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Take a look at some of the most memorable business-adjacent stories from 2022 in El Dorado and Union County.
Jan. 6 – Nwude ‘humbled,”https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/”excited’ to take over Harper’s clinic
Veteran local family physician Dr. William Harper retired in January and spoke with the News-Times about his long career and his decision to sell his clinic to Drs Ezinne and Ugo Nwude.
“We really hope to continue the tradition of excellent care that he’s provided to his patients. They’re very loyal to him and love him very much,” Dr. Ezinne Nwude said.
“I want to work hard on preventative medicine, which will be different for me career-wise, because I’ve always done acute care (in hospital settings), but in primary care, I’ll focus more on preventative care and keeping people healthy so they don’t get so sick they need to go to the hospital… That will be my goal, to keep the community healthy.”
Nwude began seeing patients at the rechristened Gold Cross Family Clinic – El Dorado on Jan. 10.
Nov. 26 – [email protected]’s doors close
Downtown restaurant [email protected], which opened in September 2021, unexpectedly announced its plans to close in late November.
“Even though our time in El Dorado has come to an end, we are grateful for the friends made,” read a post on the restaurant’s social media. “Please support your local eateries and businesses, both in person and via social media. You have no idea the impact a visit, like, follow and reviews can make.”
The eatery, which replaced the Griffin in downtown El Dorado, closed soon after the announcement was made.
April 24 – Chamber of Commerce meeting focuses on future
The El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting was held in late April at First Financial Music Hall and featured speeches, recognitions and a look at the economic recent past and potential future of south Arkansas.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette senior editor served as the keynote speaker and told attendees that El Doraod should focus on quality of life through economic development, education and other factors.
“If we do these things, Arkansas’s best days are still ahead. El Dorado… you have made great steps, but guess what. It never stops. It’s hard work,” Nelson said. “I will continue to say to people ‘Have you been to El Dorado? Have you seen their downtown? Have you seen MAD?’ El Dorado is doing it right.”
May 23 – Delek celebrates refinery’s 100th anniversary
Former Lion Oil and current Delek refinery employees gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the El Dorado mainstay in May.
Former President and Arkansas-native Bill Clinton appeared via video to thank refinery workers for the contribution to the nation’s economy.
“Your refinery has been a cornerstone in El Dorado for a century now, and you should all be proud of the role you play in the community,” Clinton said. “I know I’ll always be grateful that I could help keep the refinery from closing early in the 1980’s when I was governor, and I’m glad you’re still going strong today.”
Former and current refinery employees attended the gathering with family members and many spoke postively about the effect of the industry on their lives.
“I love this because they’re showing the community that we’re glad to be here for 100 years,” said Kenneth Clemons. “It’s great to get a chance to meet my co-workers’ families.”
Sept. 28 – Bus tour promotes local Black entrepreneurship
El Dorado received a visit from that Black Ownership Movement’s bus tour in September.
Benito Lubazibwa, founder and chief executive officer of ReMix Ideas and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship, Inc., spoke at the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce and held a Shark Tank-style business idea competition during his time in town.
“Five years ago, I started ReMix Ideas really to democratize entrepreneurship… We believe that if we’re committed enough, we can disrupt intergenerational poverty by creating pathways of economic mobility through business ownership,” Lubazibwa said.
Zakari Smith, owner of Kari in the Kitchen & Catering Co., won the competition and took home a $5,000 check as a result.
June 22 – Feds to invest $1.3M in local rail infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Commerce a $1.3 million investment in El Dorado’s rail infrastructure in June, funding set to go towards railroad and other infrastructure improvements at the El Dorado Industrial Park, including the construction of railroad spurs and a cross-docking facility.
“This grant signals El Dorado’s continued and growing value as a link in Arkansas’s economy and its importance to the nation’s infrastructure,” said Governor Asa Hutchinson. “El Dorado’s story is one of success, but its leaders have never rested and continue to chase economic success.”
The investment in the Industrial Park’s infrastructure was expected to create 125 jobs, help retain 25 jobs and generate nearly $15 million in private investments, according to a Dept of Commerce Economic Development Administration press release.
Feb. 4 – Statistics show sharp decline in joblessness
Statistics available in early 2022 showed a noticeable decline in unemployment in the latter half of 2021 locally.
In December, the unemployment rate was 3.9%; for comparison, the pre-pandemic unemployment rate in Union County, in December 2019, was 5.3%.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson remarked on the lower statewide unemployment rate in a statement on Jan. 25.
“Believe it or not, that is related to our pandemic. The unemployment numbers came out for Arkansas today… It shows that we went down to a 3.1% unemployment rate in Arkansas, which is the lowest in the recorded history of our state. That’s an extraordinary rate to come down to; it is lower than the national average, which has been reduced to 3.9%. That shows that we have 1,353,000 Arkansans in the labor force, which is up over 26,000 workers since 2015. So, we’ve grown jobs in the state [and] we’ve increased our labor force,” Hutchinson said.
March 13 – MCSA names new CEO
After a tumultuous 2021, the Medical Center of South Arkansas named David R. Fox as Chief Executive Officer in April.
“David’s diverse clinical and operations experience and commitment to delivering high-quality care will be an asset to the hospital,” said Rob Robinson, chair of the MCSA Board of Trustees. “His background in strategic alliances and partnerships will be beneficial as MCSA partners with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) on a regional campus and residency program in El Dorado and continues its collaborations with Arkansas Heart, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Arkansas Urology to deepen the services available locally.”
Fox took over for interim MCSA CEO Dwayne Blaylock, who himself took the reigns at the hospital following the resignation of former CEO Scott Street, who departed following two votes of no confidence in his leadership by hospital doctors and an investigation into allegations of administrative decisions negatively impacting patient care in the summer of 2021.
July 1 – El Dorado restaurants feel squeeze of inflation
Inflation was the most ubiquitous and inescapable economic topic of 2022 and local businesses and restaurants scrambled to deal with the rising price of goods.
Nicolas Gonzalez, owner of the El Dorado staple Spudnut Shoppe, spoke to some of the frustrations faced by restaurant owners.
“We [have] to pass the costs to our customers; of course, we’re not going to be [raising] prices every other week,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez spoke also about changes to the ways he acquires supplies such as donut boxes, painting a picture of the struggles of business owners across the region in the face of high inflation in summer 2022.
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