FAYETTEVILLE Northwest Arkansas could soon see 300 new jobs begin opening up, thanks to a "Green Valley" non-profit gearing up to bring new companies, technology, and training to the region.
The Green Valley Network's plan is simple: create a lot of new jobs in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas by bringing in companies focused on sustainability. If it succeeds, experts say it could add up to a big boost for Fayetteville's economy.
The Green Valley Network is planting new business and technology "seeds" in Fayetteville. Their hope? Draw green companies to the city so 300 new jobs can spring up.
Right now, new Northwest Arkansas resident Dan Sanker is the "mouthpiece" for the Green Valley Network. He says, "this becomes the first real, definable, 300 jobs, people who are trained in green-collar industries which will then create other jobs, so, say 1,000 jobs in total, quickly, which accomodates the need for urgent job creation. And then hopefully starts to further develop what has already become a business cluster, a technology cluster, and then attracts other companies here."
Organizers say The Natural State is a natural fit, breaking all stereotypes of its past. Sanker says as a California native, he's been in Fayetteville for a year and a half, and he says what he saw in Northwest Arkansas was a lot different than what he imagined before he arrived. His view, he says, was based on Arkansas' agricultural base of the past. But now, Sanker says the "new Arkansas" really doesn't look like that. "There's a new revolution coming. It's the sustainability revolution. Well, here's one that if you miss, you got it handed to you on a silver platter."
And he says, with expected stimulus funds, they won't miss this chance for economic growth. "Acticut" is a new-to-Fayetteville Swedish company that's already launched an innovative way to cut metal in Fayetteville: the first of its kind in the U.S. Dr. Thomas Lago plays a big role in the company, saying, "I've been looking all over the U.S. for two years to find someplace where I can have subcontractors, a demo station, a university: different thing to tie together. Fayetteville had it. I had no idea. I found it when I came here. What can I say?"
Another new Green Valley company, Blueingreen, is improving Fayetteville's water quality, at a much lower cost. Blueingreen's Scott Osborn says, "the system that we put in saves the City of Fayetteville between $30,000 and $40,000 a year."
Even Fayetteville's mayor, Lioneld Jordan, says he's on board, with his own ideas. "I'm going to put together a worker-training school, where people can be trained in green-collar jobs. So if you're in the solar part of this stuff, somebody has to put solar panels on roofs; they don't magically get there. You've got leadership in this area, you've got an agricultural energy-based economy, a culture of frugality; you put those three together, you should own sustainability."
Fayetteville's economic development council is closing, but its workers say their work to draw green companies to Fayetteville will just continue, through the Green Valley Network. Experts say the Green Valley Network isn't just Fayetteville. It includes Southern Missouri, Eastern Oklahoma, and all of Arkansas.
The Green Valley Network's plan is simple: create a lot of new jobs in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas by bringing in companies focused on sustainability. If it succeeds, experts say it could add up to a big boost for Fayetteville's economy.
The Green Valley Network is planting new business and technology "seeds" in Fayetteville. Their hope? Draw green companies to the city so 300 new jobs can spring up.
Right now, new Northwest Arkansas resident Dan Sanker is the "mouthpiece" for the Green Valley Network. He says, "this becomes the first real, definable, 300 jobs, people who are trained in green-collar industries which will then create other jobs, so, say 1,000 jobs in total, quickly, which accomodates the need for urgent job creation. And then hopefully starts to further develop what has already become a business cluster, a technology cluster, and then attracts other companies here."
Organizers say The Natural State is a natural fit, breaking all stereotypes of its past. Sanker says as a California native, he's been in Fayetteville for a year and a half, and he says what he saw in Northwest Arkansas was a lot different than what he imagined before he arrived. His view, he says, was based on Arkansas' agricultural base of the past. But now, Sanker says the "new Arkansas" really doesn't look like that. "There's a new revolution coming. It's the sustainability revolution. Well, here's one that if you miss, you got it handed to you on a silver platter."
And he says, with expected stimulus funds, they won't miss this chance for economic growth. "Acticut" is a new-to-Fayetteville Swedish company that's already launched an innovative way to cut metal in Fayetteville: the first of its kind in the U.S. Dr. Thomas Lago plays a big role in the company, saying, "I've been looking all over the U.S. for two years to find someplace where I can have subcontractors, a demo station, a university: different thing to tie together. Fayetteville had it. I had no idea. I found it when I came here. What can I say?"
Another new Green Valley company, Blueingreen, is improving Fayetteville's water quality, at a much lower cost. Blueingreen's Scott Osborn says, "the system that we put in saves the City of Fayetteville between $30,000 and $40,000 a year."
Even Fayetteville's mayor, Lioneld Jordan, says he's on board, with his own ideas. "I'm going to put together a worker-training school, where people can be trained in green-collar jobs. So if you're in the solar part of this stuff, somebody has to put solar panels on roofs; they don't magically get there. You've got leadership in this area, you've got an agricultural energy-based economy, a culture of frugality; you put those three together, you should own sustainability."
Fayetteville's economic development council is closing, but its workers say their work to draw green companies to Fayetteville will just continue, through the Green Valley Network. Experts say the Green Valley Network isn't just Fayetteville. It includes Southern Missouri, Eastern Oklahoma, and all of Arkansas.
