Arkansas Economic Development Commission

The 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 John Burkhalter and the vice chair is Tom Kirk.

List of current commissioners:

Joe Black

(Executive Committee)

  • Senior Vice President Southern Financial Partners
  • Treasurer and Board member of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Coalition
  • Contract service provider US Treasury Department
  • Board member CHRISTUS Health Community Direct Investment Fund
  • Board member National Community Development Bankers Association
  • Fannie Mae Advisory Committee on development in the Delta

John Burkhalter  

John Burkhalter

(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Bus Loan Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)

  • President Burkhalter Technologies
  • Burkhalter Leasing
  • Burkhalter Consulting Engineers
  • Managing Partner of Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Properties
  • Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, University of Arkansas
  • Professional Engineer
  • Board Member Pathfinder Schools

bruce burrow  

Bruce Burrow

(Executive Committee)

  • Principal of MBC Holdings, LLC®
  • President of Realty Associates Development Group
  • Chairman of Burrow-Halsey Realty Group, Inc.
  • First Community Bank, Craighead County Jail, Jonesboro Unlimited, Arkansas State University Foundation, Craighead Nursing Center Board of Directors
  • Editorial Advisory/Shopping Center Business Magazine
  • State Director of International Council of Shopping Centers
  • Cardiology Associates Foundation
  • Founder of National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives

Graham Catlett 

S. Graham Catlett

(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Bus Loan Committee)
(Technology Growth Committee)

  • Managing Partner, Catlet Law Firm, PLC
  • Managing Partner, The Tower Building
  • President, Catlett, Inc.
  • Attorney/Certified Public Accountant
  • Vice Chairman, US Commerce Dept. District Export Council

Steve Edwards

(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
Mary Ann Greenwood

Mary Ann Greenwood

(Chairman, Bond Guaranty / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Executuve 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

Paul Harvel

(Technology Growth Committee)

  • President & CEO of Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas  
  • Past President & CEO of Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce (1985-2006)
  • Past Executive Director of Fifty for the Future
  • Formed Metro Little Rock Alliance (MLRA)
  • 2006 recipient of U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business development Agency Regional Director’s Advocacy Award
  • 2005 recipient of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives prestigious Chairman’s Award (designates top chamber executive in the nation for the year)
  • Past President and Board Member of Arkansas Chamber of Commerce Executives
  • Member: Southern Chamber of Commerce Executives, American Economic Development Council, Southern Industrial Development Council, Arkansas Industrial Development Association, Committee of 100 (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
  • Past CEO of Chambers of Commerce in El Dorado; Enid, Oklahoma; Midland, Texas; and Amarillo, Texas

Gene Hill  

Gene Hill

(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Bus Loan 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

Tom Kirk  

Thomas J. "Tom" Kirk

(Chairman, Executive Committee)
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Bus 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

(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Bus Loan 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

 JohLipton.jpg 

John "M" Lipton

(Chairman, Technology Growth Committee) 
(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan 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

Franklin McLarty

(Executive Committee)

  • Vice President and Board Member of McLarty Companies, a fourth generation transportation firm and holding company
  • Vice President McLarty Landers Automotive Group, an automotive retail concern with operations throughout the south central U.S.
  • Board member of Brazil American Auto Group
  • Advisory Board of The Seaway Group

Jack A. McNulty

(Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan Committee)
(Vice Chairman, Executive 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

Mike Roberts

(Executive Committee)

  

Steve Ronnel

(Vice Chairman, Bond Guaranty Committee / Small Business Loan 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.

(Executive Committee)