Category: Community Involvement

Nicholas Kelley Joins LGLR Class XXXV

Posted on 09/27/19

We are pleased to announce Nicholas (“Nick”) Kelley has been selected to participate in Class XXXV of the Little Rock Chamber’s Leadership Greater Little Rock program.

“I’m honored to be part of the Chamber’s leadership program and look forward to the experience, camaraderie, and commitment,” said Nick Kelley.

This is the third consecutive year Flake & Kelley has had an associate accepted into the Leadership program and Kelley is the eighth associate of the firm to participate. Former alums include Jim Dailey (Class I), Hank Kelley (Class V), Daryl Peeples (Class VI), Bill Pendergist (Class XXIX), Drew Laning (Class XXXIII), Jessica Kokinos (Class XXXIII), and Cynthia Lu (Class XXXIV).

As an attorney specializing in real estate, Nick’s expertise brings a high level of real estate services to the firm. Prior to joining Flake & Kelley Commercial in 2017, Kelley served as a real estate associate with McGuireWoods in Atlanta, Ga. He also was a commercial real estate associate for Quattlebam, Grooms, Tull, & Burrow of Little Rock, Ark. He has represented real estate developers, Fortune 500 retailers, lenders, borrowers, and other clients on complex commercial transactions. In addition to his roles as executive vice president and partner at Flake & Kelley Commercial, Kelley serves as a member of the Central Arkansas Executives Association (CAEA) and Children’s Hospital Committee for the Future.

We congratulate all of the Leadership Greater Little Rock Class XXXV, presented yesterday in the Great Hall of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.

“It’s an incredible program where participants not only learn to maximize their leadership potential but how to put it into action in the community,” said Hank Kelley.

The announcement was followed by a reception sponsored by Simmons Bank.

Opportunity zone task force named; 20 people are selected by Little Rock mayor

Posted on 08/13/19

by Rachel Herzog | August 10, 2019 at 2:26 a.m.

ArkansasOnline.com

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. has named 20 people to serve on a task force that will work on helping the city to leverage its opportunity zones.

The team of developers, bankers and civic leaders will study how the city can attract investors to the federally designated economically distressed census tracts in Little Rock where new investments can be eligible for preferential tax treatment, a federal initiative that came with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Arkansas Opportunity Zone Selection (2018.4.20 update)

At a panel discussion that hosted officials from Washington, D.C., on Monday, Scott said encouraging investment in opportunity zones is one way to revitalize disadvantaged areas.

The task force will be chaired by Will Rockefeller of the Winrock Group. Martie North Hamilton, director of community development at Simmons Bank, will serve as a co-chair, according to a news release from the city.

The committee also includes:

• Regina Favors, interim president of Arkansas Baptist College

• Lisa Ferrell, developer

• Merritt Dake, CEO of Rock Dental Brands

• Virgil Miller, banker at Arvest Bank

• Angel Burt, vice president of the Dunbar Historic Neighborhood Association

• Kevin Huchingson, CEO of Colliers International, Arkansas office

• Shawn Govind, director of real estate development for the Pinnacle Hotel Group

• Leslie Lane, president of Arkansas Capital Corporation Group

• Ivan Hudson, insurance agent

• Tristan Wilkerson, managing principal at Think Rubix LLC

• Lee Hastings IV, agent with Flake and Kelley Commercial

• Chris Moses, developer

• Jill Floyd, member of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission

• Richard Mays, anonymous lawyer

• Nathan Rutledge, senior management director of Crews & Associates

• Ted Dickey, investment fund founder

• Patrick Schueck, vice president of Lexicon Inc.

• Pam Courtney, developer

Task force set for Little Rock Zoo; group to examine business model, facilities plans

Posted on 08/02/19

by Josh Snyder | July 22, 2019 at 9:44 a.m.

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and the Arkansas Zoological Foundation on Monday announced the creation of a task force that will study planning and development for the city’s zoo.

The “Task Force for the Zoo’s Future,” part of Scott’s initiative to consider the future of the War Memorial Park area, will scrutinize the zoo’s business model and facilities master plan and develop a funding action plan, according to a news release by the city.

The zoo’s master plan was initially developed in 2014, and members of the new team will consider new strategies in park and animal habitat design, as well as guest amenities, officials said.

“As one of the largest tourist attractions in the state and the only accredited zoo in Arkansas, the Little Rock Zoo is an important part of War Memorial Park and our City,” Scott said.

According to the release, task force members will include:

Brad Cazort, Chair of the Zoo Board of Governors
Lisa Buehler, Chair of the Arkansas Zoological Foundation
State Joyce Elliott, Vice-Chair of the Mayor’s Quality of Life Subcommittee for the Scott Script
Kathy Webb, City Ward 3 Director and liaison to the Zoo Board of Governors
Jessica Poynter, Chair, Generation Zoo Young Professionals
Chad Causey, Causey Law Firm, Board Member, Arkansas Zoological Foundation
Andrew Rogerson, Chancellor, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Hank Kelley, CEO/Partner, Flake & Kelley Commercial
Tab Townsell, Executive Director, Metroplan
Rhonna Wade, Chair, Create Little Rock
Gretchen Hall, Executive Director, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau
Brandon Bibby, Associate AIA, WER Architects/Planners
Nate Coulter, Director, Central Arkansas Library System

Zoo Director Susan Altrui, City Manager Bruce Moore, and Jay Chessir, President and CEO of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce are to serve in ex-officio roles, officials said. According to the release, Schultz & Williams, a “zoo consulting firm” will support the task force with business planning regarding public-private partnerships. The Arkansas Zoological Foundation contracted the firm for $26,000 excluding travel expenses, according to officials.

Stephanie and Hank Kelley endow scholarship in honor of Dr. Ashvin Vibhakar

Posted on 06/28/19

LITTLE ROCK COUPLE’S $37,000 GIFT ENDOWS BUSINESS SCHOLARSHIP

Tracy Courage, June 27, 2019, Campus Community Featured homepage News

University of Arkansas at Little Rock business and finance students can now look forward to an additional scholarship to help them complete their dream of finishing a college education, thanks to a generous gift from a community-minded Little Rock couple.

Henry “Hank” Kelley Jr. and his wife Stephanie have donated $37,000 to the A.P. Vibhakar Endowed Scholarship, named in honor of Dr. Ashvin Vibhakar, UA Little Rock’s long-time Joe. T. Ford Chair of Finance.

“I am touched and honored to have this scholarship endowed in my name,” Vibhakar said. “I am thankful to Hank and Stephanie, who I consider to be my close friends and family, for their gift. Hank was one of my MBA students in the 1980s, and having a past student honor me this way gives me the sense that I have made a difference in the community.”

Chancellor Emeritus Joel Anderson created the scholarship in 2009 with a $5,000 gift, and the Kelleys’ donation brings the scholarship’s endowment to $50,000. Now that the endowment has reached that level, the scholarship will be awarded annually to a UA Little Rock minority student majoring in international business or finance.

Dr. Ashvin Vibhakar

Hank Kelley and Vibhakar are both members of the Rotary Club of Little Rock. Kelley, incoming president of Rotary 99, said his new responsibility led him to understand how important higher education is to the future of Little Rock

“The scholarship that Stephanie and I funded is a recognition of Ashvin Vibhakar’s service to his students and UA Little Rock,” Hank Kelley said. “We share membership in Rotary 99 of Little Rock with many other members of the UA Little Rock community, and Stephanie and I know Little Rock’s trajectory is directly tied to having a student-focused research university in our city. We know no better way to express our appreciation to Ashvin and Diane as friends than to help fund this important scholarship in his name.”

Chancellor Andrew Rogerson, also a Rotarian, said the university is indebted to Hank Kelley and other donors like him in central Arkansas who understand the importance of helping UA Little Rock thrive.

“Hank and Stephanie are pillars of the community who have given their hearts and souls to Little Rock,” Rogerson said. “Their latest gift to support business scholarships is yet another investment in the future of this university that will help us cultivate future leaders in central Arkansas.”

Hank Kelley is the CEO, partner, and executive broker in his brokerage and property management firm, Flake & Kelley Commercial. He received an MBA from UA Little Rock and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, both with honors. In addition to his Rotary membership, Kelley is involved with the UA Little Rock Foundation, Baptist Health Foundation Board, Fifty for the Future, and the Downtown Little Rock Partnership Board.

Stephanie Kelley works as a Pilates instructor, coach, and mentor in the community. She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary Academy and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where she and Hank met. The couple has four children and nine grandchildren.

https://ualr.edu/news/2019/06/27/kelleys-gift/#more-74624