February 14, 2025 • 23 mins
Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, with three Fortune 500 companies, plus numerous businesses and startups eager to contribute to the local innovation scene.
Join us as we talk to Nelson Peacock, President/CEO of the NWA Council—a private, nonprofit organization working to advance job opportunities, talent recruitment, physical infrastructure, health care, and quality of life.
We'll talk about all the Council has accomplished in the last 30 years and the economic opportunity and quality of life in NWA that's unmatched. With 500-plus miles of mountain biking trails and paved paths, a thriving arts community complete with world-class museums, an eclectic culinary scene, live music, and miles of lush Ozark beauty. Best of all it's a place where everyone is welcome.
Find out more about NWA Council here: nwacouncil.org
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
Welcome to a new American town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, beth Bobbitt,and today we're excited to dive
deep into what makes Bentonvillethe ideal place to live and our
growth over the next decade.
We're speaking directly withthe man behind it all, Nelson
Peacock, the President and CEOof Northwest Arkansas Council.
Welcome to the podcast, nelson,thank you.
(00:32):
So I think this will be reallyhelpful for listeners who either
are new to the area or thinkingabout moving here, or maybe you
know just wanting to visit, butwe're going to talk about
regional growth.
We're going to talk a littlebit about you know what wanting
to visit, but we're going totalk about regional growth.
We're going to talk a littlebit about you know what it's
been like to move to NorthwestArkansas for you, so I'd love to
start there.
Just what has been yourexperience?
(00:53):
What really attracted you tothis area originally?
Nelson Peacock (00:57):
Yeah, so well.
As you mentioned, I wasactually born in Fayetteville
when my father was at law school.
We lived, grew up in EasternArkansas, but I went to school
in Fayetteville when my fatherwas at law school.
We grew up in eastern Arkansasbut I went to school in
Fayetteville and then got to DCand then to California and when
I was in California I wouldalways continually come back for
Razorback games or things likethat, and I knew that Northwest
(01:18):
Arkansas had been on all thesetop 10 lists.
But I didn't really know whatwas going on until a friend of
mine called and said if you everwant to move home, the perfect
job just came open, and it wasthis job at the Northwest
Arkansas Council.
So I applied, started doing theinterview process, the
(01:40):
commitment that the companieswere making in Northwest
Arkansas, the elected officialsand some of the prominent
families here into thiscommunity, and so the ability
from the vantage point of thecouncil to bring all of that
together, to try to bringcollaboration across many
(02:02):
different sectors, manydifferent communities, just was
really appealing to me.
And I just knew the trajectorythat this was on and I felt like
I could make a difference here.
Which had really been a part ofwhat I've always strived to do
through government service or inhigher education is how can I
make a difference?
And I felt that I could here,and so I was willing to take it
a shot and to try to get awayfrom some of the California
(02:24):
traffic.
It all seemed to line up.
Beth Bobbitt (02:27):
Well, we're so glad you did, and I mean, the
impact has been tremendous.
So the council has been aroundfor about 30 years, is that
right?
One of the first projects thatmost people know is XNA, the
regional airport.
Nelson Peacock (02:40):
Talk about how far we've come since then and
what the current focus is yeah,so the council started in the
early 90s sam walton, john tyson, jb hunt, mark simmons trying
to figure out how these smallercommunities could work together
to make this a place where theirbusinesses could grow and
thrive.
I think they all knew theirbusinesses were on an upward
(03:02):
path but maybe they didn't knowexactly how big and successful
they would be.
But the first project was hardinfrastructure XNA, getting I-49
completed, highway 412 out toSiloam Springs.
Those were the first threepriorities and we've kind of
grown and expanded over time.
We have workforce development,economic development, we have a
(03:22):
health care initiative and westill keep focusing on on
infrastructure and alsoentrepreneurship and I think all
those kind of have grown andwe've grown into those is the
region's needs have changed, butstill the principles still
remain.
How do we continue to build aregion that is going to allow
(03:44):
successful businesses to comehere?
Because by doing that we createopportunity for everyone that
lives here, and so I think thatis kind of the goal of the
council, kind of whatever ittakes to allow this to be a
pro-business, really successfulplace.
Beth Bobbitt (04:01):
Yeah, and you all have done a great job with that
.
We're going to talk a littlebit about some of the programs
that have shown a lot of impact,but first let's level set here
and define Northwest Arkansas soboth from a geographical
perspective, but also like thepersonality and attributes of
the place.
Nelson Peacock (04:18):
So the federal government would define
Northwest Arkansas as Washington, Benton and Madison counties.
Our work is primarily limitedto Washington and Benton
counties, primarily in the fivelargest towns, so Bentonville,
Rogers, Springdale, Fayettevilleand Siloam Springs.
We'll talk maybe later abouthow that's expanding as some of
(04:38):
the smaller towns continue togrow, and so that's how we
define it geographically andthat's who we work with
primarily.
But you know, each city is kindof anchored with a large
employer, so Tyson, Walmart, youknow JB Hunt and Springs and
the University of Arkansas,which is a key member of the
council, also one of the largestemployers in the state down in
(05:02):
Fayetteville, and so that's howwe define it.
Those are the main partnersthat we work with.
Beth Bobbitt (05:08):
Want to see more of what's currently happening in
Bentonville?
Follow us on social media atVisit Bentonville to stay in the
know of restaurants, events,things to do in town and more.
We're here for you, whetheryou're planning a trip or
looking to move here.
Yeah, and speaking of some ofthose corporate and business
entities I mean with thatrichness, I'm just curious you
(05:32):
know, what does innovation callfor with these businesses and
what does that look like now?
Nelson Peacock (05:39):
Yeah.
So they're all leaders in theirown field, whether it's food or
retail supply chain logistics,and I think the role of the
council is we try to do what wecan to pull some of that out to
the broader community, get themengaged with local entrepreneurs
, get them to add their talentto what's going on around them.
(06:00):
Lots of partnerships betweenthe University of Arkansas and
some of the major companies,work on accelerator programs
like Plug and Play is one.
There's a lot of otheraccelerators and getting those
corporate leaders, thatexpertise and talent engaged
with a lot of our entrepreneursis kind of a key part of our
work and that's the way we seeit.
(06:21):
Obviously, they're going to doa lot of innovation internally
to help their businesses.
That's going to help us in turn.
But we're trying to get some ofthat out so we can start new
companies.
One of the things that we'rereally trying to do is to make
sure that as we grow, we cancontinue to add new companies
and scale companies, because youknow, as we know, Walmart is
(06:43):
15,000 employees.
In 10 years there'll probablybe around 15,000 employees in
the Bentonville area, same thingwith Tyson Foods, same thing
with the university.
So those companies have kind ofgrown and scaled.
No matter how successful theyare going to be and we expect
them to be very successful it'llprobably be the same amount of
job impact.
So we need new companies togrow and scale.
(07:04):
A company that goes from 10 to100 or a company that goes from
100 to 1,000 employees.
That's what we need to do, andthen, at the same time, we're
going to round out the kinds ofopportunities that people have
here when they do that.
Beth Bobbitt (07:17):
Yeah, makes good economic sense and I'm sure
helps with the recruitment andretention strategy Absolutely
yeah, I'd love to spend sometime talking about some fun
facts and maybe fact check me ona couple of things.
We hear a lot about the numberof people that are coming to our
region every year and I'd lovefor you to tell us what that
(07:39):
number is and any predictions.
I think we just heard in aconversation that there was a
prediction to double our size by2050.
Nelson Peacock (07:50):
So talk to us a little bit about what's current
the well, the number we throwaround is 36 a day.
That's around 30 new peoplemoving here and about six I mean
demographically.
You know, births versus deaths.
Yeah so that's more organicgrowth, but about 30 of those
are people moving in here.
It changes, it moves up anddown a little bit, but that's
(08:13):
been relatively consistent forthe last several years and the
data you're pointing to would bearound a million people.
It's from the NorthwestArkansas Regional Planning
Commission.
Every five years they do asurvey like that with some
demographers to help us makethose projections and, yeah,
they were supposed to be at amillion people in 2050.
We're around 600,000 now, sothat's a lot of growth.
(08:36):
I think we're the 98th largestMSA and if you look at those top
100, we're one of the fastestgrowing in that group.
There's faster growing areasbut there are smaller
communities, and so that's us asa region.
And then if you look at some ofour individual towns, like
Bentonville, centerton is, Ithink, a top 10 fastest growing
city in the country.
(08:57):
It's just not large enough tomake the larger list, and so
there's going to be a lot ofimplications around that growth
for us.
Most of the growth is occurringoutside of the major cities here
, and so what are theimplications on that for those
smaller towns that are going togo from 5,000 to 10,000 or
10,000 to 30,000 over the next10, 20 years and we have to
(09:22):
figure out a way, I believe, togrow as smartly as we possibly
can.
So how can we not eat up everybit of green space in between
those towns with single familyresidences?
We did a survey recently wherewe found out one of the top
things that people like aboutliving here not surprisingly is
(09:43):
green space and getting out inoutdoor and outdoor activities.
They also, the thing they wantthe least is traffic and high
housing prices.
So when you kind of add thoseup, they kind of go hand in hand
to try to figure out how we cangrow, you know, densely and
smartly in certain locations andleave a lot of that green space
(10:04):
available for recreationalactivities, and that's also
going to help us with ouraffordability and reducing
traffic over time.
Beth Bobbitt (10:13):
Yeah, yeah, let's talk about affordability.
I know that you have a programfocused on workforce housing.
Where are we on that and howare you feeling about it?
Nelson Peacock (10:22):
Yeah Well, it's certainly a challenge.
Interestingly enough, if youtalk to outside economic
developers or experts,affordability is still one of
our key attractive points.
So for people coming outside ofthe region, but if you live
here and you make a medianincome, you're really struggling
to find housing, to affordhousing.
(10:44):
That is an importantdistinction.
It really is, and if you addtransportation to that mix it's
called the HTNI metric we're notvery affordable at all.
Other cities like Austin, texas, are more affordable than us
because they have a robustpublic transit system and we
(11:04):
don't have a very robust oneright now, very robust one right
now.
So when we think about housing,you know obviously there's
affordable housing, low income,homeless, all of those things.
But for the council we'relooking at those, the key
workers.
So if you think about yournurses, your teachers, your
firefighters, your police, thoseare the people that make up,
(11:24):
kind of, the fabric of yourcommunity.
It's what makes these placesspecial, and if we have a region
where they can't afford to livein a town where they serve, I
feel like we've lost somethingalong the way.
That's what you see in bigcities across the country, where
the teachers have to commuteinto the city where they work,
or the firefighter has to do thesame thing, and so we need to
(11:46):
do everything we possibly can toprevent that from happening.
And so the first thing thatwe're doing is educating, or
trying to educate, the generalpublic and our policymakers
about the types of housing thatwe need, the options of housing
that we need and kind of whatthe market will do on its own
without these rules in place.
(12:08):
So there's a reason that placeslike downtown Bentonville are so
expensive because this is thelifestyle that a lot of people
want.
They want to be able to walk,bike to restaurants and other
places.
So how can we produce thatlevel of optionality for people
in other places?
We look at it like this a lotof times.
One of the examples is a lot ofpeople around here have been to
(12:30):
Seaside, Florida.
We're like why can't you justdesign a town like that to live
in?
Maybe you wouldn't have thebeach.
But there's a reason.
People like that and I thinkour research shows if we give
people options, they'll takethem.
They're affordable.
Obviously can't afford.
You know certain locations aregoing to be unaffordable, but we
(12:51):
can build in options for peopleto live so that they can live
where they serve.
Beth Bobbitt (12:56):
Yeah, certainly, being a more bikeable place is
one of those factors that I've.
We've come a long way.
We'll say that.
Well, let's talk about some ofthe really successful programs
that we can highlight here.
Maybe start with StartupNorthwest Arkansas.
Nelson Peacock (13:13):
Yeah.
So Startup NWA is a programreally designed to help
facilitate our entrepreneurialecosystem.
As I mentioned earlier, there'sa lot of accelerator programs.
There's a lot of innovationcoming out of the University of
Arkansas.
We're trying to provide a placefor those companies to get
support once they're founded,they're up and running.
(13:34):
So how do we bring peopletogether?
How do we get them?
That first check in the door?
That's beyond friends andfamily, and so we've been doing
a lot of work recruiting venturecapitalists from around the
country to come here in our VCImmersions Program.
We've had several events overthe last year where we will
curate a visit.
So if you're a venturecapitalist from Kansas City or
(13:57):
from Washington DC or fromCalifornia, we are going to
invite you here, see all thatNorthwest Arkansas and
Bentonville particularly has tooffer and then set you up with
founders who we think areinvestable companies, and so
we've done that about four timesso far.
We're going to keep doing itand we've already gotten about
eight companies.
Their first check Wow, andthose are local companies.
(14:20):
They don't have to leave, wecan bring it here to them, and
those are the companies that aregoing to grow.
They're going to add jobs andadd to our innovation ecosystem.
So that is kind of where we aretrying to play.
We have opened up a kind ofstudio innovation studio in
downtown Bentonville calledOnward HQ.
It Onward HQ and a lot of thoseventure capitalists that have
(14:46):
come here they've seen what'shappening in Northwest Arkansas,
so they we've actually they'reputting an office in this, this
building, so that they can comeand stay.
Maybe they'll have someonepermanently here.
And then we have startups thatare going to get a subsidized
office or desk space and thenjust starting to create those
connections and create thoseopportunities to get together,
(15:08):
learn from each other, and so wejust opened that.
We haven't officially had agrand opening yet, but we're
really excited about where we'reheaded with that one.
Beth Bobbitt (15:16):
Super cool, win-win for everyone.
Okay, how about HealthcareTransformation Division?
Nelson Peacock (15:22):
Yeah, so healthcare.
When I got here in 17,healthcare transformation was
part of our Northwest ArkansasCouncil strategy.
I never knew what it was.
I never looked at it, I didn'tknow what it was at all, and so,
when we were redesigning ourstrategy, I wanted to ask more
about what this was.
(15:43):
And you know, I got a little ofthe background that basically we
did not have a lot of theexpertise that people needed
like that high level cardiaccare, cancer care here, and so
people had to leave the region,and so ultimately we got some
funding for a study to figureout what that actually meant,
(16:04):
what we needed to do in thefuture, and we found and
released in 2019 the study thatshowed we were losing $950
million per year from peopleleaving to go to Tulsa, to
Little Rock, to Mayo Clinic fortheir health care, and so that
really, I think, motivated a lotof people to put it in those
terms, and so that was when wecreated the health care, and so
(16:27):
that really, I think, motivateda lot of people to put it in
those terms, and so that waswhen we created the health
division that's with Mercy,washington Region or all the
other major providers Heartland,whole Health came along and
they joined and we've beenworking together to solve some
of these problems around qualityand access, and we just
released a new report last year,late last year, that showed
we'd improved by about $200,000and are on a really positive
(16:51):
trajectory.
We're doing three thingsprimarily to try to address that
.
The first one was a medicalschool which Alice Walton has
stepped in to create the AliceWalton Medical School.
Beth Bobbitt (17:03):
Well open in 2025 .
That's right Taking students.
Nelson Peacock (17:07):
Actually, I think they start in July the
first class.
So that was one Increasinggraduate medical education,
meaning right now Arkansas hasmore med students than
residencies, yeah, and so wesend a lot of would-be doctors
here to other places to do theresidencies.
So about 75% of doctorspractice where they do the
(17:31):
residency, so we need to keepthose here, and so we created a
program with Washington Regionalto create 96 new residencies
with some state help.
Those are about to come onlineor they have been coming online,
so that's 96 new doctors thatwe don't have to recruit.
They're going to be here.
And then we're also trying towork to increase research.
(17:53):
A lot of high-level physicianswork in places where they can do
research as well as treatpatients.
So those are the three majorthings that we're doing and, I
think, having a lot of success.
Obviously, what's happeninghere in Bentonville with the
medical school, with theCleveland Clinic Partnership,
has a lot to do with that, butthere are institutions all
(18:15):
across the region that aremaking significant upgrades in
their health care.
And it's just going to serve thepeople that live here so much
better, and I think theenvironment helps with too.
Beth Bobbitt (18:26):
Having a natural beautiful environment where
there's trails and lakes, yeahwell that's right, you know the
other thing we've learned.
Nelson Peacock (18:34):
you know these hospitals are.
They're nonprofits, but they'realso businesses.
There's a market for doctors.
We have historically lowreimbursement rates.
It's hard to pay a competitivewage.
Even Oklahoma can pay a lotmore.
So there's a lot of policythings that we work on, but this
division has really put a lotof the foundational building
(18:57):
blocks in place, and so we'rereally excited about where we
could head over the next two,five, ten years in health care.
Beth Bobbitt (19:03):
Well, and that wrap-up, I mean that study
that's showing the $200,000decrease that is so encouraging,
and if we can be an artsdestination, we can be a
destination for health care too.
Nelson Peacock (19:16):
I could say it was $200 million, not $200,000.
$200 million, there we go.
Yeah, I probably misspoke onthat.
Amazing, okay.
Well, I probably misspoke onthat.
Beth Bobbitt (19:23):
Amazing.
Okay, well, we're going to wrapup with a few fun questions.
We'd love to hear a little bitabout, maybe, a secret spot in
Bentonville or something that'sreally meaningful for your
family, either a place or atrail or kind of an unknown that
maybe our listeners don't knowabout.
Nelson Peacock (19:40):
Yeah, probably when I first moved here one of
the little hidden gems it's inBella Vista, not in Fentonville,
but Tanyard Creek the waterfallthere.
Like our children they're 13,11 now, but they were seven and
five and just to be able to takethe dog and kind of walk up
that waterfall and it was just,we were like wow, what is this
(20:01):
place?
So, that was one of my favoritesand I think I mentioned before
we came on.
But spend a lot of time at BestFriends Animal Shelter the last
few weeks and we fostered a dogand now we've adopted a cat for
my daughter.
And so that's a great place youcan go wash your dog there for
(20:22):
like a donation.
Oh wow, so it's that's it's agreat place you can go wash your
dog there for like a donation.
Oh wow, so it's that's.
It's a really cool spot.
Beth Bobbitt (20:27):
Very cool.
So a glimpse into the future.
If you had a crystal ball, whatdo you see in northwest
Arkansas, bentonville, 10 yearsfrom now?
Yeah, you know, I think.
Nelson Peacock (20:35):
I think it really hinges on how we handle
this question of growth.
I think all of the major citieshave plans in place, and good
ones and really robust plans.
Bentonville included in that Alot of the smaller towns.
We are going to have a regionalgrowth strategy that we're
(20:56):
going to be announcing soon tohelp them with some of these
decisions, you know, with zoningand how they grow and how they
think about growth.
But I really think that that iswhat is going to tell the tale.
Are we going to have density inthe right locations or are we
going to have single familyhomes, as far as the eye can see
, eating up all of our greenspace, pressuring our
(21:17):
infrastructure, pressuring ourlakes and streams, and we really
, I think, if that happens, welose a little bit of our
character along the way.
One of the people that we talkedto that's kind of an expert on
these things was talked aboutthe homogenization of America,
that a lot of these nationalbuilders are coming into every
(21:38):
location and building the sameway because that's their
business model, and you knowthat's totally fine and we have
several of them coming in herenow and we need the housing, but
we also need to preserve thecharacter of what people love
about this place, and so we'redifferent, we're unique.
We're one of the fastestgrowing places in the middle of
the country, and that'shappening for a reason, and
(22:00):
that's probably not by beinglike everyone else.
And that's happening for areason, and that's probably not
by being like everyone else.
So we need to empower ourelected officials and decision
makers with the knowledge andinformation to help make the
best decisions that they canrelated to growth.
Beth Bobbitt (22:13):
Yeah, and I love the intentionality of preserving
some of those unique qualitiesabout the five major cities.
You all are doing a great jobsupporting and sharing resources
, and thank you for coming onand for all you're doing with
the council.
You can learn morenorthwestarkansascouncilorg and
you all have newsletters andsocial media you could follow to
(22:34):
stay abreast.
Nelson Peacock (22:35):
Yeah, absolutely Check out the website.
There's also a website calledFinding NWA.
That's kind of our talentattraction website.
But I love to go there becausewe put a lot of content from
Visit Bentonville and others onthere to kind of push out to the
rest of the world.
Yeah, Wonderful.
Thanks, Nelson, for being onthe podcast.
Beth Bobbitt (22:54):
Thank you, as always, visit Bentonville is
here to help you navigate thingsto do, where to eat and stay
and what's going on in our newAmerican town.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out ourwebsite at visitbittenvillecom.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to a new American town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, beth Bobbitt,and today we're excited to dive
deep into what makes Bentonvillethe ideal place to live and our
growth over the next decade.
We're speaking directly withthe man behind it all, Nelson
Peacock, the President and CEOof Northwest Arkansas Council.
Welcome to the podcast, nelson,thank you.
(00:32):
So I think this will be reallyhelpful for listeners who either
are new to the area or thinkingabout moving here, or maybe you
know just wanting to visit, butwe're going to talk about
regional growth.
We're going to talk a littlebit about you know what wanting
to visit, but we're going totalk about regional growth.
We're going to talk a littlebit about you know what it's
been like to move to NorthwestArkansas for you, so I'd love to
start there.
Just what has been yourexperience?
(00:53):
What really attracted you tothis area originally?
Nelson Peacock (00:57):
Yeah, so well.
As you mentioned, I wasactually born in Fayetteville
when my father was at law school.
We lived, grew up in EasternArkansas, but I went to school
in Fayetteville when my fatherwas at law school.
We grew up in eastern Arkansasbut I went to school in
Fayetteville and then got to DCand then to California and when
I was in California I wouldalways continually come back for
Razorback games or things likethat, and I knew that Northwest
(01:18):
Arkansas had been on all thesetop 10 lists.
But I didn't really know whatwas going on until a friend of
mine called and said if you everwant to move home, the perfect
job just came open, and it wasthis job at the Northwest
Arkansas Council.
So I applied, started doing theinterview process, the
(01:40):
commitment that the companieswere making in Northwest
Arkansas, the elected officialsand some of the prominent
families here into thiscommunity, and so the ability
from the vantage point of thecouncil to bring all of that
together, to try to bringcollaboration across many
(02:02):
different sectors, manydifferent communities, just was
really appealing to me.
And I just knew the trajectorythat this was on and I felt like
I could make a difference here.
Which had really been a part ofwhat I've always strived to do
through government service or inhigher education is how can I
make a difference?
And I felt that I could here,and so I was willing to take it
a shot and to try to get awayfrom some of the California
(02:24):
traffic.
It all seemed to line up.
Beth Bobbitt (02:27):
Well, we're so glad you did, and I mean, the
impact has been tremendous.
So the council has been aroundfor about 30 years, is that
right?
One of the first projects thatmost people know is XNA, the
regional airport.
Nelson Peacock (02:40):
Talk about how far we've come since then and
what the current focus is yeah,so the council started in the
early 90s sam walton, john tyson, jb hunt, mark simmons trying
to figure out how these smallercommunities could work together
to make this a place where theirbusinesses could grow and
thrive.
I think they all knew theirbusinesses were on an upward
(03:02):
path but maybe they didn't knowexactly how big and successful
they would be.
But the first project was hardinfrastructure XNA, getting I-49
completed, highway 412 out toSiloam Springs.
Those were the first threepriorities and we've kind of
grown and expanded over time.
We have workforce development,economic development, we have a
(03:22):
health care initiative and westill keep focusing on on
infrastructure and alsoentrepreneurship and I think all
those kind of have grown andwe've grown into those is the
region's needs have changed, butstill the principles still
remain.
How do we continue to build aregion that is going to allow
(03:44):
successful businesses to comehere?
Because by doing that we createopportunity for everyone that
lives here, and so I think thatis kind of the goal of the
council, kind of whatever ittakes to allow this to be a
pro-business, really successfulplace.
Beth Bobbitt (04:01):
Yeah, and you all have done a great job with that
.
We're going to talk a littlebit about some of the programs
that have shown a lot of impact,but first let's level set here
and define Northwest Arkansas soboth from a geographical
perspective, but also like thepersonality and attributes of
the place.
Nelson Peacock (04:18):
So the federal government would define
Northwest Arkansas as Washington, Benton and Madison counties.
Our work is primarily limitedto Washington and Benton
counties, primarily in the fivelargest towns, so Bentonville,
Rogers, Springdale, Fayettevilleand Siloam Springs.
We'll talk maybe later abouthow that's expanding as some of
(04:38):
the smaller towns continue togrow, and so that's how we
define it geographically andthat's who we work with
primarily.
But you know, each city is kindof anchored with a large
employer, so Tyson, Walmart, youknow JB Hunt and Springs and
the University of Arkansas,which is a key member of the
council, also one of the largestemployers in the state down in
(05:02):
Fayetteville, and so that's howwe define it.
Those are the main partnersthat we work with.
Beth Bobbitt (05:08):
Want to see more of what's currently happening in
Bentonville?
Follow us on social media atVisit Bentonville to stay in the
know of restaurants, events,things to do in town and more.
We're here for you, whetheryou're planning a trip or
looking to move here.
Yeah, and speaking of some ofthose corporate and business
entities I mean with thatrichness, I'm just curious you
(05:32):
know, what does innovation callfor with these businesses and
what does that look like now?
Nelson Peacock (05:39):
Yeah.
So they're all leaders in theirown field, whether it's food or
retail supply chain logistics,and I think the role of the
council is we try to do what wecan to pull some of that out to
the broader community, get themengaged with local entrepreneurs
, get them to add their talentto what's going on around them.
(06:00):
Lots of partnerships betweenthe University of Arkansas and
some of the major companies,work on accelerator programs
like Plug and Play is one.
There's a lot of otheraccelerators and getting those
corporate leaders, thatexpertise and talent engaged
with a lot of our entrepreneursis kind of a key part of our
work and that's the way we seeit.
(06:21):
Obviously, they're going to doa lot of innovation internally
to help their businesses.
That's going to help us in turn.
But we're trying to get some ofthat out so we can start new
companies.
One of the things that we'rereally trying to do is to make
sure that as we grow, we cancontinue to add new companies
and scale companies, because youknow, as we know, Walmart is
(06:43):
15,000 employees.
In 10 years there'll probablybe around 15,000 employees in
the Bentonville area, same thingwith Tyson Foods, same thing
with the university.
So those companies have kind ofgrown and scaled.
No matter how successful theyare going to be and we expect
them to be very successful it'llprobably be the same amount of
job impact.
So we need new companies togrow and scale.
(07:04):
A company that goes from 10 to100 or a company that goes from
100 to 1,000 employees.
That's what we need to do, andthen, at the same time, we're
going to round out the kinds ofopportunities that people have
here when they do that.
Beth Bobbitt (07:17):
Yeah, makes good economic sense and I'm sure
helps with the recruitment andretention strategy Absolutely
yeah, I'd love to spend sometime talking about some fun
facts and maybe fact check me ona couple of things.
We hear a lot about the numberof people that are coming to our
region every year and I'd lovefor you to tell us what that
(07:39):
number is and any predictions.
I think we just heard in aconversation that there was a
prediction to double our size by2050.
Nelson Peacock (07:50):
So talk to us a little bit about what's current
the well, the number we throwaround is 36 a day.
That's around 30 new peoplemoving here and about six I mean
demographically.
You know, births versus deaths.
Yeah so that's more organicgrowth, but about 30 of those
are people moving in here.
It changes, it moves up anddown a little bit, but that's
(08:13):
been relatively consistent forthe last several years and the
data you're pointing to would bearound a million people.
It's from the NorthwestArkansas Regional Planning
Commission.
Every five years they do asurvey like that with some
demographers to help us makethose projections and, yeah,
they were supposed to be at amillion people in 2050.
We're around 600,000 now, sothat's a lot of growth.
(08:36):
I think we're the 98th largestMSA and if you look at those top
100, we're one of the fastestgrowing in that group.
There's faster growing areasbut there are smaller
communities, and so that's us asa region.
And then if you look at some ofour individual towns, like
Bentonville, centerton is, Ithink, a top 10 fastest growing
city in the country.
(08:57):
It's just not large enough tomake the larger list, and so
there's going to be a lot ofimplications around that growth
for us.
Most of the growth is occurringoutside of the major cities here
, and so what are theimplications on that for those
smaller towns that are going togo from 5,000 to 10,000 or
10,000 to 30,000 over the next10, 20 years and we have to
(09:22):
figure out a way, I believe, togrow as smartly as we possibly
can.
So how can we not eat up everybit of green space in between
those towns with single familyresidences?
We did a survey recently wherewe found out one of the top
things that people like aboutliving here not surprisingly is
(09:43):
green space and getting out inoutdoor and outdoor activities.
They also, the thing they wantthe least is traffic and high
housing prices.
So when you kind of add thoseup, they kind of go hand in hand
to try to figure out how we cangrow, you know, densely and
smartly in certain locations andleave a lot of that green space
(10:04):
available for recreationalactivities, and that's also
going to help us with ouraffordability and reducing
traffic over time.
Beth Bobbitt (10:13):
Yeah, yeah, let's talk about affordability.
I know that you have a programfocused on workforce housing.
Where are we on that and howare you feeling about it?
Nelson Peacock (10:22):
Yeah Well, it's certainly a challenge.
Interestingly enough, if youtalk to outside economic
developers or experts,affordability is still one of
our key attractive points.
So for people coming outside ofthe region, but if you live
here and you make a medianincome, you're really struggling
to find housing, to affordhousing.
(10:44):
That is an importantdistinction.
It really is, and if you addtransportation to that mix it's
called the HTNI metric we're notvery affordable at all.
Other cities like Austin, texas, are more affordable than us
because they have a robustpublic transit system and we
(11:04):
don't have a very robust oneright now, very robust one right
now.
So when we think about housing,you know obviously there's
affordable housing, low income,homeless, all of those things.
But for the council we'relooking at those, the key
workers.
So if you think about yournurses, your teachers, your
firefighters, your police, thoseare the people that make up,
(11:24):
kind of, the fabric of yourcommunity.
It's what makes these placesspecial, and if we have a region
where they can't afford to livein a town where they serve, I
feel like we've lost somethingalong the way.
That's what you see in bigcities across the country, where
the teachers have to commuteinto the city where they work,
or the firefighter has to do thesame thing, and so we need to
(11:46):
do everything we possibly can toprevent that from happening.
And so the first thing thatwe're doing is educating, or
trying to educate, the generalpublic and our policymakers
about the types of housing thatwe need, the options of housing
that we need and kind of whatthe market will do on its own
without these rules in place.
(12:08):
So there's a reason that placeslike downtown Bentonville are so
expensive because this is thelifestyle that a lot of people
want.
They want to be able to walk,bike to restaurants and other
places.
So how can we produce thatlevel of optionality for people
in other places?
We look at it like this a lotof times.
One of the examples is a lot ofpeople around here have been to
(12:30):
Seaside, Florida.
We're like why can't you justdesign a town like that to live
in?
Maybe you wouldn't have thebeach.
But there's a reason.
People like that and I thinkour research shows if we give
people options, they'll takethem.
They're affordable.
Obviously can't afford.
You know certain locations aregoing to be unaffordable, but we
(12:51):
can build in options for peopleto live so that they can live
where they serve.
Beth Bobbitt (12:56):
Yeah, certainly, being a more bikeable place is
one of those factors that I've.
We've come a long way.
We'll say that.
Well, let's talk about some ofthe really successful programs
that we can highlight here.
Maybe start with StartupNorthwest Arkansas.
Nelson Peacock (13:13):
Yeah.
So Startup NWA is a programreally designed to help
facilitate our entrepreneurialecosystem.
As I mentioned earlier, there'sa lot of accelerator programs.
There's a lot of innovationcoming out of the University of
Arkansas.
We're trying to provide a placefor those companies to get
support once they're founded,they're up and running.
(13:34):
So how do we bring peopletogether?
How do we get them?
That first check in the door?
That's beyond friends andfamily, and so we've been doing
a lot of work recruiting venturecapitalists from around the
country to come here in our VCImmersions Program.
We've had several events overthe last year where we will
curate a visit.
So if you're a venturecapitalist from Kansas City or
(13:57):
from Washington DC or fromCalifornia, we are going to
invite you here, see all thatNorthwest Arkansas and
Bentonville particularly has tooffer and then set you up with
founders who we think areinvestable companies, and so
we've done that about four timesso far.
We're going to keep doing itand we've already gotten about
eight companies.
Their first check Wow, andthose are local companies.
(14:20):
They don't have to leave, wecan bring it here to them, and
those are the companies that aregoing to grow.
They're going to add jobs andadd to our innovation ecosystem.
So that is kind of where we aretrying to play.
We have opened up a kind ofstudio innovation studio in
downtown Bentonville calledOnward HQ.
It Onward HQ and a lot of thoseventure capitalists that have
(14:46):
come here they've seen what'shappening in Northwest Arkansas,
so they we've actually they'reputting an office in this, this
building, so that they can comeand stay.
Maybe they'll have someonepermanently here.
And then we have startups thatare going to get a subsidized
office or desk space and thenjust starting to create those
connections and create thoseopportunities to get together,
(15:08):
learn from each other, and so wejust opened that.
We haven't officially had agrand opening yet, but we're
really excited about where we'reheaded with that one.
Beth Bobbitt (15:16):
Super cool, win-win for everyone.
Okay, how about HealthcareTransformation Division?
Nelson Peacock (15:22):
Yeah, so healthcare.
When I got here in 17,healthcare transformation was
part of our Northwest ArkansasCouncil strategy.
I never knew what it was.
I never looked at it, I didn'tknow what it was at all, and so,
when we were redesigning ourstrategy, I wanted to ask more
about what this was.
(15:43):
And you know, I got a little ofthe background that basically we
did not have a lot of theexpertise that people needed
like that high level cardiaccare, cancer care here, and so
people had to leave the region,and so ultimately we got some
funding for a study to figureout what that actually meant,
(16:04):
what we needed to do in thefuture, and we found and
released in 2019 the study thatshowed we were losing $950
million per year from peopleleaving to go to Tulsa, to
Little Rock, to Mayo Clinic fortheir health care, and so that
really, I think, motivated a lotof people to put it in those
terms, and so that was when wecreated the health care, and so
(16:27):
that really, I think, motivateda lot of people to put it in
those terms, and so that waswhen we created the health
division that's with Mercy,washington Region or all the
other major providers Heartland,whole Health came along and
they joined and we've beenworking together to solve some
of these problems around qualityand access, and we just
released a new report last year,late last year, that showed
we'd improved by about $200,000and are on a really positive
(16:51):
trajectory.
We're doing three thingsprimarily to try to address that
.
The first one was a medicalschool which Alice Walton has
stepped in to create the AliceWalton Medical School.
Beth Bobbitt (17:03):
Well open in 2025 .
That's right Taking students.
Nelson Peacock (17:07):
Actually, I think they start in July the
first class.
So that was one Increasinggraduate medical education,
meaning right now Arkansas hasmore med students than
residencies, yeah, and so wesend a lot of would-be doctors
here to other places to do theresidencies.
So about 75% of doctorspractice where they do the
(17:31):
residency, so we need to keepthose here, and so we created a
program with Washington Regionalto create 96 new residencies
with some state help.
Those are about to come onlineor they have been coming online,
so that's 96 new doctors thatwe don't have to recruit.
They're going to be here.
And then we're also trying towork to increase research.
(17:53):
A lot of high-level physicianswork in places where they can do
research as well as treatpatients.
So those are the three majorthings that we're doing and, I
think, having a lot of success.
Obviously, what's happeninghere in Bentonville with the
medical school, with theCleveland Clinic Partnership,
has a lot to do with that, butthere are institutions all
(18:15):
across the region that aremaking significant upgrades in
their health care.
And it's just going to serve thepeople that live here so much
better, and I think theenvironment helps with too.
Beth Bobbitt (18:26):
Having a natural beautiful environment where
there's trails and lakes, yeahwell that's right, you know the
other thing we've learned.
Nelson Peacock (18:34):
you know these hospitals are.
They're nonprofits, but they'realso businesses.
There's a market for doctors.
We have historically lowreimbursement rates.
It's hard to pay a competitivewage.
Even Oklahoma can pay a lotmore.
So there's a lot of policythings that we work on, but this
division has really put a lotof the foundational building
(18:57):
blocks in place, and so we'rereally excited about where we
could head over the next two,five, ten years in health care.
Beth Bobbitt (19:03):
Well, and that wrap-up, I mean that study
that's showing the $200,000decrease that is so encouraging,
and if we can be an artsdestination, we can be a
destination for health care too.
Nelson Peacock (19:16):
I could say it was $200 million, not $200,000.
$200 million, there we go.
Yeah, I probably misspoke onthat.
Amazing, okay.
Well, I probably misspoke onthat.
Beth Bobbitt (19:23):
Amazing.
Okay, well, we're going to wrapup with a few fun questions.
We'd love to hear a little bitabout, maybe, a secret spot in
Bentonville or something that'sreally meaningful for your
family, either a place or atrail or kind of an unknown that
maybe our listeners don't knowabout.
Nelson Peacock (19:40):
Yeah, probably when I first moved here one of
the little hidden gems it's inBella Vista, not in Fentonville,
but Tanyard Creek the waterfallthere.
Like our children they're 13,11 now, but they were seven and
five and just to be able to takethe dog and kind of walk up
that waterfall and it was just,we were like wow, what is this
(20:01):
place?
So, that was one of my favoritesand I think I mentioned before
we came on.
But spend a lot of time at BestFriends Animal Shelter the last
few weeks and we fostered a dogand now we've adopted a cat for
my daughter.
And so that's a great place youcan go wash your dog there for
(20:22):
like a donation.
Oh wow, so it's that's it's agreat place you can go wash your
dog there for like a donation.
Oh wow, so it's that's.
It's a really cool spot.
Beth Bobbitt (20:27):
Very cool.
So a glimpse into the future.
If you had a crystal ball, whatdo you see in northwest
Arkansas, bentonville, 10 yearsfrom now?
Yeah, you know, I think.
Nelson Peacock (20:35):
I think it really hinges on how we handle
this question of growth.
I think all of the major citieshave plans in place, and good
ones and really robust plans.
Bentonville included in that Alot of the smaller towns.
We are going to have a regionalgrowth strategy that we're
(20:56):
going to be announcing soon tohelp them with some of these
decisions, you know, with zoningand how they grow and how they
think about growth.
But I really think that that iswhat is going to tell the tale.
Are we going to have density inthe right locations or are we
going to have single familyhomes, as far as the eye can see
, eating up all of our greenspace, pressuring our
(21:17):
infrastructure, pressuring ourlakes and streams, and we really
, I think, if that happens, welose a little bit of our
character along the way.
One of the people that we talkedto that's kind of an expert on
these things was talked aboutthe homogenization of America,
that a lot of these nationalbuilders are coming into every
(21:38):
location and building the sameway because that's their
business model, and you knowthat's totally fine and we have
several of them coming in herenow and we need the housing, but
we also need to preserve thecharacter of what people love
about this place, and so we'redifferent, we're unique.
We're one of the fastestgrowing places in the middle of
the country, and that'shappening for a reason, and
(22:00):
that's probably not by beinglike everyone else.
And that's happening for areason, and that's probably not
by being like everyone else.
So we need to empower ourelected officials and decision
makers with the knowledge andinformation to help make the
best decisions that they canrelated to growth.
Beth Bobbitt (22:13):
Yeah, and I love the intentionality of preserving
some of those unique qualitiesabout the five major cities.
You all are doing a great jobsupporting and sharing resources
, and thank you for coming onand for all you're doing with
the council.
You can learn morenorthwestarkansascouncilorg and
you all have newsletters andsocial media you could follow to
(22:34):
stay abreast.
Nelson Peacock (22:35):
Yeah, absolutely Check out the website.
There's also a website calledFinding NWA.
That's kind of our talentattraction website.
But I love to go there becausewe put a lot of content from
Visit Bentonville and others onthere to kind of push out to the
rest of the world.
Yeah, Wonderful.
Thanks, Nelson, for being onthe podcast.
Beth Bobbitt (22:54):
Thank you, as always, visit Bentonville is
here to help you navigate thingsto do, where to eat and stay
and what's going on in our newAmerican town.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out ourwebsite at visitbittenvillecom.
Thanks for listening.
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