Four Honorees to Be Inducted Into Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2020

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Top from left: Gerald Alley and Olivia Farrell; bottom: Charles Nabholz and Reynie Rutledge.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four business leaders who have made significant contributions to the banking, construction, publishing and real estate industries will be honored Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Little Rock at the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Board announced that the following business leaders will be added to the list of 86 distinguished members of the Hall of Fame:

• Gerald Alley, president and chief executive officer, Con-Real, LP
• Olivia Farrell, retired chief executive officer, Arkansas Business Publishing Group
• Charles Nabholz, chairman emeritus, Nabholz Corporation
• Reynie Rutledge, chairman and chief executive officer, First Security Bancorp

“These distinguished leaders have done much to promote Arkansas through their business dealings and community support,” said Matt Waller, Walton College dean. “They serve as global ambassadors to our state through their industries. I am proud to welcome them to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.”

The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The hall of fame is permanently housed in the atrium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

Jason LaFrance, Walton College alumnus and principal of Dale Capital Partners, chaired the selection committee of nine business and community leaders who reviewed nominations from throughout the state and chose the inductees. Criteria for selection included: the significance of the impact made as a business leader, the concern demonstrated for improving the community and the display of ethics in all business dealings. In addition, living inductees must be over the age of 60.

For a list of previous inductees into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and brief videos highlighting their lives and careers, visit walton.uark.edu/abhf.

Tickets to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a black-tie optional event, are $150 per person. For more information about tickets and event sponsorships, please email abhf@walton.uark.edu; visit walton.uark.edu/abhf; call 479-575-6146; or mail the Walton College Office of External Relations at 217 Reynolds Center, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.