and Residential
- President, Dalco Closing and Title Company
- Managing Member, Dalrymple Brothers Investments
- Member, Searcy Regional Economic Development Commission
- Member, International Conference of Shopping Centers
- Certified Commercial Investment Member
- Arkansas Community Development Award Recipient
- Member DEG Realty Advisors
- Member Retail Brokers Network
- Searcy Education Foundation Board Member
Ed Drilling
(Commission Vice Chair)
(Chair, Executive Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- President of AT&T Arkansas
- Chairman of Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce
- Arkansas Children's Hospital Board of Trustees
- UAMS Foundation Fund Board
- University of Arkansas Board of Advisors
- UAMS Arkansas BioVentures Advisory Board
- Simmons First National Corporation Board Director
- Arkansas World Trade Center Board of Directors
- Arkansas Research Alliance Board of Directors
- Accelerate Arkansas Board of Directors
- Former President of Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
- Former President of Fifty for the Future
Steve Edwards

(Executive Committee)
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
- Owner/president of GES; owns and operates Food Giant Supermarkets
- Managing partner of EDPROP Developments Co., LLC, a commercial real-estate company
- Managing partner of Edwards Properties, a residential real estate company
- Member of Ice Timber Company, Warrior Hunting Club, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Kappa Alpha Order Alumni Association, Arkansas Retail Merchants and Grocers Association
- Past director of Marianna-Lee County Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas Delta Commission, past commissioner on Arkansas Aeronautics Commission
Doug Falls
(Executive Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- President of Trinity Lighting, Inc.
- Managing member of Trinity Properties & Investments, Trinity Properties & Investments II, and Trinity Aviation
- Member of MAI Investments
- Board member of the Jonesboro Airport Commission and the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce
- Member of the Jonesboro Economic Development Commission and Jonesboro Unlimited
- Member of the Arkansas State University Red Wolf Club
Mary Ann Greenwood
(Vice Chair, Executive Committee)
(Bond Guaranty / Small Business Loan Committee)
- President of M.A. Greenwood & Associates, Inc.
- Registered Investment Advisor
- President of Greenwood Group Ltd., a pension consulting firm
- Received a BSBA in banking and finance, a MA in economics and a PhD in economics and finance from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- CFA charterholder, a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and a member of the National Association for Business Economics
- Member of the Executive Committee for the University of Arkansas Foundation, Inc.
- Member of the Investment Subcommittee for the NCAA
- Member of the North Arkansas Council
- Founding member of the Towers of Old Main
- Board of Advisors for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus, the Dean's Executive Advisory Board for the Walton College of Business, and the Foundation Board for the Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS in Little Rock
- Member of the Washington Regional Medical Foundation Board and the Cancer Challenge Board
Gene Hill
(Chair, Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Executive Committee)
- President and CEO of Highland Industrial Park in East Camden, Arkansas
- Executive Vice-President of Highland Resources, Inc. in Houston, Texas, the parent company of Highland
- Industrial Park
- President and Director of Highland Deephaven, Ltd. of Evanton, Scotland
- President and Director of Highland North Sea, Ltd. of Evanton, Scotland
- Past President of HITECH, Inc., a Department of Defense contractor and U.S. subsidiary of Daimler Benz Aerospace Corporation (DASA)
- Southern Arkansas University Tech - Foundation Board Member
- Governor's Task Force for the 21st Century Economy MBA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Loutelious Holmes
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- Current Assistant Superintendent of Federal Programs for the West Memphis School District
- More than 40 years of service in the education field
- Board of Directors, Delta Arts
- Board of Directors, Boys and Girls Club of Crittenden County
- Board of Trustees, Mid South Community College
- Board Member, West Memphis Utility Commission
- Former board member of the Arkansas Activities Association, John Gammon Foundation, and Delta Vocational Technical School
- Former member of the West Memphis Industrial Development Board and the Bank of West Memphis Advisory Board
- Distinguished Leadership Award of the Arkansas Academy for Leadership Training and School-Based Management
Thomas J. "Tom" Kirk
(Executive Committee)
(Bond Guaranty / Small Business Loan Committee)
- Chairman and President of Tom Kirk Chevrolet, Inc. and Kirk Equipment Company (John Deere)
- Managing partner of Kirk & Kirk Properties, LLC and Circle "T" Farms
- Past chairman of the Paragould Regional Chamber of Commerce (2007-2008), Economic Development
Corporation of Paragould (2005-2007), Arkansas Methodist Medical Center (1999-2001), Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association (1999-2000) and Mid-South Farm Equipment Dealers Association (1990-1991) - Active member of the Paragould Rotary Club: Chairman (1992-1993), Rotarian of the Year (1994), Citizen of the Year (2000) and Lifetime Achievement Award (2006)
Chester Koprovic
(Executive Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- Board chairman of Boyd Metals, Inc., a metal service center with locations in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma
- Board chairman of B & C of Fort Smith, a general machine and welding shop
- Board chairman of Kopco, Inc., a precision metal fabrication shop
- Board member of Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, Employer Health Coalition, Educational Public Facility in Sebastian County
- Member of Small Business Compliance Panel of Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Manufacturing Executive Association, Noon Exchange Club, Long-Range Planning Committee of First Baptist Church
John "M" Lipton
(Technology Growth Committee)
(Executive Committee)
- Served a 10-year term on the Arkansas State Highway Commission
- Served 12 consecutive terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House (78th Arkansas General Assembly, January 1991)
- Chair, Legislative Audit Committee
- Co-chair, Joint Performance Review Committee
- Appointee of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on the 21-member National Advisory Council in
Vocational Education - Chair, Arkansas Quality Management Board
- Chair, Southeast Arkansas Regional Intermodal Authority
- Chair, Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition Co-chair, Correction Resources Study Commission
Jack A. McNulty
(Executive Committee)
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
- Partner in the Bridges Law Firm in Pine Bluff
- Former president of the Arkansas Bar Association
- Member of the Arkansas Bar Foundation, having served in several offices, including president
- Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
- Former board chairman of Economic Alliance of Jefferson County
- Board member of Jefferson County Industrial Foundation
- Former president of Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce
- Member of Pine Bluff Fifty for the Future Board member of Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce
Shelby Moore

(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- Owner and manager of Moore Properties in Batesville
- Served on the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, Supervisory Board of the Arkansas Crime Commission,
and the Arkansas Claims Commission - Member of the President Council at Lyon College in Batesville B.A. in Business and Economics from Hendrix
College
Mike Roberts

(Chair, Technology Growth Committee)
(Executive Committee)
- Bachelor of science degree from Louisiana State University
- J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law
- President and Managing Partner of Roberts Law Firm, P.A.
- Licensed to practice law in Arkansas, Florida, New York, Tennessee and Texas, and also admitted before
the United States Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court Member of the American Bar Association and the Arkansas Bar Association
Steve Ronnel
(Commission Chair)
(Ex-Officio, Executive Committee)
(Ex-Officio, Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Ex-Officio, Technology Growth Committee)
- Vice President of Metal Recycling Corporation, a family-owned scrap metal recycling business based in Little Rock with recycling operations in North Little Rock and Searcy
- Current Chairman of the Political Animals Club of Little Rock
- Worked in Washington, D.C. for a decade as an advisor to President Bill Clinton and Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty at the White House, as well as former U.S. Senator David Pryor
- Past President of the Arkansas Recyclers Association
- Named to Arkansas Business "40 under 40" list of up-and-coming young professionals
- Graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock Business degree from University of Texas-Austin
Lee Webb, Jr.
(Vice Chair, Technology Growth Committee)
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
- Bachelor of science degree in agriculture from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville
- President of Bellwether Industries Inc.
- President and owner of Webb's Fireworks
- Managing partner for ETF Inc. and Double L Farms
Lang Zimmerman
(Vice Chair, Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)
- Vice President of Yelcot, a family-owned communications company based in Mountain Home providing local exchange telephone, cable television, and internet service to parts of Baxter, Marion, Stone, and Izard counties in north-central Arkansas
- Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Big Creek Golf & Country Club
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Engineering - University of Arkansas 1985
- University of Arkansas Computer Science and Computer Engineering Advisory Board member
- Distinguished Alumni Award - University of Arkansas College of Engineering 2005
- Arkansas Telecommunications Association - Board Member and Past President (2000), Chairman of the Legislative and Regulatory Committee since 2001
- Arkansas Deaf and Hearing Impaired Telecommunications Services Corporation - Board member (2004-2011) and President (2009-2011)
- Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce - Past board member
- North Central Arkansas Regional Economic Development - Past board member
- Arkansas Travel Council - Board Member
- Rotary Club of Mountain Home - Active member and Past President (2002-2003), Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International








