University of Arkansas Walton College Announces 2012 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductees

Business leaders representing a range of enterprises – from a key leader whose vision helped make Walmart into the retailing giant of today to a timber executive who also is a key figure in the horse racing industry to the man who built a small group of newspapers into a statewide media empire to the founder of an advertising agency that has grown into a regional powerhouse – have been selected to join the 54 other distinguished members of the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Board are pleased to announce that these outstanding leaders will be inducted into the hall of fame on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012:

• John Ed Anthony, chairman of Anthony Timberlands Inc. of Bearden, president of Shortleaf Stable, and former president of Loblolly Stable, one of the premier thoroughbred horse racing and breeding operations in the United States. 
• Wayne Cranford, chairman emeritus of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, the largest advertising agency in a three-state area.
• Walter E. Hussman Jr., publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and president and chief executive officer of WEHCO Media Inc. 
• Jack C. Shewmaker, former president and chief operating officer of Walmart Stores Inc. and owner and founder of JAC’s Ranch, a purebred Angus cattle operation.

“Once again, we have a very distinguished group of inductees that represent the best of our state. They have excelled in a wide range of business fields -- media, advertising and marketing, timber production and retailing -- and have each made significant contributions to the state of Arkansas,” Walton College Dean Dan L. Worrell said. “It is our hope that by honoring these four inductees we can enable their accomplishments to continue to be an inspiration to the future business leaders of Arkansas and the nation.”

The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame is permanently housed in the atrium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development at the Walton College on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

The selection process was chaired by Walton College alumnus Larry Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of First Arkansas Bank & Trust, Jacksonville, Ark. A nominating committee of 20 business leaders encouraged people throughout the state and beyond to make nominations, and then a selection committee of 12 business and community leaders reviewed the nominations and chose the inductees. Criteria for selection included: the significance of the impact made as a business leader, the concern demonstrated for improving the community, and the display of ethics in all business dealings. In addition, living inductees must be over the age of 60.

“We are very pleased to recognize the work of these individuals for their exemplary business leadership,” Wilson said. “In recognition of their business acumen, character and their service to their communities and state, they will become a permanent part of the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame at the induction ceremony in February.”

John Ed Anthony

At the age of 22, John Ed Anthony took over management of his family’s scattered business holdings after the sudden death of his father one month before the young Anthony graduated from college. Anthony pulled together the numerous small sawmills and timberland partnerships across southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana and eastern Texas and ultimately organized them under the umbrella of Anthony Timberlands Inc. The Anthony family is now the largest independent owner of timberlands in Arkansas, with more than 175,000 acres in the state. The company operates pine sawmills in Bearden and Malvern and a hardwood sawmill in Beirne. It manages a pine treating plant in Hope and a hardwood laminating plant in Sheridan. The enterprises employ more than 600 people and have total annual revenue of nearly $200 million. In addition, over a 25-year period starting in 1973, Anthony maintained one of the premier thoroughbred racing and breeding operations in the United States, under the name Loblolly Stable, winning the Belmont Stakes, the Preakness twice and the Arkansas Derby three times, fielding outstanding race horses such as Cox’s Ridge, Temperence Hill, Vanlandingham, Demons Begone, Pine Bluff and Prairie Bayou. He continues that long-time interest in horse racing as president of Shortleaf Stable. Anthony, inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, was born in Camden and graduated in 1961 from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor of science in business administration.

Wayne Cranford

Wayne Cranford founded the Cranford/Johnson advertising agency in 1961, when he was just 27 years old. It quickly grew into a regional advertising powerhouse, playing a role in the growth of such companies as Alltel, Acxiom, Entergy and Tyson Foods Inc. Renamed Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods in 1991, the agency is the largest in three states and one of the top 16 largest in the Southwest. It employs nearly 100 people in two Arkansas offices and bills $82 million a year. Cranford is known for his research-based advertising and marketing approach and for bringing national-quality, full-service advertising to Arkansas. He has served as chairman emeritus since 1993. His work with chief executive officers and other executives – including seven governors – led to President Bill Clinton appointing him to chair the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts from 1994 to 2001. Among other charitable and community organizations, Cranford is the chairman of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Commission and has served on the board of trustees of both the Arkansas Arts Center and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was inducted into the first class of the American Advertising Federation’s Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame in 2008. Cranford was born in Bald Knob and graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelor of science degree.

Walter E. Hussman Jr.

When Walter E. Hussman Jr. took over as publisher of the Arkansas Democrat in 1974, at the age of 27, the Democrat was losing money and market share each year. It had fallen behind its competitor in Little Rock, the Arkansas Gazette, in almost every category. Hussman’s newspaper eventually dominated the market, buying the assets of the rival newspaper in 1991. Hussman has served as chief executive officer of WEHCO Media, which operates 14 daily newspapers, 11 weekly newspapers and 13 cable television companies in six states, since 1981. Hussman was named Publisher of the Year in 2008 by Editor and Publisher magazine. He was a member of the board of directors of The Associated Press from 2000 to 2009 and has served as chairman of the board of the P.A.R.K. Foundation since its founding in 1993. Among other positions, Hussman has served as chair of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, president of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Society and both president and chair of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. He has received the distinguished alumnus award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Little Rock Downtown Partnership’s Top of the Rock Award. He was awarded the Lion’s World Services for the Blind’s Vision Award for 2008 and the Legacy Award from Junior Achievement for 2009. Hussman was born in Texarkana, grew up in Camden and received his bachelor of arts degree in journalism from North Carolina and an M.B.A. from Columbia University in New York.

Jack C. Shewmaker

In 1970, Jack C. Shewmaker was living in La Porte, Ind., but looking for a new challenge in the crowded world of small discount chain stores. Through a meeting with Sam Walton, he became one of two district managers at that time for Walmart. Shewmaker, who in 1974 created Walmart’s “Everyday Low Prices” pricing strategy that contributed to the company’s skyrocketing growth, rose to become president and chief operating officer in 1978. He was instrumental in shaping the “Walmart Culture” by developing the company’s first policies and procedures manual and personally setting a standard of ethics within the operation. Shewmaker also was an innovator within Walmart and the retail industry. He coined the company’s well-known term “Rollback.” He spurred Walmart to invest heavily in its first satellite communications system and implemented bar code standards for products, both industry firsts and both of which set the stage for Walmart’s growth into a new century. After retiring in 1988, Shewmaker remained on the Walmart board for 20 years. He also started JAC’s Ranch, a purebred Angus cattle operation, and was an executive retail consultant for Woolworths Limited of Australia. He supported education in Northwest Arkansas as a benefactor and booster for Bentonville High School and NorthWest Arkansas Community College. Shewmaker also was instrumental in the growth of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) to the point that it is now active on 1,500 college and university campuses in 39 countries. He was on the board of directors for Sisters of Mercy Health System starting in 2008. Shewmaker was born and graduated from high school in Buffalo, Mo. After his retirement from Walmart, he continued to live and be active in the Northwest Arkansas community until his death in November 2010.

A list of previous inductees into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame is available at http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/abhf/

Tickets to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a black-tie optional event, are $150 per person. For more information about tickets and event sponsorships, please contact the office of external relations at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Business Building 117, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201, 479-575-6146, by email at abhf@walton.uark.edu, or on the Web at http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/abhf/.