Tag: UALR

Hank Kelley recognized by UALR School of Business

Hank Kelley, Whitney Burgess

Hank Kelley, CEO, Executive Broker, and Partner at Kelley Commercial Partners
Whitney Burgess, Vice President of Client Services and Strategy at Team SI

Today the University of Arkansas Little Rock School of Business announced it will honor Kelley Commercial Partners’ CEO, Hank Kelley, as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for his the mark he has made in business and for his service to the community and UA Little Rock. Whitney Burgess, vice president of client services and strategy at Team SI, will receive the Dean’s Award for Excellence. Awards will be presented at the Distinguished Alumni Luncheon to be held Oct. 16.

Kelley received his MBA from the UA Little Rock School of Business in 1984, the same year he joined the firm which is now Kelley Commercial Partners. He has stayed connected at UA Little Rock over the years by serving on the Business Advisory Council and as adjunct instructor at the School of Business. Last year, Kelley and his wife, Stephanie, made a generous donation to A.P. Vibhakar Endowed Scholarship.

“I’m honored to be recognized by the university and appreciate the efforts of the faculty and administration to engage and stay connected to the business community,” said Kelley.

 

Hank Kelley, guest lecturer at UALR College of Business

Hank Kelley, Jr.

On Monday evening, Hank Kelley was invited by instructor Elizabeth Small to lecture her UALR College of Business Finance 4371 class. This senior-level class teaches elements of mortgage financing for housing and investment property; sources of funds; application and approval; real estate investment analysis; effects of financing and income taxation upon investment returns and is part of the college’s real estate program.

Kelley discussed the types of mapping and demographic information Flake & Kelley provides clients. National retailers rely heavily on location, traffic counts, other retailers, and competition, as well as demographics before deciding on a site. He also covered current trends in the commercial real estate market. He noted the increased interest from investors in multi-family properties. An investment group out of Cinncinati recently purchased the 84-unit Barrister Court apartments. Retailers, on the other hand, are figuring out how to do more with less. Kelley commented that Little Rock’s newest national retailer, Trader Joe’s, prefers keeping shelves stocked rather than leasing more space for storing goods. The Little Rock Port was recently in the news because the Michigan-based company, HMS Manufacturing, chose a 550,000 SF industrial space in the port to open its fourth manufacturing facility.

On the subject of investing in real estate, Kelley shared advice his father, who was also in the real estate business, shared with him, “Every piece of property you own owns a piece of you.”

Hank’s executive assistant and current student at the College of Business, Tara Mitchell, was invited to sit in on the lecture.

“I was so excited when Professor Small gave me permission to sit in on this class. It’s great to watch Hank share his knowledge with the next generation, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from such a successful person on a daily basis,” said Tara Mitchell.

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

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

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

Stephanie and Hank Kelley

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