West Bound and Down

Tapp Allen helping me water

 

Isaac Smith and I

 

 

 

It's so nice to be back home for a little bit. I feel like I have been to Little Rock about 10 times in the last month, and I have probably have been. The construction on Interstate 40 which leads us from the Delta to Little Rock is littered with orange barrels and miles of stand still traffic. Although, its a pain to get there, its always nice to see old friends. Tapp Allen recently had 2 big Doctors appointments that went excellent. We got to eat a great dinner at Acadia with our friends Isaac & Morgan Smith and then on Friday we got to see our friends Franklin Fogleman, Isaac Smith, Jordan Cooper and JR Carroll inducted into the 2013 class of Arkansas Business' 40 Under 40.

 

Political Animals Club and The Tamale factory

George Eldridge and I

 

The month of May has been good to me so far. I recently had the opportunity to attend the Political Animals Club luncheon at the Governor's mansion, thanks to my friend Rex Nelson. Rex is kind of a big deal hear in Arkansas and it was a real treat to be invited by him and get to sit at the main table. I remember telling one of my friends before I left for Little Rock how exciting it was going to be, to be there when Davy announces for Governor. As it turns out, that guy- Speaker of the House Davy Carter, is not running for Governor but he gave a great speech that was well recieved by everyone there. Although the speaker has decided not to run for Governor in 2014, I am sure he will make his way back into Arkansas Politics again, which I think- would be a great thing for our state. Rex was kind enough to let me bring  a couple of friends along, so I invited future Arkansas Land Commissioner and Razorback great Blake Eddins and Mr. Arkansas himself Denver Peacock. We had a great time and I will defiantly become a regular.

 

The next day I had the opportunity to spend some time with George Eldridge over at his new place, The Tamale Factory located in the big metropolis of Gregory. I feel like I was the last person in the state to eat there and now that I have, I want to go again. The Tamale Factory is really not new anymore as it's been opened for close to a year or more now, but I have no doubt it will become every bit the legend that George's other little restaurant Doe's has become. Just like Doe's, order the tamales and the 2lb porter house. 

BBQ Season

Davy Carter and I

Denver & Presley Peacock, Me & Blake Eddins

Grafton Home & Gardens

Tapp Allen playing like Dad 

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year.Spring means the start of BBQ season. This past weekend I got to see some old friends and make some new ones at "Downtown Pig Roast" held by my good friends Gabe and Katherine Holmstrom. Even though the weather didnt really cooperate we all had a great time. The Pit Crew conisisted of Gabe Holmstrom, Grant Tennille, Chad Causey, my new friend Mitch Berry, Bill Vickery and Ben Noble. These guys cooked a whole hog for over 24 hours and it was great. You can catch them throughout the summer at some of the "Summer Supper Events."
It was great catching up with some folks I hadnt seen in awhile and getting to visit with some folks I didnt really know to well.
As Tapp Allen has now learned to walk, he loves to go outside. Naturally we decided to expand our backyard in order to accomadate him. My ggod friend Ben Grafton of Grafton Home & Gardens provided the landscaping.
In just a couple of weeks Esperanza Bonanza will be here and its one of our biggest events of the year. Its a BBQ festival here in Crittenden County and our tent will feed close to 1,000 of our friends and customers by the the time its over. It starts on Wednesday night with a party for Chamber members hosted by Randy Sullivan and his folks from Budwieser and wraps up on Saturday afternnoon with the judging. I hope all is well and have a great week.

Some Old and New Pics

This pic was taken a couple of weekends ago at Warrior Hunting Club. This has become an annual event hosted by my good friends Drew Higginbothom and Jason Felton. Probably 15-20 of us get together every year for a weekend where no manners, women or children are allowed. Spirits are held in hand and in high regard and all have a great time. Lies and jokes are told, both are laughed at and then retold. It really is one of my favorite weekends of the year.

This pic was taken with my good friends Isaac Smith and Chris White at one of our Leadership Arkansas Events in jonesboro, I think.

Here is a pic I get kidded about by some of my friends. They say it looks like one that will end up on the front page of a paper some day.

"Doom Comes In Many Forms"

"Doom comes in many forms, but none more than at the end of a bayonet." W. Churchill. I am currently reading a biography on Winston Churchill in which he so elequently points out that bad things happen in life. Often times as history often shows us, bad things happen because we failed to recognize bad things were coming. I suspect this was the case for much of the French and British during World War II. Many times bad things in life like cancer or car wrecks happen for no reason at all. I've often said the 2 things in this life you can control the most are your attitude and what time you get some where. This picture above (Me in the Middle) was taken at a reception for this years Arkansas Business 40 under 40 selections, of which I was greatly honored to be selected by the way. Anyway my "attitude" and my "time of arrival" where two really big reasons why I was selected to this years 40 under 40 class. My attitude was that I was going to be successful inspight of "bad things coming my way." I was going to "arrive on time", in other words not get distracted by bad things coming my way that could delay my final destionation of success. Remember next time "Doom" comes your way it could have been in the form of a bayonet and how are you going to react to it.



Arkansas Business 40 under 40

I recently was selected by the publication "Arkansas Business" to their 2012 40 under 40 class. It was a great honor and in the business and political world in Arkansas it has literally served as a list of the states up and coming leaders. To even be associated with the members of some of the former classes blows me away. This year there were more than 500 applicants for the coveted 40 spots given annually, and fortunately I was selected. It truly was the highest honor I could have recieved proffesionally at this point in my life. Polly and I will be traveling once again back to Little Rock for what seems like the 19th time in June next week to attend a luncheon honoring this years class. As fate would have it their are a couple of guys selected to this years class that I was friends with in college in Fayetteville. Although I was not surprised at all at their selections, I was surprised at my own. Here is the story from the June 18th edition of Arkansas Business:

Arkansas Business Unveils 2012 40 Under 40 ClassBy Gwen Moritz
6/18/2012 7:41:21 AM

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This week, Arkansas Business presents its 19th class of "40 Under 40" honorees. As you read the profiles, keep in mind that they were selected from more than 500 new nominations - plus dozens of still-eligible nominations from earlier years. We've never had so many to choose from, at least not in the 13 years that I have overseen this project.
More nominees helps assure the overall quality of the class, just like a bigger school tends to have a better football team. But there is a common drawback: The starters tend to be upperclassmen. Not one of this year's honorees is a 20-something; the youngest is 31 and only eight are under 35. This problem is the very reason Arkansas Business introduced a "20 in Their 20s" feature three years ago. We'll be featuring those "New Influentials" in the Sept. 24 issue, so don't forget to submit your nominations by Aug. 17 at ArkansasBusiness.com/20.
Because we had so many great nominees to choose from - and because, let's face it, we make the rules - we decided to jointly recognize twin brothers Walter and William Burgess, the second-generation executives of Power Technology of Alexander. I don't anticipate making this kind of exception in the future, but treating the Burgess brothers as a single entry allowed us to actually work in a 41st honoree.
A luncheon recognizing this year's honorees will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Little Rock on Wednesday, June 27. The luncheon is open to those of us who never made the cut. Click here for more details.

Each year, Arkansas Business presents our 40 Under 40 list to recognize intriguing business and political leaders under 40 years old who bear watching.

Archived here are profiles of the state's rising stars, as nominated by readers and chosen by the editors of Arkansas Business.

Matthew Glass, 34
Title:	President and CEO
Company:	Fidelity Insurance Group
City:	West Memphis
Published:	2012

Matthew Glass had what he said was a “cookie-cutter-perfect life,” but even a man in the insurance business couldn’t ensure it would stay that way.
Two years ago his son, Tapp Allen, was born with a rare chromosomal disorder called Potocki-Lupski syndrome, which causes developmental delays.
Being thrust into a life filled with visits to the Department of Human Services, he said, “opened me up to a whole new world of people living in poverty. At DHS you see things you’re not exposed to; you’re around a whole new demographic.”
Since then, Glass has become a passionate advocate for people with disabilities. In 2011, he was appointed to the Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council, and he serves on the board of the Frank C. Steudlein Learning Center, a day treatment center in West Memphis for people with developmental disabilities.
He is also active in the West Memphis community, where he serves as director of the board for the Mid-South Community College Foundation and treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. “I know I can make my community better and the only way is to be involved in it,” he said.
His commitment to service extends to his more than 1,500 clients at Fidelity Insurance Group, where he has helped double revenue since he joined the company four years ago.
“I knew we had to do a better job of serving the people of Crittenden County and all over the state of Arkansas,” he said. “If your main goal is to help someone, the dividends that it pays are infinite.”

A lot changes in a year.

This picture was taken about one year ago at my son Tapp Allen's graduation. A lot has changed in just one year, including the length of his hair-it's alot longer now. I recently had to give an elevator speech at a business luncheon I was at. Normally great at these things I bombed. Someone told me afterwards that I did fine, however I am pretty sure the guy was just being nice. The purpose of an elevator speech is obviously to let someone know what exactly it is you do for a living. If you are in the sales or service business than the purpose of that speech should be changed to what it is exactly that you can do to improve that person's life. In the end that's all any of us are concerned with business wise anyhow? What I should have said was that we have 3 offices located throughout the state of Arkansas and over 150 years of experience. By being an independent agency we are able to shop all of your insurance with literally hundreds of insurance companies and that no one could sell you insurance any cheaper than we can. In addition to providing the lowest possible premiums in the south-we only use insurance companies that are A rated or better.

While our business has grown like crazy since this time last year, we cant rest on our laurels. That luncheon was a perfect example of how important it is to tune up your elevator speech every year-because just like Tapp Allen's hair-a lot can change in a year.