Some months back, several standing banners appeared in the offices of Arkansas Business Publishing Group — quotes from JFK, Vince Lombardi and the like. At first I dismissed them as the kind of rah-rah stuff aimed at salespeople, not cynical journalist types like me, but some of them have started to grow on me.

One of them is an unattributed list of “10 Things That Require Zero Talent”: being on time, work ethic, effort, body language, energy, attitude, passion, being coachable, doing extra, being prepared.

Now, the cynic in me wants to point out that there are people — even people who have boasted of great success and developed large popular followings — who display few of those abilities. The kind of person who isn’t coachable because he’s already the greatest at everything, even things he’s never attempted. The kind of person who can’t control his body language even when it matters, who finds it impossible to prepare even for the biggest tests of his life.

For the rest of us mere mortals, these are known as “soft skills” — learned behaviors that are important in all business settings and which add tremendous value to harder skills and innate talent.

Most of us who have been in the workplace for a while have encountered the most frustrating kind of co-worker: the one whose hard skills are good, or good enough, but whose soft skills create tension. Years ago, I worked with a talented reporter whose attitude was so poor, so combative, so toxic that several of us literally cheered when our editor announced that he had been fired. The news product suffered slightly and temporarily while his replacement got up to speed, but the work environment improved tremendously and permanently.

In this issue, we’ve taken a look at the problem of the “skills gap,” the catch-all phrase being used to describe the problem employers are having in finding the right employees to fill the jobs that are available. While nothing we’ve written is remotely like “breaking news,” the experts our reporters consulted with may at least validate what the Arkansas Business audience is experiencing on the front line. And maybe there are some tips here that can help you find better candidates in the first place and then make them more productive sooner.

One of the articles, No Surprise: Higher Pay Helps Attract, Retain Employees, is the one that managers are most loath to accept: You get what you pay for. During the Great Recession, people only left jobs involuntarily. Few businesses were hiring, so you could count on keeping your best people without having to fight off poachers. Or, if you were hiring, you could count on having the field wide open. (I personally waded through 105 resumes for a single job opening on my reporting staff a few years back, a truly humbling exercise.)

But those days are over, thank goodness. Unemployment is low nationally and even lower in Arkansas. The Census Bureau’s report that median household income surged by a record 5.2 percent in 2015 has been heralded in ways that make me uncomfortable — most Americans did not get a raise that big — but it certainly is more evidence that the fundamentals of supply and demand are changing the job market.

Which reminds me of another one of the signs in our office, a quote from John F. Kennedy:

“Change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”

My favorite of the signs is a long quote from Theodore Roosevelt, one I’ve read many times before but which has taken on new meaning in this ugly political season — and in an age when those of us who put our names on our work are regularly attacked online by those who have only the fierce courage of anonymity:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Gwen Moritz is editor of Arkansas Business. Email her at GMoritz@ABPG.com.

It seems to be a common complaint: Online employee recruitment efforts produce lots of resumes but few great prospects.

PC Magazine reported last month that the percentage of new hires coming from job boards and board aggregator sites has dropped to between 27 percent and 37 percent as the job market has tightened.

And, even more ominously, recruitment software maker Lever looked at 4 million “candidate considerations” during the 12 months that ended in July and found that only 1 in 100 candidates gets hired. The ratio is slightly lower at small companies and slightly higher at larger ones, but 52 percent of candidates who applied directly through a company’s website or online job posting were “underqualified,” Lever said.

Automated job-match programs — like Monster, Indeed, Glassdoor, Career Builder, Dice and the state-run Arkansas JobLink — are still useful, but experts say employers have to use them smartly to get the best results. And that starts with knowing what you want.

To avoid poor yields from the automated programs, employers should be specific and share the culture of their companies when posting jobs on online boards, experts told Arkansas Business.

“Company job descriptions should be more specific about telling who you are as a company and the types of people who will be successful,” said Cameron Smith of Cameron Smith & Associates in Rogers, an executive recruitment firm.

He also said employers should keep track of real metrics that gauge whether candidates are taking desirable actions so they know what content is resonating with job seekers. “It helps you to see what is working and what isn’t and how you can improve if something isn’t working.”

But there is point at which an ad can be too specific, Allison Ramsey warned. She said it could have the adverse effect of not attracting enough applicants.

“I wish I had the magic answer,” said Ramsey, who has been a local area manager for Staffmark of Cincinnati since 1993 and is communications director for the Arkansas Society for Human Resource Management State Council.

Accurate and complete job descriptions are also necessary to ensure that posting on boards is helping an employer, said Daryl Bassett, director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

The department operates Arkansas JobLink, an online job bank that also receives postings daily from the national Labor Exchange, other states’ job banks and USAjob.gov. The service is free to employers and job seekers.

Bassett said some 290,000 local and national job openings have been posted with Arkansas JobLink so far this year, and the most common mistake he sees employers make is submitting incomplete descriptions with erroneous or missing salary information. “These errors could lead to missing matches with potentially good candidates,” he said. “Additionally, some employers fill job ads with a list of ideal requirements most applicants won’t meet, resulting in low match rates and fewer candidates.”

Bassett said employers should work with their local workforce center to improve job postings, while Ramsey suggested listing mandatory and desired skills separately.

But Ramsey also finds fault with flawed filtering systems and job seekers being indiscriminate.

Ramsey said job boards search for keywords in postings. Job seekers are notified of openings posted that have those keywords in them and simply click yes to submit a resume without reading or only skimming the description. For example, Ramsey said, “I’ll post a job for a plant manager, and I’ll get a guy who has worked at Taco Bell.”

The other side of that, she said, is that, with a low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent, the few who aren’t working may be jobless because they have few job skills. As a result, they apply for jobs for which they are unqualified.

Arkansas JobLink uses the keyword-based filtering Ramsey mentioned. Bassett said it searches resumes for keywords, and job seekers whose resumes have that keyword are automatically notified of the posting. But he said this saves both employers and job seekers time.

The job bank also uses the Transferable Occupational Relationship Quotient, a software system that identifies and matches skills to related occupations and industries to expand and target job search opportunities. The system puts postings from other job banks into Arkansas JobLink and Arkansas JobLink postings into other online job banks, too.

Despite their flaws, Ramsey said job boards reach more people than traditional methods, and a 2014 Collegefeed survey of 15,000 young job-seekers backs up that statement. The survey concluded that around 70 percent of millennials say they hear about companies through friends and job boards.

Job boards are also beneficial because they can help fill non-specialized positions quickly, Smith said.

Ramsey added that posting openings online is cheaper than print help-wanted ads. The cost to post might be about $1,200 of the $4,000-$6,000 companies spend on recruiting, she said.

According to the PC Magazine article, job boards still represent 60 to 80 percent of what small companies spend on recruiting. Ramsey said the rest of her estimate is the cost of time spent searching for the right person.

And time is money, Ramsey said, so companies should post a job as soon as a position is available and leave it up for at least 30 days.

Social Media Aids in Recruiting
Bassett, of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, finds that efforts “to reach and attract young job seekers must include a robust use of social media in today’s society.”

Putting the word out that way, however, means employees must be prepared to receive responses by private message on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And Smith said engaging social media posts must include visuals. “Some companies have real, authentic photos and videos on their corporate websites,” Smith said. “Don’t just say what makes your company a great place to work; show it.”

Comparing Job Posting Costs
Online sites vary widely in pricing, features offered

	Glassdoor offers employers the ability to post 10 jobs for seven days for free. Then they can get a customized quote by contacting the sales department. Options include purchasing a customized company profile on the site, a single job posting or job slots that can be reused and display advertising that targets the best candidates.
	Monster offers one 30-day job posting for $299 to $599. The most expensive option includes advertising on other sites, 20 free auto-matched resumes, targeting through social media and the ability to search and find people by location and to email up to 200 directly. There are also discounts for bulk puchases.
	Single job posting pricing on CareerBuilder begins at $419 for 30 days, with discounts for the advanced purchase of more than one posting. All postings purchased must be used within 12 months. The posting will also appear in searches within a 30-mile radius of the city and ZIP code the employer selects as the location of the job.
	Simply Hired has been acquired by Recruit Holdings Co. of Tokyo, which also owns Indeed. While employers can post jobs for free to both, a paid listing is more prominently displayed. Employers can choose their own budget and pay each time someone clicks on their post.
	LinkedIn sells a 30-day job posting for $199, a five-job pack at a 22 percent discount and a 10-job pack at a 37 percent savings. Employers can also sponsor a post for an additional price per click and budget that they choose. The minimum bid per click is $1. The minimum total budget is $50.
	Dice caters to technical and engineering professionals with a 30-day single posting for $395. Prices go as low as $250 for five-10 postings. Premium products, like 60-day postings, require employers to contact the sales department.
	Craigslist charges anywhere from $15-$75 for a 30-day posting, depending on the location selected. Listings are posted in reverse chronological order, so a job an employer posts might get buried in just a few days and not show up until the job seekers have seen several pages of newer postings.
	Facebook offers those who operate pages, like businesses, the ability to boost a post for a minimum daily budget of $1 for up 14 days. Facebook says that post will reach 67-180 people. A company’s reach goes up the more it chooses to pay. It can reach a targeted audience, people who like the company’s page or people who like its page and their friends.

Bank-owned real estate gave Today’s Bank of Huntsville a winning edge in the regulatory-mandated sale of Allied Bank of Mulberry (Crawford County).

Today’s bid 77.24 percent of the book value of Allied’s OREO, property recovered that secured bad loans.

That line item added $7 million to the kitty based on Allied’s June 30 call report. The nearly insolvent $66.3-million asset lender recorded OREO of $9.1 million at the time.

The OREO component — that’s “other real estate owned” — separated Today’s winning bid of a negative $6.14 million from the pack.

Lenders that submitted bids for Allied to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. included Chambers Bank of Danville, First Community Bank of Batesville, Grand Savings Bank of Grove, Oklahoma, and State Bank of Texas in Dallas.

Last week we told you that two other lenders expressed interest in Allied Bank: Centennial Bank of Conway and FNBC Bank of Ash Flat.

Seeking Recompense
Arkansas bank watchers will no doubt recall that Chambers Bank was the leading creditor of Allied’s bankrupt parent company: Acme Holding Co.

Chambers held two loans totaling more than $4.5 million and secured by Acme’s ownership of Allied Bank.

In connection with one of those loans, Chambers landed a $2 million summary judgment in Yell County Circuit Court on July 15 against Lex and Ellen Golden, who personally guaranteed the debt.

In its collection efforts, Chambers last month garnished an $886 paycheck, one of Lex Golden’s last paydays at Allied.

Golden held the title of special assets manager with the bank and was the long-time CEO before that. His family controlled Acme and Allied until the FDIC stepped in last month.

C Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Chambers Bank, also held a $1.4 million delinquent loan claim against Acme.

Hildene Asset Management, representing the holders of trust-preferred securities, held a claim of more than $3 million against the Acme.

James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, says one hike to a key interest rate is all that's needed right now.

Bullard's comments, delivered yesterday at the University of Arkansas, echo his previous statements on monetary policy.

Bullard's address focused on a single equation he said can "describe much of the state of the current monetary policy debate" and "how the St. Louis Fed’s new approach fits within this one-equation format."

"The bottom line," according to Bullard, is that "low interest rates are likely to continue to be the norm over the next two to three years."

Analysts widely expect the Fed to raise interest rates before the end of the year.

More: You read Bullard's complete speech, see his Powerpoint presentation and read the news release about his UA appearance right here.

Mark and Diane Ross have given $1 million to The Baptist Preparatory School of Little Rock, officials said Tuesday.

The money will go toward the private school's capital campaign, which aims to pay for expansions and renovations at its upper and lower schools.

"Mark and Dianne Ross have a longstanding and special relationship to Baptist Prep," Laura Bednar, the head of school, said in a news release. "Their generous donation is the largest in our school’s 36-year history and will touch the lives of all our students."

The money will support $2.6 million in projects:

• A multi-use athletic practice and performing arts center at the Upper School.
• Facility renovations at the Upper School.
• An 8,000-SF artificial grass turf activity field at the Lower School.
• Playground renovations at the Lower School.
• Outdoor classroom and amphitheater at Lower School.
• Safety and security upgrades in the Lower School.

"We were blessed to have had the opportunity to send both of our children to Baptist Prep, where they received a great education in a Christ-centered environment, helping prepare them for their life’s journey," Mark Ross, a former COO and board member at Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock, said in a news release. 

"Baptist Prep continues to do a wonderful job preparing young men and women to live lives that make a difference, lives of courage and integrity," Dianne Ross said.

The Christian, college-preparatory school said the new multi-use building will serve as an athletic training and practice facility for the basketball and volleyball programs. It will also host the band, choral performances and theatrical productions. 

LITTLE ROCK - An Arkansas lawmaker says he'll file legislation next year to cut income taxes by $105 million, a move he says would benefit nearly 600,000 taxpayers in the state.

Republican Sen. Bart Hester announced Wednesday he's working on legislation that would ensure wage earners making less than $21,000 a year in gross income would no longer have to pay state income taxes. He said his proposal will also cut taxes for those making between $35,000 and $50,000 a year and would give an additional 1 percent reduction in income taxes for first-year teachers and police officers.

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said he'll propose another income tax cut next year, but has not said how much it'll be. Lawmakers last year approved Hutchinson's $102 million income tax cut.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Two Financial Centre at 10825 Financial Centre Parkway in west Little Rock sold for $11.3 million to local investment group Two Financial Centre Holding Co., the Kelley family and the Flake family.

The four-story office building is 124,904 SF and has a 33,088-SF underground parking garage. The property purchased is 3.83 acres, and the sale closed on Tuesday. 

Two Financial Centre and its sister properties, One Financial Centre and Three Financial Centre, were built in the 1970s on pastureland by Financial Centre Corp. before other buildings like the Simmons Tower existed to dominate the city's skyline.

Flake & Kelley Commercial CEO Hank Kelley represented the buyers, and Jim Bendall of Two Financial Operating Associates represented the seller, Two Financial Operating Associates LP. 

"This is, we think, a strategic location for central Arkansas…," Kelley told Arkansas Business. "For us, it's just further investment in Little Rock and our belief that we can take the property and, over time, improve it, and make it a class A building based upon its location."

He added that the location is good for an office complex not only because of nearby restaurants, hotels and hospitals but also because traffic has been moving smoothly through the new Big Rock Interchange. 

Kelley also said the company's management team would work to increase the operational efficiency of the building, how it looks and modernize it but run it as a local owner receptive and responsive to tenants. 

Jim Cargill is a fourth-generation banker who began his career at his family’s bank in Lewisville. Cargill has been with Arvest for more than 30 years, where he is currently president & CEO of Arvest Bank-Central Arkansas.

Cargill attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he majored in finance and banking. He is a graduate of the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Commercial Lending and of the Professional Master of Banking Program at the Graduate School of Banking, Louisiana State University.

Arvest’s central Arkansas market holds $1.4 billion in deposits and includes 31 branches in five counties.

Arvest has traditionally been less concerned about “efficiency” than the other big banks in Arkansas. What’s different about Arvest’s model than, say, Bank of the Ozarks and Centennial Bank?

It’s important to remember that the efficiency ratio is driven by both revenue and expense. We work to align with our customers in both areas, and although it can be more expensive, it’s the right decision for us and our customers.

For example, Arvest operates under customer-focused hours because those times are designed around our customers’ patterns and needs. Additionally, our overdraft fees are half of those of our competitors and among the lowest in the nation. Both of those practices are expensive, but they are based on analysis of our customers.

Is Arvest looking to expand in central Arkansas, or do you see this as a mature market?

Arvest has been in an expansion mode since the Bank of Bentonville was acquired in 1961. We never cease to look for opportunities within our existing or adjacent markets to expand and serve more customers. When I began my career with Arvest, we were composed of four banks in northwest Arkansas. Today, we operate more than 260 bank branches across four states.

One of the greatest growth opportunities for Arvest as a bank group is within central Arkansas. Even though we are the leading mortgage lender in the state, we realize there are still opportunities for growth. In addition, we are seeing growth in our wealth management division and continue to work to build on our other banking services. It’s important, too, not to correlate “expansion” with the number of physical branches. Robust and expanded services within each branch, in addition to enhancing existing channels for mobile and online banking, expand the delivery of services to customers and cater to their banking preferences.

What’s your biggest concern about the Arkansas economy?

Many areas of our state are enjoying very strong economic growth, but there are always some that are affected by the cyclical nature of specific industries, such as timber, farming and oil, just to name a few. We’ve learned through the Arvest Consumer Sentiment Survey and the Arkansas Tech Business Index that, for the most part, Arkansans are encouraged by the state’s economy and their personal financial outlook.

You come from a family of bankers in Lewisville, Arkansas. What did you learn from the bankers in your family that has helped you in your career?

Growing up in a banking family, I learned the importance in our community for the banker to be available, involved and willing to provide advice and support for the purpose of making the community, and its citizens, successful. I still believe that community involvement and sincerity about taking care of people is the greatest lesson I learned. To that point, last year Arvest associates in central Arkansas volunteered more than 3,000 hours of service. Again, everything points back to your customer. In banking, and any business, it’s important to operate with the flexibility to do what’s right for your customer. That requires a lot of genuine listening.

John Burgess has joined the Arvest Bank board of directors in central Arkansas.

Burgess serves on the board of advisers of the International Association of Cloud & Managed Service Providers. He received a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

A future apartment site in west Little Rock weighed in at $2.5 million.

Madison at Chenal LLC, led by Brandon Huffman and Graham Smith, bought the 5,000-SF office-warehouse at 15500 Kanis Road and an adjoining 12.8-acre tract. The seller is Winrock Enterprises Inc., led by Russ McDonough III.

The deal is financed with a $5 million loan from the Barnes Revocable Trust, led by James and Terry Barnes.

Winrock acquired the combined 13.4-acre property for $245,000 in March 2001 from McMann Inc., led by Daniel McNamara.

Dealership Site
Property for an equipment dealership in southwest Little Rock tipped the scales at $1 million.

Stribling Equipment LLC of Richland, Mississippi, purchased the 9,316-SF City of Fire Ministry project at 10504 Interstate 30 and the 10,120-SF strip center at 10510 Interstate 30.

The seller is Atkinson Properties LLC, led by Russell and Richard Atkinson.

The 5.49-acre development previously was tied to a February 2013 mortgage of $458,177 held by Central Bank of Little Rock.

Atkinson bought the property for $560,000 in January 2002 from William and Ruth Huffstutlar.

Tacos Transaction
A restaurant site in west Little Rock rang up a $775,000 sale.

Tacos 4 Life Real Estate LLC, led by Austin Samuelson, acquired the 1-acre location on Shackleford Road between Longhorn Steakhouse and Boomerang Carwash.

The seller is Shackleford Crossings Investors LLC, an affiliate of Invesco Real Estate of Dallas. Construction is backed with a 10-year loan of $1.75 million from Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

The property previously helped secure a February 2015 mortgage of $36.2 million held by ZB of Salt Lake City.

Shackleford Crossings Investors entered the ownership picture in July 2011 at a $42 million foreclosure sale after buying the project debt in May 2011 for an undisclosed sum.

The deal included the 271,675-SF Shackleford Crossings lifestyle center and undeveloped outparcels totaling about 8.7 acres that were used to secure debt of $57.4 million held by the project’s construction lender, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee.

Gallery Purchase
A 2,200-SF commercial building in the Heights area of Little Rock changed hands in a $699,000 transaction.

Cude Properties LLC, led by Travis and Jennifer Cude, bought the Heights Gallery project at 5801 Kavanaugh Blvd. The seller is Onkav LLC, led by Gary Childers.

The deal is funded with a five-year loan of $594,150 from Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

The 0.08-acre development previously was linked with a June 2015 mortgage of $456,000 held by IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Onkav acquired the property for $545,000 in March 2014 from Mitchell and Lee-Ann Jansonius.

Lomanco Buy
A 7,436-SF bar in Jacksonville is under new ownership after a $548,000 sale.

Lomanco Inc., led by Chris Grimes, purchased Big D’s Sports Bar at 2221 W. Main St. from Danny Martindill. The 1-acre development previously helped secure a May 2015 mortgage of $566,040 held by Centennial Bank of Conway.

The property was bought for $110,000 in September 1980 from B.K.R. Enterprises Inc., led Bobby Isbell.

Residential Acreage
A 40.3-acre residential tract in west Little Rock drew a $500,000 transaction.

D. Vincent investments LLC, led by Dale Briggs, acquired the land between the south end of Beckenham Drive and the north end of Belle Pointe Drive from Megyn Bell.

Uncle Sam received $100,000 of the sale in connection with a long-running income tax dispute with Bell’s late father, Melvyn Bell.

The land was purchased for $188,000 in January 1984 from the M.W. Kay Inter Vivos Trust and the Manie Schuman Trust.

Hickory Residence
A 4,788-SF home in west Little Rock’s Hickory Hills neighborhood weighed in at $1.25 million.

The Susan Cobb Underwood Revocable Trust bought the house from the Donna Kay Clark Trust.

The residence was acquired for $1.15 million in February 2006 from the Louis Gladfelter Revocable Trust.

River Oaks Abode
A 6,814-SF home in Little Rock’s River Oaks neighborhood changed hands in a $905,500 foreclosure sale.

Bo Ventures LLP, led by Richard O’Brien, purchased the house. The previous owners were Lewis and Debra May.

The residence previously was tied to an August 2003 mortgage of $935,000 originated by First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville. It also secured a series of 2009 mortgages held by First Arkansas, $98,555; Summit Bank of Arkadelphia, $100,000; and Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama, $250,000.

The Mays bought the property for $210,000 in January 1996 from Alta Hale.

Woodland’s House
A 4,017-SF home in the Woodland’s Edge neighborhood of west Little Rock sold for $651,258.

Darin and Tamela Gray acquired the house from HRH Builders Inc., led by William Darby.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $553,550 from Centennial Bank. The residence previously was linked with a September 2015 mortgage of $434,400 held by Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks.

The location was purchased for $80,000 11 months ago from Rocket Properties LLC, led by Lisenne Rockefeller and Ron Tyne.

Robinwood Home
A 3,876-SF home in Little Rock’s Robinwood neighborhood rang up a $600,000 transaction.

William and Lesley Callahan bought the house from Kyle and Terri Patton. The deal is backed with a $250,000 loan from Centennial Bank.

The residence previously was tied to a July 2014 mortgage of $195,865 held by Union Bank & Trust of Monticello.

The Pattons acquired the property for $530,000 in March 2005 from William Stover II and his wife, Donna.

Heights Domicile
A 2,517-SF home in the Heights area of Little Rock is under new ownership after a $550,000 sale.

Jane Ann Fortenberry purchased the house from Rush Harding IV and his wife, Rachel.

The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $440,000 from Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina. The residence previously was linked with a December 2011 mortgage of $344,000 held by First Security Bank of Searcy.

The Hardings bought the property for $430,000 nearly five years ago from John and Miranda Bennett.

Cypress Residence
A 4,063-SF home in west Little Rock’s Cypress Point neighborhood drew a $535,000 transaction.

Richard Griffiths acquired the house from Mark and Trisha Guenther.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $417,000 from Riverside Mortgage Co. of Little Rock.

The residence previously was tied to a January 2013 mortgage of $114,250 held by IberiaBank Mortgage Co. of Lafayette, Louisiana, and a May 2016 mortgage of $366,400 held by BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Guenthers purchased the location for $60,000 in July 2002 from Ranch Properties Inc., led by Ed Willis.

Seven-Digit Construction

Arkansas Urology    $4,890,730
1310 Centerview Drive, Little Rock
Clark Contractors LLC, Little Rock

Renovation Cinemark Theater    $2,430,000
18 Col. Glenn Plaza Drive, Little Rock
Bailey Construction & Consulting LLC, Little Rock

New House    $1,385,000
73 Sologne Circle, Little Rock
Taggart Design & Build LLC, Little Rock

Prosperity Bank of El Campo launched a foreclosure action against Walter Quinn, seeking possession of the Little Rock businessman’s 7,490-SF home in the Riverview Point neighborhood.

You might recall the bank filed a $4.9 million consent judgment against Quinn last November in Tulsa’s federal court.

The debt is personally guaranteed by Quinn and his wife, Terry, as well as the Quinn Living Trust, which owns the residence.

Other entities tied to the consent judgment are Quinn Investments Ltd., Quinn Management Co., RX Finance LLC, Rock Exploration LLC, Rock Oil & Gas LLC, QF Holdings LLC and the Walter Quinn Irrevocable Family Heritage Trust.

Absent from the list was Wild Wing Farms LLC, led by Quinn. The 923-acre hunting-agri spread in Arkansas County has been sold in a two-part $10 million transaction culminating in June.

The 2015 judgment and 2016 foreclosure are linked with a pair of delinquent loans. One loan originally totaled nearly $14.7 million and dated back to Sept. 28, 2012. The other originally totaled $3 million and dated back to June 28, 2010.

Last year, we also told that Prosperity inherited the two contentious loans through its 2014 acquisition of F&M Bank & Trust of Tulsa for a $255 million combination of stock and cash.

Rock Bancshares Inc. stock was part of the collateral equation in a forbearance agreement between Quinn and Prospect last year.

Quinn is a leading shareholder in Rock Bancshares, parent company of Little Rock’s $227 million-asset Heartland Bank. He stepped down as a bank director and as chairman, president and CEO of Rock Bancshares.

By now the U.S. population has been inundated with political ads and the opinions of countless political analysts. We have been presented each candidate’s positions on issues such as national security, immigration, health care and, of course, the economy. There is no doubt the nation is divided on these topics. However, there is one thing on which everyone seems to agree: If their party does not win the election the opposing party will certainly cause the market and economy to suffer.

Every four years we hear the common argument that political party X will destroy the economy or crash the market. This rhetoric tends to make people worry around election time. It can be difficult to stay on track with your retirement investments when you hear the doomsday news that partisans forecast in the media. Some people are so convinced a disaster is just beyond the polling booth that they pull their money out of the market completely. Of course, this action only increases market volatility leading up to the presidential election.

We hear the political noise every day, but what is the truth? Which political party does the market really prefer? The answer is neither. That’s right, all the back and forth you are hearing is not supported by facts at all. The truth is that there have been 28 presidential terms from the year 1900-2012. Fifteen of those terms were controlled by a Republican president while thirteen terms saw a Democratic president. Let’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which was created in 1897. The average posted positive returns 13 out of the 15 terms in which the president was a Republican and 10 out of the 13 terms that the president was a Democrat. This means that the majority of the past 28 presidential terms has seen a rising DJIA regardless of which party occupied the Oval Office.

So, what really drives the market? Fortunately for us, it’s not the politicians. Consumers and businesses have a far greater impact on the economy than the government. Federal, state, and local government spending makes up only 17.7 percent of our country’s gross domestic product (GDP). On the other hand, private consumption, private investment and foreign trade make up 82.3 percent of GDP. This means that you, me, our employers and the businesses with whom we spend our money are really in control of how the economy and the markets perform.

Overall, the market doesn’t really care which political party controls the White House. All it really wants to know is who it’s going to be dancing with for the next four years.

As is the case in many other aspects of our lives, we get frightened around election time because we fear change. There are certainly many events that can disrupt the market, a presidential election being one of them. However, if you have a financial advisor who helps you cut through the confusion and create a clear plan for your financial future then you are much more likely to stay on track during times like these. No matter which candidate wins, those of us who are not yet retired will have to get up and go to work the next day in order to continue building towards our goals.

Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a capitalization weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. 

Former One Bank & Trust executives Michael Heald and Bradley Paul were acquitted Monday of charges related to a 2007 loan after a three-week trial in federal court in Little Rock.

"I'm happy to tell you how extremely pleased we are that Mike's vindicted at long last," Heald's attorney, Gary Corum of Little Rock, told Arkansas Business.

Heald was acquitted on four counts: one each of conspiracy and money laundering and two of aiding and abetting false entries. Paul, who was represented by Lloyd W. "Tré" Kitchens III of Little Rock, was acquitted of the same charges, plus one more count of abetting a false entry.

"It's a fearsome thing to be pursued by a federal prosecutor," said Corum, who went on to say that the defense that persuaded the jury was the same one that the defendants had given U.S. Attorney's Office since the investigation started in the summer of 2013.

"It's just impossible to tell those folks things they don't want to know and to make them understand things they don't want to understand," he complained.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer's office originally indicted four bankers who worked for the late Layton "Scooter" Stuart, who owned One Bank.

The first was Gary Rickenbach, who eventually pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misprision — that is, failing to report a felony. He testified against Heald and Paul and had not yet been sentenced.

Heald, Paul and Tom Whitehead were added to the indictment in March 2015, but all charges against Whitehead were dropped last December. Whitehead also testified against Heald and Paul.

The charges all related to a $1.5 million loan that Rickenbach facilitated to a Canadian resident of Florida, Alberto Solaroli. Solaroli misrepresented his net worth to the tune of $170 million and never made a single payment on the 2007 loan, and he pleaded guilty to money laundering and received a one-year prison sentence.

Arkansans' expectations of their personal financial situations in the future have improved significantly since March, even if they say their personal finances have not changed much from a year ago, according to the fall 2016 Arvest Consumer Sentiment Survey.

The report, released Tuesday, includes a study of consumers' outlooks on personal finances, buying conditions over the next six months, and business conditions over the next year and next five years.

According to the survey conducted in August, 42 percent of Arkansas consumers expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next 12 months, up from 38 percent in March.

"For the first time since the beginning of the Arvest Consumer Sentiment Survey, Arkansas consumers expressed more optimism about the future than their national counterparts," said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and lead economist for the survey.

"High sentiment readings were recorded for all three components of the expectations index, indicating high hopes about future personal financial conditions, shorter-term business conditions and longer-term business conditions," Deck said.

The CBER conducts the survey twice a year through 1,200 random online and telephone surveys.

Missouri and Oklahoma were also surveyed. Across the region, 47 percent expect their personal financial situation to stay the same, while 40 percent expect it to improve.

When it came to determining buying conditions, 57 percent of Arkansans believe the next six months will be a good time to buy items like furniture, televisions and refrigerators.

Arkansans were more optimistic in August than March in terms of expected business conditions over the next year, with 31 percent expecting good times compared with 28 percent in March.

Regional respondents who expect good times for businesses over the next year jumped from 24 percent to 32 percent, and 43 percent expect good times over the next five years.

This round of survey results also includes a Current Conditions Sub-Index and a Consumer Expectations Sub-Index, which follow the model of the national Thomson/Reuters Michigan Surveys of Consumers. Both those ratings increased since the last survey, indicating a combination of consumer satisfaction with their current and expected personal finances, current and expected economic performance, and the purchasing environment, the survey said.

LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas finance officials say a boost in corporate and individual income tax collections helped the state's revenue rebound in October after three months of losses this fiscal year.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Wednesday the state's net available revenue in October totaled $439.1 million, which was $33.2 million above the same month last year and $8.9 million above forecast. The state's revenue so for the fiscal year that began July 1 totaled $1.7 billion, which is $23.2 million below forecast.

DFA said corporate income tax collections last month were $17.9 million above forecast and individual income tax collections were $2.1 million above forecast. Sales tax collections were $3.7 million below forecast.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson next week plans to announce his budget proposal for the next fiscal year.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

"All politics is local."

It's the often-repeated phrase used to illustrate that, even when weighing a broad policy issue, people care most about how it impacts them and their community. That sentiment applies even more fittingly to the world of economic development. When it comes down to it, all economic development is about bringing good jobs to local communities. Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment for economic development on the General Election Ballot, is a prime example. 

Issue 3 will arm all of our cities and towns — no matter the size — with the tools needed to effectively compete for jobs. Opponents have questioned whether local communities are equipped to decide whether a project is worth their investment. I say, our communities are in the best position to decide how to spend their own local dollars. 

The state always has and will continue to play a vital role in attracting new industries and companies to Arkansas, but our cities and counties are an essential part of the process. Right now, ambiguities in our state Constitution have left our communities with their hands tied when it comes to using local resources to recruit employers. Issue 3 would provide clear, consistent definitions for "economic development projects" and "services" in our Constitution, eliminating the need for constant and varying legal interpretation of what kind of economic activities a city or county may engage in, letting them focus on creating jobs. 

Issue 3 gives cities and counties clear authority to spend local dollars on economic development. Because the Constitution is currently unclear, so are the guidelines for local communities, which leaves them frustrated and vulnerable. 

For example, right now, some towns in Arkansas are sitting on reserves of public money, that voters specifically marked for economic development, but the community can't spend it, for fear of a legal challenge under the current Constitution. Issue 3 will fix that, allowing local dollars to be spent to attract local jobs, and allowing our cities and counties to compete with other communities across the country. 

Under Issue 3, with voter approval, cities and counties will also be able to issue bonds for economic development projects. Qualifying projects are closely defined, and any bond issue would require approval from voters, ensuring a system of checks-and-balances. Empowering Arkansas communities with this development tool puts them on an even playing field with our competitors in other states, and it will be a game-changer in our ability to compete for jobs at the local level. 

Finally, Issue 3 will enhance Amendment 82, known as the "super project amendment." This is critical for the state's ability to recruit and land top employers. Currently, bonds issued under Amendment 82 are restricted to 5 percent of the state's general revenue budget. That limits the number of large employers the state can land at one time. 

Issue 3 would remove that restriction, giving the state the flexibility to compete for multiple large projects at once. Those projects will still undergo multiple layers of scrutiny, including an independent, third-party economic impact study, which is required before a legislative vote. Opponents claim it's "too risky" for the state to remove the Amendment 82 restriction. I argue the real risk lies in doing nothing. 

The state issued Amendment 82 bonds for Big River Steel, a northeast Arkansas employer, in 2013. That means over the next decade or more, we only have the capacity left to recruit one — maybe two — other large projects to our state. By not enhancing Amendment 82, we're basically saying Arkansas is closed for business when it comes to attracting major, top-quality employers that bring with them higher paying jobs. 

Opponents claim Issue 3 is "corporate welfare." That’s just not the case. It's not about bolstering businesses, it's about growing communities. And Issue 3 is vital for Arkansas' ability to bring home good-paying, high-quality jobs to communities in every corner of the state. It doesn't get more local than that. 

(Randy Zook is vice chairman of the Jobs for Arkansas Committee, as well as president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas.)

Phil Baldwin, president and CEO of Citizens Bank of Batesville, and Susan M. Miller, a partner at BKD LLP of Little Rock, were honored with lifetime achievement awards at the Arkansas Business CFO of the Year luncheon on Wednesday.

Baldwin, the CFO Lifetime Achievement Award winner, held the post of chief financial officer for a little over a decade at four stops during his 36-year career, including at Arkadelphia’s Southern Bancorp. There, he helped grow the company into America’s largest rural development bank. After leaving Arkansas and spending time in Atlanta, where he served as CEO of CredAbility, he was lured back to the state by Citizens Bank in 2013.

Miller, the Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Award winner, became partner at BKD in 2003. In 2007, she was named the firm’s health care niche leader. The health care team has 16 employees and works with about 30 hospitals to improve their bottom lines. Miller has also been involved with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas since 2006, and serves on the board of directors’ executive committee.

The awards are part of an annual event produced by Arkansas Business that honors lifetime achievements and chief financial officers in several categories. 

Each of the honorees was chosen by an independent panel of judges. This year’s judges were Gena Wingfield, CFO of Arkansas Children's Hospital; Marnie Oldner, CEO of Stone Bank; and Jim W. Smith, founding partner of Smith Hurst PLC.

The event's other honorees were:

• Ben Hollowell of Applied Technology Group USA, as Small Private Company CFO of the Year
• Bill Harrison of E. Ritter & Co., as Large Private Company CFO of the Year
• James Schnoes of One Bank & Trust, as Small Bank CFO of the Year
• Karla Payne of Arvest Bank, as Large Bank CFO of the Year
• Harry Hutchison of St. Bernards Healthcare, as Nonprofit Organization CFO of the Year
• Adam Adair of Arkansas State University-Newport, as Education/Public Sector CFO of the Year

Short biographies on all of the winners and finalists are available here.

The Alotian Club, a private golf club owned by Little Rock financier Warren Stephens, will host the 23rd Arnold Palmer Cup in 2019. 

The annual Ryder Cup­-style competition will take place June 7­-9. It will mark the first time the event is played in the United States and expanded to include men's and women's U.S. collegiate golfers against international competitors from around the world.

"Many of the alumni of the Arnold Palmer Cup have become prominent professional golfers and have earned numerous victories around the world, including several of golf's major championships," said Kevin Bingham, CEO of Arnie's Army Charitable Foundation. "Arnold Palmer's vision for growing golf globally and perpetuating golf's positive character building attributes through the next generation of youth is something that was very important to Mr. Palmer.

"Arnie's Army Charitable Foundation is honored to continue Arnold Palmer's legacy of international team golf competition through this tournament," he said. "We're grateful to The Alotian Club for hosting our event in 2019."

Opened in western Pulaski County in 2004, The Alotian Club is ranked No. 27 on Golf Digest's biennial ranking of "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses." In 2005, Golf Digest called the club the best new private course in the country. Designed by Tom Fazio, Alotian hosted the 111th Western Amateur in 2013.

"For generations, Arnold Palmer exemplified and embodied the spirit of golf and its guiding principles," Stephens said in a news release. "The Alotian Club is honored to continue his legacy by hosting the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2019. Since our inception, The Alotian Club has supported young golfers. We look forward to welcoming collegiate players from the United States and around the world to our course and our great state."

Palmer, regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time, visited The Alotian Club in 2009 as part of the Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Golf Tournament. He died Sept. 25.

The Arkansas Bankers Association on Sept. 29 issued a warning to its members that a Pittsburgh law firm was firing off letters to banks accusing them of having websites that aren’t compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The ABA said the law firm, Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP, wants banks and other companies to make their websites ADA compliant and to pay a settlement for attorneys’ fees and costs — which could be tens of thousands of dollars. If those actions aren’t taken, a lawsuit could follow, as it has against companies such as Toys “R” Us Inc. and Foot Locker Inc.

“We have reason to believe the number of these lawsuits will rapidly climb and we want our Arkansas Bankers to be on alert,” Bill Holmes, CEO and president of the ABA, wrote.

Holmes told Arkansas Business recently that two Arkansas banks had received the demand letter from the law firm, but no lawsuits have been filed.

An attorney from Carlson Lynch didn’t return a call for comment.

Disability lawsuits over companies’ websites have been on the rise nationwide. Carlson Lynch has filed more than 40 federal lawsuits since the beginning of 2015, most of them in Pennsylvania, according to court records. Other laws firms have also been filing similar suits against companies across the country.

So far Carlson Lynch hasn’t filed a lawsuit in Arkansas, but the firm is representing a blind Little Rock woman who challenged a retailer’s website and was instead sued.

In December, Carlson Lynch sent Mardel Inc. of Oklahoma City a settlement letter on behalf of Lori Hunter, whose visual impairment kept her from accessing the Christian retailer’s website. The letter asked Mardel to bring its website into ADA compliance and to pay attorneys’ fees and costs.

Mardel responded by suing Hunter in U.S. District Court in Little Rock in July. The retailer wants a judge to rule that the ADA requirements don’t apply to its website. If that doesn’t happen, Mardel wants a judge to say “what, if any, legal standard governs its obligations to comply with the ADA in the operation of the Website.”

Mark Weber, a law professor at the DePaul University College of Law who has taught a course in disability law, said a dispute exists between courts over whether a section of the ADA actually covers commercial websites.

Congress passed the ADA in 1990, when “websites weren’t anything that people were concerned about,” he said.

“In fact, there are currently no legally binding technical standards that define what is required for a private entity’s website to be accessible in accordance with Title III of the ADA, if such compliance with the Title III of the ADA is even required,” said attorney Phil Richards of Tulsa, who represented Mazzio’s LLC in a lawsuit filed in February against the Carlson Lynch law firm. That case was quickly dismissed.

Carlson Lynch said in its letter to Mardel’s that the company’s website violated the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which are internationally accepted standards for website accessibility.

Such accessibility would, for instance, require coding that allows screen-reading software to describe images on the website, said Kathy Wahlbin, CEO of Interactive Accessibility of Boston, which provides ADA website consulting services.

“The screen reader produces an auditory version of what a visual user would see on the screen plus additional information to help them navigate the site,” Wahlbin said.

Weber, the DePaul law professor, said the lawyers for their blind clients have a persuasive argument. “It’s really not that difficult to make the websites accessible,” he said.

And when it’s been done, it makes accessing the web easier for people with disabilities. “It’s a big deal for someone who’s got a visual disability,” Weber said.

An 18,000-SF athletic training facility in west Little Rock tipped the scales at $3.1 million.

Store Master Funding X LLC, an affiliate of the Store Capital real estate investment trust in Scottsdale, Arizona, purchased the D1 project at 10 Viewpointe Cove. The seller is WB Sports of Little Rock LLC, led by Will Bartholomew.

The 1.75-acre development previously was tied to a February 2014 mortgage of $2.8 million held by First Bank of Nashville, Tennessee.

The location was acquired in July 2007 as part of a $697,000 deal with Linda and Gene Pfeifer and Jim Hathaway Jr. and his wife, Gay.

Warehouse Purchase
A 104,000-SF warehouse in Little Rock weighed in at $1.9 million.

A local investment group doing business as 2200 Commercial Street Warehouse LLC bought its namesake project. The seller is 2200 Commercial Street Warehousing LLC, led by Mark Babbitt.

The 4.9-acre development was purchased for $328,000 in July 2004 from Alliant Foodservice Inc. of Deerfield, Illinois.

Storage Site Sale I
Land for a mini-storage development in west Little Rock changed hands in a $1.5 million sale.

Rodney Parham Storage Center LLC, led by Bruce Clinton, acquired the 3.69-acre former Green Tree Nursery at 9305 N. Rodney Parham Road.

Construction is backed with a five-year loan of $4.2 million from Citizens Bank of Batesville.

The seller is the Kerney R. Clinton & Helen S. Clinton Joint Revocable Trust.

The Clinton family bought the land for $88,000 in August 1974 from Richard and Gertrude Butler.

Storage Site Sale II
A 7.26-acre mini-storage development in west Pulaski County is in motion after an $840,000 land deal.

Markham Park LLC, led by Graham Smith, purchased the site near the southwest corner of Highway 10 and Ferndale Cutoff Road. First-phase construction of 275 units is financed with a five-year loan of $1.8 million from Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

The seller is Farmers & Merchants Bank of Stuttgart, which inherited the property through the 2008 acquisition of Chart Bank of Perryville.

Chart Bank bought the land for $1 million in December 2003 from Sam Hollowell Jr. and his wife, Barbara, and Herman and Frances Rowland.

Sherwood Parcel
An 8.2-acre parcel in Sherwood rang up a $705,000 sale.

Steven and Stephanie Deere acquired the land near the northeast corner of Highway 107 and Kellogg Acres Road from Bear Paw LLC. The limited liability company is composed of Powell Brothers Inc., led by Matt Chandler; Rob Jolly Jr.; Matt Enderlin; Jimmy Crossfield; Scott Jolly; Brad Jolly; the Jamie Lazenby Bernt Share of the Lazenby Family Trust; Blake Lazenby and the Blake William Lazenby Share of the Lazenby Family Trust.

The deal is funded with a $705,000 loan from Centennial Bank of Conway.

The land previously helped secure a $3.3 million mortgage held by the bank.

The land was purchased in June 2007 as part of a $3.6 million deal with Sherwood Land Co., led by Steven Deere.

Convenient Acquisition
A 2,000-SF convenience store in southwest Little Rock drew a $620,000 transaction.

OM Business Inc., led by Balaji Thota, bought the Phillips 66 project at 8209 Geyer Springs Road from Pong Monk.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $326,675 from Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

The 0.59-acre development previously was linked with a July 2006 mortgage of $350,000 held by Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock.

The property was acquired in June 2006 as part of a $700,000 deal with Marion Nash.

Jacksonville Project
A 4,000-SF office-warehouse in Jacksonville is under new ownership after a $150,000 sale.

M&M Heating & Air Inc., led by James Miles, purchased the 1010 S. Redmond Road project from Robert D. Smith.

The deal is financed with a $123,250 loan from Centennial Bank.

The 0.44-acre location was bought for $40,000 in July 2012 from the North Pulaski Waterworks Public Facilities Board, led by Steve Fikes.

Monster Manor
A 12,449-SF home in North Little Rock’s Parkhill neighborhood tipped the scales at $1.28 million.

Richard and Patricia Elimon acquired the 5.5-acre spread from Centennial Bank.

The bank recovered the residence 10 months ago from John and Angelica Rogers at a $1.25 million foreclosure sale.

The house previously secured a February 2008 construction loan with an outstanding balance of more than $1.9 million held by Centennial.

The location was purchased for $424,000 in June 2007 from the Joy H. Stevens Revocable Trust.

Hillcrest Home
A 3,416-SF home in the Hillcrest area of Little Rock sold for $695,000.

Matt and Jennifer Estes bought the house from Gary and Margaret Faulkner. The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $556,000 from Morgan Stanley Private Bank of Purchase, New York.

The residence previously was tied to an April 2004 mortgage of $460,000 held by One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The Faulkners acquired the property for $458,000 in May 2003 from Richard and Mary Knox.

Estates Sale
A 5,742-SF home in west Pulaski County’s Ridgefield Estates neighborhood changed hands in a $649,000 deal.

James Alexander purchased the house from the Francis & Mary Browning Revocable Trust.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $661,293 from Simmons Bank.

The Brownings bought the 5.3-acre location for $70,000 in February 2003 from William and Cathryn McKinney.

Arbors House
A 4,704-SF home in The Arbors neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development rang up a $625,000 sale.

George Granville Gleason III acquired the house from the Bilal Malik & Sadaf Bhutto Living Trust.

The property was purchased for $809,000 in June 2006 from Byron Holmes Construction Inc.

PV Residence
A 3,477-SF home in west Little Rock’s Pleasant Valley neighborhood drew a $610,000 transaction.

The Oma Gay Rush Living Trust bought the house from Alfred and Mary Norah.

The residence previously was linked with a January 2005 mortgage of $332,250 held by IndyMac Bank of Pasadena, California. The Norahs acquired the property for $365,000 in April 1999 from John and Tracy Criss.

Wellington Abode
A 4,243-SF home in the Villages of Wellington neighborhood in west Little Rock sold for $533,000.

John and Marie Rians purchased the house from Terry Brown.

The deal is financed with a 26-year loan of $533,000 from Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama. The residence previously was tied to a March 2015 mortgage of $379,000 held by BOKF of Tulsa.

Brown bought the property for $520,000 in August 2010 from the C. Dwayne & Jennifer M. Shelton Family Trust.

Mini-Mortgage
First-phase construction of a 1,300-unit mini-storage development in west Little Rock is in motion with a $3.2 million funding agreement.

Modern Storage West Little Rock LLC, led by Keith Richardson, obtained the loan from First Security Bank of Searcy.

The 8.12-acre location near the northeast corner of Autumn Road and Financial Centre Parkway was acquired for $748,703 in January 2015 from Iron Horse Estate Partnership, led by Fletcher Clement.