Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Rhonda Wood announced Monday (June 3) that she will be a candidate for the Arkansas Supreme Court, Position 3.

The election will be held in May 2014.

“I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Arkansas Supreme Court,” Woods said in a statement. “Our state and country need bold leaders in all branches of government.  After serving as circuit judge and now as judge on the Court of Appeals, I’m convinced more than ever that our judiciary needs fresh leadership.”

Woods serves as a judge in District 2 of the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

“When I ran for Court of Appeals people would always ask me, ‘Why should I vote for you?’” Wood stated. “My personal values are Arkansas values – faith, family, hard-working, conservative values.  Second, my judicial experience will serve the judiciary well.  I’ve made the tough decisions in the face of immense pressure,” Wood explained. 

Woods said that if elected to the Supreme Court the “Arkansas Constitution will be my guide.”
 
Wood formerly had a private law practice in Conway, was an associate at Williams & Anderson in Little Rock, and was assistant dean at the Bowen School of Law prior to taking the bench five years ago.

She is active in the Arkansas Bar Association, serving as a six-year delegate to the House, committee chair, liaison to the Legislature, contributor to several books, and has received many honors around the state for her service to the bar and her scholarship.
 
Wood received a bachelor’s degree from Hendrix, and her juris doctorate from the Bowen School of Law, with highest honors, as well as receiving the top score on the Arkansas Bar Exam. Wood is admitted and has practiced before:  the Arkansas Court of Appeals, the Arkansas Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.
 
She  resides in Conway and is married to Dr. Michael Wood. They have four children.

Link here for more about Wood's candidacy.

• McCormick acquires Asian company
Spice company, McCormick recently acquired Wuhan Asia-Pacific Condiments Co. -- a manufacturer of bouillon products in central China.

McCormick said these new products complement its own portfolio of flavor products and will give the company a broader market share in Asia

The purchase price for this business was $147 million U.S., subject to normal purchase price adjustments. McCormick funded this acquisition with cash and debt. 

• Smithfield’s largest stakeholder walks
Continental Grain Co, the largest shareholder in Smithfield Foods Inc, said on Monday it would sell its entire stake in the world's biggest pork producer, preventing an impending proxy battle after China's Shuanghui International Holdings moved in to buy Smithfield in a multi-billion dollar deal.

Shuanghui International Holdings announced last week it would buy Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion.

"In light of the announced transaction, we have elected to exit our long-term ownership position in Smithfield because we are satisfied with our investment return," Continental Grain CEO Paul Fribourg, told Reuters.

It held a 5.84 percent stake in Smithfield as of April 25, according to Reuters data.

• PepsiCo exec moves to Foot Locker
Foot Locker appointed former PepsiCo executive Paulette Alviti as the company’s chief human resources officer and senior vice president.

Alviti’s background in human resources, both domestically and internationally, includes experience in organizational capability and training, talent acquisition and development, employee engagement and communications for the corporate office and field organization.

Alviti spent 17 years at PepsiCo most recently serving as chief human resources officer at the company’s Asia, Middle East and Africa division.

More than 121,000 people viewed the “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell” exhibit at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, according to museum officials.

According to data from the Rockwell Museum, attendance at the 11-week exhibit tops visitation numbers from the 12 previous exhibition locations—including cities such as Sacramento, Calif., Detroit, Raleigh, N.C., and Orlando, Fla.

“We believed that this outstanding exhibition of a beloved artist’s work would resonate with our guests, and we’re gratified to see just how meaningful it was to so many people,” said Crystal Bridges Executive Director Rod Bigelow. “All of our staff has been actively involved in making this exhibition a success, and along the way, we’ve been hearing guests’ stories that have left an impression on all of us — from grandparents talking to their grandchildren about a moment in history they remember, to viewers commenting on the impact of Rockwell’s civil rights-era works. That shared experience is our goal in bringing these types of exhibitions to Crystal Bridges.”

During the exhibition, nearly 5,000 participants in school tours and 6,375 participants in group tours were able to visit American Chronicles, as were two area hospice patients who made special requests to view Rockwell’s works.

“Crystal Bridges generously fulfilled what we call an end-of-life wish by providing private tours of the Norman Rockwell exhibition,” Bentonville-based Circle of Life Hospice social worker Meghan Hastings said in a statement. “Viewing the exhibition had been a desire of these patients since they heard the famous artist’s work was coming to Northwest Arkansas. Watching their faces as they viewed the Rockwell paintings was a beautiful thing!”

Situated on 120 wooded acres in Bentonville, Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 by the Walton Family Foundation as a nonprofit charitable organization for all to enjoy. Philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton chairs the Museum’s board of directors. The building was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie and opened to the public on Nov. 11, 2011.

In its first year of operation, the museum had more than 650,000 visitors and garnered more than 7,750 households in its membership.

Arvest Bank announced that Cynthia Kruithof accepted the role of senior human resources manager in Benton County.

For the past 13 years, Kruithof worked at Arvest Bank in Fort Smith as a senior vice president and human resources manager. She has also worked as a trust officer for First National Bank in DeKalb, Ill., from 1992 to 1999. 

Kruithof will report directly to Dennis Smiley, president of Arvest Bank in Benton County.

“Cynthia’s experience with human resources in the banking industry is a major asset to our team,” said Smiley. “She knows how Arvest Bank operates and is an able and dynamic leader within the organization.”

Kruithof is a graduate of Riverton High School in Riverton, Kan.. and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan. She has also attended the Cannon Financial Institute.

While working in Fort Smith, Kruithof was the chair for the United Way Allocation Committee and served on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith College of Applied Science and Technology Advisory Board.

She and her husband, Dean Kruithof, have been married for 34 years and have one adult son.

Arvest Bank is one of the leading bank lenders to U.S. agriculture, according to the American Bankers Association’s (ABA) list of the top 100 farm lenders.

The bank ranked 27th nationally with approximately $462 million in agricultural loans at the end of last year according to the American Banker’s Association annual list of 100 largest farm lenders. In 2012, Arvest originated approximately $452 million in farm loans, up 9% from $415 million in 2011.

“In the regions where we operate, Arvest has a number of customers who make their living in the agricultural industry. Many of our associates have backgrounds in agriculture, so it’s natural that we would focus on providing farmers with various loans, such as SBA and FSA. We are always working on building the expertise that agribusiness people need to be profitable. We are thrilled to partner with so many agriculturally-based businesses and customers in our communities,” Kent Williamson, loan manager for Arvest Bank in Springdale, said in a bank statement.

The 2012 ABA Farm Bank Performance Report stated that the U.S. banking industry is the nation’s most important supplier of credit to the agriculture industry, providing more than 50% ($141 billion) of all farm loans.

Agricultural lending is an area in which Arvest continues to experience growth. Since 2006, total farm loans at Arvest (farm production loans plus farmland loans) have more than doubled. The bank originated $227 million in farm loans in 2006, and approximately $452 million in 2012. Since 2006, total farm loans made by all banks have increased 67% from $49.1 billion in 2006 to $81.8 billion in 2012. Also, 6% of Arvest’s total loan portfolio is farm lending.

Mike Lawson, the sales manager for Steve Smith Country, announced Wednesday (June 5) he is a candidate for the recently vacated Ward 4, Position 1 post on the Springdale City Council.

Lawson said in a statement that he is looking forward to the opportunity to serve his hometown. The special election will be held on Aug. 13, for the term that will end in November 2014.

According to Lawson’s statement, he has lived in Springdale for 48 years, is a 1983 graduate of Springdale High School, has been a member of Springdale Kiwanis Club since 1991, serves on the Springdale Country Club Board of Directors, is a member of the Arkansas Activities Association, and works as a referee for high school football and basketball throughout the state

"I pledge to the people of Springdale to bring quality leadership and tireless dedication if chosen to fill Ward 4, Position 1, on the Springdale City Council,” Lawson said. “I look to bring continued business growth while ensuring that Springdale remains a great place to raise a family - a place we are all proud to call home.”

Household products giant Procter & Gamble said Wednesday (June 5) it was reorganizing its business global business unit into four sectors.

The new alignments were part of the company’s ongoing plan to improve business performance.

“This sector organization and leadership team will help us operate more effectively and efficiently to continue momentum behind P&G’s growth strategies,” said A.G. Lafley, P&G board chairman, president and CEO. “These changes build on the productivity and organization design work led by Bob McDonald, and will help us get closer to consumers and become more agile with customers.”

The company will split its household care and beauty and grooming units into four sectors starting July 1. Each sector will be led by a group president as follows:

Martin Riant, president of global baby, feminine and family Care.
Deborah A. Henretta president of global beauty.
David S. Taylor, president of global home care, including pets.
Giovanni Ciserani group president of global fabric and home care.

Charles E. Pierce, group president of global oral care, will also assume the additional duties for held by Jorge Mesquitam, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

“We expect this structure to facilitate faster global expansion of brand and product innovations to win with consumers,” Lafley said. “Sectors will also drive technical, commercial, financial and organizational synergies to improve results.”

Concurrent with these changes, P&G is also announced Dimitri Panayotopoulos, has been elected vice chairman and advisor to the chairman and CEO beginning July 1.

P&G is a major supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and has a large office in Fayetteville.

Rogers attorney David Fisher has been indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in helping former Northwest Arkansas developer Brandon Barber commit bank fraud.

Fisher, along with Barber, Brandon Rains and Jeff Whorton were originally indicted in January of several charges related to Barber’s financial dealings during his bankruptcy process.

Barber, once a high-profile developer during the heady days of seemingly non-stop Northwest Arkansas commercial development, was arrested March 20 in New York City and returned to Fayetteville to face the federal charges related to fraud and his bankruptcy filing.

“The indictment today replaces the January indictment, adding Fisher to the conspiracy charge and retaining counts of money laundering against Rains and Whorton,” noted the statement from the office of Conner Eldridge, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

According to the Eldridge statement, the indictment charges that Barber, Rains, Whorton, and Fisher made false and fraudulent representations to First Federal Bank in order to obtain loans in excess of the actual value of properties that the loans were obtained to purchase.

The statement further explained, “Multi-party, multi-property real estate transactions were then structured so that excess funds from those loans could be divided between Barber, Rains, and Whorton. Fisher furthered the conspiracy by preparing an agreement between the defendants that detailed how excess funds obtained from the fraudulent scheme would be divided and making false representations to First Federal Bank.”

If convicted, Fisher faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., announced Friday (June 7) that Timothy Brooks has been nominated by President Barack Obama for U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

“With his experience, intellect, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness, I have no doubt that Timothy Brooks will be a good fit as judge for the Western District of Arkansas,” Pryor said. “I look forward to sharing his qualifications with my colleagues, and moving his nomination through the confirmation process.”

Brooks is a partner with Taylor Law Partners, LLP in Fayetteville, Ark.

Brooks has spent his entire 24-year legal career with the firm, becoming a partner in 1993. He represents individual plaintiffs and corporate clients in complex civil litigation in both federal and state courts, with an emphasis on commercial and medical malpractice cases.

Brooks received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas and his juris doctorate with honors from the University of Arkansas School of Law.

One local business entrepreneur sees green pizza as appetizing and said keeping a lid on overhead costs also allows him to pass those savings on to consumers.

Rolf Wilkin, owner of the Eureka Pizza chain, figures going green and will save his company between $300 and $500 per month in its Leverett Avenue store in Fayetteville. Those utility savings will come from solar panels that are being installed this week.

Wilkin said the solar panels are expected to reduce the amount of electricity the store has to use off the grid by about 30 to 50%.

There will also be a monitor in the store so that customers can see how much energy is created along with other statistics. The information, available in real time, will also be available on the company’swebsite,

Wilkin is working with Sun City Solar Edge in Springdale on this project. John Gerrard, owner of Sun City Solar, said the technology has drastically improved over the past five years, which has ramped us uses by small businesses.

The return on investment begins the moment the solar panels are activated, Gerrard said. Those savings, added to rebates and tax incentives make the project increasingly affordable for business owners.

“Businesses have a big advantage to do this,” Wilkin said. “Half of the incentives are because we’re a business. For the price of a used car, you can do the right thing. It makes sense from two sides. Before, businesses had to sacrifice the dollars to do the right thing.

“Now, you can have your pizza and eat it too,” Wilkins quipped. “We’ll see if the sun makes the pizza taste better.”

Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble recently teamed up to offer Toronto shoppers more convenience. The corporate duo recently placed virtual pop-up stores in 50 bus stations across the Canadian city.

For the next four weeks, consumers waiting on their bus can scan QR-codes from their mobile phones or tablets for products like diapers, Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and 2,000 other P&G brands. The products will be delivered straight to their homes for free, according to the press release.

The test model follows a digital pop-up store partnership between Wal-Mart and Mattel in Toronto ahead of the 2012 Christmas holidays which created a virtual toy store in the underground commuter walkway near the subway and office towers.

Meat giant JBS, parent company of Pilgrim’s Pride, said it will pay as much as $3 billion in cash and assumed debt of Seara Brasil poultry to expand its footprint and marketshare in Brazil.

JBS is a major meat competitor to Tyson Foods Inc.

Reuters reported JBS will hold a news conference Monday (June 10)  to announce the details of its pending acquisition. Seara is owned by JBS's rival competitor Marfrig.

The deal will help JBS, Brazil's dominant beef processor, boost its share of the country's poultry and pork market while helping Marfrig cut its $6.1 billion debt burden racked up after a series of recent takeovers of smaller rivals, Reuters reported.

The sale will make Marfrig, Brazil's No. 2 poultry and pork producer, a significantly smaller company.

Seara Brasil’s sales rose 48% in the first quarter of 2013 and accounted for about one-third of Marfrig’s total revenue.

H.J. Heinz announced Friday (June 7) the completion of its acquisition by an investment consortium comprised of Berkshire Hathaway and an investment fund affiliated with 3G Capital. The acquisition agreement was first announced on February 14.

Heinz shareholders will receive $72.50 in cash for each share of common stock they owned as of the effective time of the merger, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes.
As a result of the completion of the merger, the common stock of Heinz will no longer be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Heinz expects no further trading after the close of business on June 7.

As previously announced, Bernardo Hees has become CEO of Heinz, effective immediately.

“I am honored today to become Heinz’s seventh CEO in the Company’s renowned 144 year history. I look forward to building upon Heinz’s incredible platform and delivering world-class products for all of our consumers around the world, while maintaining the Company’s unwavering commitment to quality, safety and superior customer service,” Hees noted in the release.

William R. Johnson, who is credited with transforming Heinz into a high-performing global leader in the packaged foods industry, retired on Friday from his position as Heinz’s Chairman, President and CEO, after a storied 31-year career with the company, including the last 15 plus years as CEO.

Going forward, Johnson will serve as a part-time advisor to Hees on certain specific industry and strategic non-operating matters.

Heinz also announced that Paulo Basilio has become chief financial officer of Heinz, effective immediately. Basilio will report directly to Hees.

Basilio, 38, is a partner at 3G Capital.

 “I also want to thank Art Winkleblack for his service to Heinz and wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” Hees said.

Gov. Mike Beebe on Monday (June 10) announced the following appointments to boards and commissions:

Charles Allen, Ph.D., Little Rock, reappointed to the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Council. Appointment expires May 1, 2019.

Joe Bennett, M.D., Harrison, reappointed to the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Council. Appointment expires May 1, 2019.

Russell Bragg, Fort Smith, to the State Plant Board. Appointment expires Jan. 9, 2015. Replaces David Choate.

Sandy Campbell, Nashville, to the Long Term Care Advisory Board. Appointment expires Oct. 15, 2015. Replaces Martha Deaver.

John Chamberlin, Little Rock, reappointed to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. Appointment expires March 29, 2017.

Staci Croom-Raley, Maumelle, to the State Board of Private Career Education. Appointment expires April 15, 2014. Replaces Norman Adamson.

William Gaddy, Little Rock, reappointed to the Arkansas Public Employee Retirement System Board of Trustees. Appointment expires March 9, 2019.

Dr. Mary Ann Greenwood, Fayetteville, reappointed to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Appointment expires Jan. 14, 2017.

Dr. George Haas, Sherwood, reappointed to the State Board of Optometry. Appointment expires April 26, 2018.

Kelly Halstead, Maumelle, to the Arkansas Lifeline Individual Verification Effort Corporation. Appointment expires March 1, 2016. Replaces Denise Morbit.

Dr. Doug Hausler, Eureka Springs, to the Arkansas Wine Producers Council. Appointment expires March 1, 2016. Replaces Robert Cowie.

Darwin Hendrix, Antoine, reappointed to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. Appointment expires March 29, 2015.

Colonel Charles Henry, Sherwood, to the Arkansas Veterans Commission. Appointment expires Oct. 15, 2017. Replaces Francis Marshall.

Deborah Hoofman, Enola, to the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. Appointment expires Jan. 14, 2022. Replaces William Swann.

William Howard, Jonesboro, reappointed to the Arkansas Sentencing Commission. Appointment expires May 15, 2018.

Tommy Jameson, Jr., Little Rock, reappointed to the Capitol Zoning District Commission. Appointment expires May 1, 2016.

Molly Jensen, Fayetteville, to the Arkansas Division of Volunteerism Advisory Council. Appointment expires Jan. 17, 2015. Replaces Will Whiting.

Amber Jones, Little Rock, to the Capitol Zoning District Commission. Appointment expires May 1, 2016. Replaces Jo Ellen Maack.

Kathryn Jones, Ed.D., Bentonville, reappointed to the Arkansas Education Television Commission. Appointment expires March 23, 2021.

William "Steve" Keith, Magnolia, to the Southern Arkansas University Board of Trustees. Appointment expires Jan. 14, 2018. Replaces Ronnie Ribble.

Roger McClain, Springdale, reappointed to the Arkansas Veterans Commission. Appointment expires Oct. 15, 2017.

Melinda McIlroy, Fayetteville, to the State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board. Appointment expires July 31, 2014. Replaces Andrew Parker.

Jack McNulty, Pine Bluff, reappointed to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Appointment expires Jan. 14, 2017.

Dr. Jawahar Mehta, Little Rock, to the Arkansas Psychology Board. Appointment expires Dec. 31, 2017. Replaces Anne Powell-Black.

Michael Moore, Little Rock, to the State Employment Security Advisory Council. Appointee serves at the will of the governor. Replaces Russell Gunter.

Wayne Owen, Monticello, reappointed to the State Plant Board. Appointment expires March 17, 2015.

Jamie Pafford-Gresham, Hope, to the Arkansas Rural Development Commission. Appointment expires Dec. 31, 2017. Replaces Bob Lucky.

Mark Pearson, Little Rock, reappointed to Baby Sharon’s Children’s Catastrophic Illness Grant Program. Appointment expires May 1, 2017.

Dr. Michael Post, Altus, reappointed to the Arkansas Wine Producers Council. Appointment expires March 1, 2016.

The Fort Smith Regional Economic Outlook Forum on July 10 at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will include a presentation from Kevin Kliesen, business economist and research officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
 
The luncheon forum, hosted by UAFS and Arvest Bank, will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, according to Dr. Kermit Kuehn of Fort Smith, director of the Center for Business Research and Economic Development at UAFS. Kuehn will give an update on the regional economy as part of the forum.
 
Kuehn said Kliesen’s presentation will focus on the performance of the U.S. economy to date, as well as look at the prospects for the economy for the balance of the year. Kliesen said he is looking forward to the July economic forum at UAFS.
 
“I hope to provide attendees with an overview of the U.S. and regional economic outlook and briefly discuss the Federal Reserve’s ‘exit strategy,’” Kliesen said.
 
In addition to updating participants on the area economy, Kuehn will also highlight the findings of the most recent research by the center on economic clusters, giving some implications of this research. This study is to be reported in the forthcoming Fort Smith Regional Economic Outlook Report to be released by mid-June.
 
“I’m really looking forward to this mid-year forum. I think our presenters represent unique perspectives on what’s going on in the economy and hopefully that will provoke some good discussion,” said Craig Rivaldo, Arvest Bank president.

Tickets for the luncheon are $15, with reservations required by July 8. To register, contact the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce at 783-3111 or email whitney@fortsmithchamber.com.

Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 1.1% in June over the same month last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation.

The report reflects modest growth expectations as retailers head toward the back-to-school and holiday seasons.

“With the economic recovery moving slowly, retailers are being cautious this summer and could hold off on stocking up for the holiday season until fall,” said Jonathon Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy for NRF. “We aren’t expecting significant increases for imports until October, when retailers will have a better idea of what to expect for holiday demand.”

Cargo import numbers do not correlate directly with retail sales or employment because they count only the number of cargo containers brought into the country, not the value of the merchandise inside them. But the amount of merchandise imported nonetheless provides a rough barometer of retailers’ expectations.

U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.31 million container units in April, the latest month for which numbers are available. Units were up 14.6%  from an unusually slow March but down 0.1% from April 2012.

May cargo was estimated at 1.4 million containers, up 2.2% from a year ago.

June is forecast at 1.4 million containers, up 1.1% from last year;
July at 1.44 million containers, up 1.9%;
August at 1.43 million containers,  up 0.5%;
September at 1.42 million containers, up 0.8%;
October at 1.45 million containers, up 7.9%.

The first six months of 2013 are expected to total 7.8 million containers, up 1.9% from the first half of 2012.

“We are witnessing a period of import trade growth that is running more or less in sync with the U.S. economic expansion. Unfortunately, both are anemic,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “The impact of this extremely cautious consumer spending is that we expect import consumption to remain weak for the coming four to six months.”

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, covers the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades and Miami on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.

Father’s Day is June 16 and retailers expect consumers to dole out $119.84 per person for dear ole dad. Spending is expected to total roughly $13.3 billion, up slightly from last year, according to the National Retail Federation and IBIS World, a market research firm.

Consumer are expected to spend about $2.5 billion on special outings like brunch or a sporting event, compared to $1.8 billion spent on clothing and $1.7 billion on electronics, according to the NRF.

It turns out consumers use this holiday to celebrate the other male relationships as well, the survey found more than half of respondents plan to buy gifts for step-dads, husbands, sons, grandfathers and brothers.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College will name a college building in honor of Dr. Becky Paneitz, Ric Clifford, chairman of the college’s board of trustees said Monday (June 10).

Clifford read a proclamation at Paneitz’s final board meeting Monday stating the student center will be named after Paneitz.

The Student Center was the first building project undertaken after Paneitz assumed the college’s chief executive role in 2003. Paneitz is retiring June 30 after serving a decade as NWACC president.

Other structures constructed during her tenure include what was Benton County’s first multistory parking garage, the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development and the Center for Health Professions. Recently, work has begun to transform the former Highlands Oncology building into the Melba Shewmaker Southern Region National Child Protection Training Center.

During the board’s May 13 meeting, the trustees granted Paneitz status as President Emerita.

The Schmieding Centers in Springdale and Bella Vista will host two seminars around the topic of “Maximizing Your Social Security Retirement Benefits”.

There are at least 560 different ways to claim retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration and these seminars will provide free information to those planning retirement
in the coming year or so.

The public is invited to attend.

In Bella Vista the workshop is set for 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 13 at the Highlands Crossing Center.

In Springdale the workshop will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18 at the Schmieding Center.

John Andrews, one of the founders and CEO of Collective Bias has exited the company, according to a company press release on Tuesday.

“John is an entrepreneur at heart and this will give him the opportunity to follow his passions to pursue other interests and create new businesses,” Mailena Urso, spokeswoman for Collective Bias, stated in an e-mail.

Bill Sussman replaces Andrews as president and CEO of the social media marketing company based in Bentonville.

Sussman was formerly the  vice president of retail development and marketing at Nickelodeon where he led the consumer products business for Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.

“I have spent my career at the convergence of new media and advertising, and Collective Bias is facing the biggest opportunity yet,” he notes in the release.

“Social media is transforming the way brands, retailers and consumers interact, and I am thrilled to be joining one of the companies leading that change.”

Collective Bias said the company has recorded three straight years of triple-digit growth and recently closed a $10.5 million Series A investment round led by Updata Partners and other strategic investors.

“Bill has an uncanny combination of shopper marketing expertise, a track record with hyper growth businesses, and sound general management experience,” said Amy Callahan, Collective Bias’ co-founder and chief operating officer.

“We are delighted to work with Bill as we continue to build our scale to serve the fast growing market.”

Sussman holds an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He serves on the board of directors for the Children’s Museum of Northwest Arkansas and The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas, a charity that teaches life skills to children through the game of golf.