Simmons Bank, the bank company owned by Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff, will sponsor "The Arkansas Delta: Why It Still Matters," a conference on the future of the Arkansas Delta region, on Thursday, April 7, at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The publicly traded financial holding company said the conference is designed to help community leaders network and discuss how towns can be managed amid population declines. It will also feature panels on health care, education, agriculture and economic development.
The conference is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with lunch served at noon.
"For years, many parts of east Arkansas have been losing population due to the mechanization of agriculture and other factors," said George Makris Jr., the chairman and CEO of Simmons First National Corp. "Unfortunately, that trend has accelerated in portions of the Delta since the turn of the century. It's time for those who craft public policy in our state to come up with a comprehensive plan for dealing with the problems associated with outmigration from the Delta."
The co-chairmen for the conference are Rex Nelson of Simmons Bank, Judge Raymond Abramson of the Arkansas Court of Appeals and Ritter Arnold of E. Ritter & Co. of Marked Tree.
Speakers include:
- John Kirk, the director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Institute on Race and Ethnicity and the school’s Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History.
- Mike Preston, the executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, who will speak on economic development in the Delta.
- Greg Hamilton, a senior research economist, demographer and director of research at the Institute for Economic Advancement at UALR.
There is no registration fee, but those planning to attend are required to register in advance.