Volume 2 Issue 25 Published monthly by the Arkansas River Valley Tri - Region Association July 2005 ARKANSAS WELCOME CENTER OPENS Reprinted from Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism The newest Arkansas Welcome Center opened just west of Van Buren on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 on May 24. The Van Buren/Fort Smith Welcome Center is 6,000 square feet and is located on 10 acres; it is a stone and log structure that visually and physically represents The Natural State. Governor Mike Huckabee, Director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Dan Flowers and Executive Director for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Richard Davies were all present for the official opening. The Welcome Center features computer kiosks, large screen televisions, informative exhibits, improved parking and picnic tables. The Van Buren and Fort Smith Advertising and Promotion staff used the new facility to promote National Tourism Week by honoring a retired Oregon couple. Ken and Mary Blanscet of Salem, Oregon stopped at the new Welcome Center to pick up information on area campgrounds. The couple agreed to be temporarily kidnapped and were honored with official proclamations, a basket of Van Buren and Fort Smith goods and a lot of attention. Three more welcome centers were approved during the 2005 legislative session for Blytheville, West Memphis, and Lake Village.   LEGISLATIVE SESSION BUSY FOR TOURISM Reprinted from Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism The 85th General Assembly's regular legislative session proved to be a busy time for members of the tourism industry in Arkansas. The staff of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, supported by the State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission and members of the industry, readily responded to lawmakers' inquiries when asked and delivered supportive documentation when necessary. By the end of the session, tourism in Arkansas won more battles than it lost. Here's a summary of the legislation that impacts the tourism industry. TOURISM PROJECTS: Act 213 appropriates funds to Parks and Tourism for various construction and maintenance projects for park facilities and construction of the Delta Heritage Trail. Two pieces of legislation involve changing the names of two Arkansas state parks- Prairie County Museum will now be known as the Lower White River Museum State Park and Hampson Museum will be changed to the Hampson Archeological Museum State Park. Act 673 requires the Arkansas History Commission to erect a permanent marker in the town of Twist to commemorate blues singer B.B. King and the event that led to naming his guitar "Lucille" while performing there. Act 1092 funded the erection of the marker. Act 1409 changes the requirement for consent of a new motor vehicle racing facility from 75% of the area's adult residents to 75% of the registered voters within three miles of the proposed location. FINANCIALS: The financial qualifications in the Tourism Development Act were modified by Act 2308, which increases the amount an entity must invest to qualify for tax benefits from $500,000 to $1,000,000 was also deleted with this bill.| Museums that open after January 1,2005, and before 2013 will be exempt from sales and use taxes, provided they accumulate an artwork collection in excess of $100,000,000 prior to 2013. Act 2241 authorizes funds credited to the city advertising and promotion fund for use in promoting the county in which the city is located, while Act 2314 allows counties to levy an advertising and promotion tax if any rate of A & P tax is levied by a municipality of the county. LAW ENFORCEMENT: Law enforcement issues affecting the tourism industry include adding certified law enforcement officers of the U.S. Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service to the list of full-time law enforcement officers who have the power to arrest. Act 79 grants designated employees of the Forestry Commission authority to enforce criminal laws pertaining to damage or theft of trees, timber and logs. Boat owners will not be strictly liable to renters of their boats for injury or damage caused by negligent operation by the renters, thanks to Act 1156. The term "water sport activity" is specifically defined in Act 1297 to include skiing, tubing, sledding, wake boarding, wake surfing and bare-footing behind a boat and requires participants in these activities to wear life preservers. Act 1457 prohibits the removal of boat and boat motor identification or serial numbers. Finally, underage drinkers are now subject to criminal charges if found to be operating a motorboat while intoxicated by alcohol or other controlled substances. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Act 2147 is designed to ensure that Arkansas remains The Natural State. It creates the Junkyard Clean-up Grant Program to assist local law enforcement, county prosecuting attorneys and city attorneys with enforcement of junkyard screening and removal policies. COMMISSIONERS: Senate Bill 48, to revise membership of the State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission and eliminate emeritus commissioners, was referred to an interim committee. For more information on these bills and others addressed by the legislature, log on to www.arkleg.state.ar.us SUBIACO ABBEY NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED After a long wait of seven and a half years, the new Coury House Chapel and Conference addition is finished!   Also, check out the Catholic Digest July 2005 issue. They ran a free advertisement for the Subiaco Abbey's Monk Sauce. The short blurb is on Page 114 in the "Products We Recommend" section. Ordering information from their website is included. The text reads as follows: Monk Sauce Subiaco Abbey- $8 per bottle for 1-3 bottles. 479-934-1001 www.subi.org/brittle.htm BE PREPARED FOR SURPRISE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INSPECTIONS The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Arkansas Department of Labor periodically make surprise inspections of business records in an attempt to ensure full compliance with the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA). So what should you do when an inspector knocks on your door? First of all, it's important to understand the requirements of the FLSA. The FLSA, enforced by the Wage & Hour Division of the DOL, requires all employees to maintain certain records on the payment of employees and to make them available to the inspectors who may appear at your establishment without notice. Employers are required to keep the following records: For all employees: *Full name, home address and zip code *Date of birth, if under 19 *Sex *Occupation *Time and day workweek begins For employees not exempt from overtime (in addition to the above): *Regular hourly rate of pay with explanation of calculation (i.e. paid by the hour or pay) *Amount paid to employees excluded from regular rate (i.e. Christmas bonuses) *Hours worked by each employee in each workweek *Pay for each employee for regular hours *Total overtime pay for each employee for each work week *Deductions from pay for each employee for each pay period *Total of all wages paid each pay period *Date of payment of wages For tipped employees (in addition to the above): *A notation on their records that they are tipped employees *The weekly or monthly amount of tips received, as reported by the employee *The amount by which the employee's wages have been deemed increased by tips (i.e. the amount of tip credit) *All hours worked in each work week by the employee in a occupation when not receiving tips and the amount of payment for those hours *Hours worked by the employee in each work week in the occupation where tips are received and the total earnings for such hours These records must be preserved for a period of three years from the date of creation and maintained at the place of employment; they must be made available to an inspector at the time that he or she arrives. When the records are kept at a central location, they must be made available within 72 hours. On a practical note, most inspectors will work with employers and provide them some leeway with respect to the time it takes to produce records, if the employer requests it. Deductions and the tip credit: Restaurants should review their policies regarding minimum wage employees, especially tipped employees for whom they are taking the tip credit. Remember, if you are taking the tip credit for your tipped employees and paying them a cash wage of $2.13 per hour, they are considered minimum wage employees regardless of the amount of tips they receive. Deductions may not be made to the pay of minimum wage employees that will bring their wages below $5.15 per hour. Uniforms and dry cleaning if required, must be provided at no cost to minimum wage employees. Employees must be notified in writing that the tip credit is being taken, such as a written policy in an employee handbook. THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAM WORK IN AN ORGANIZATION Reprinted from Team Max Inc. News What's Missing in this Picture? The following is a list of very serious questions, but if you should feel as though I'm setting you up, you're right, but the purpose is to make a very important point! 1. Is production important? Yes, so we have a production superintendent. 2. Is sales important? Yes, so we have a sales manager. 3. Are finances important? Yes, so we have a financial officer. 4. Is safety important? Yes, so we have a safety director. 5. Is engineering important? Yes, so we have a director of engineering. 6. Is quality important? Yes, so we have a quality director. 7. Is teamwork important? Yes, so why do you not have a director for teamwork? Our research shows that an organization loses at least 25% of their teamwork efficiency as the result of people issues, e.g., being rude, not accepting or respecting individuals, not being kept informed with needed information, abusing power, and the list goes on. Do the numbers with your operating budget and note that you're losing 25% of that budget due to people issues. Do you like the numbers? Probably not, but your organization has become so acclimated to your way of doing business, the loss of this efficiency is a silent thief. I'm not through. Let's turn our attention to systems within your organization. You have systems to produce your product or deliver your service such as safety, quality, financial reporting and the numerous forms that must be completed. Do you have a system for teamwork? There is a person in charge of everything that is deemed critical to the success of the organization. Except no one is in charge of teamwork and there are no systems in place to ensure that effective teamwork occurs throughout the organization. One of the most important ingredients determining the success of the organization is left to chance. Now I ask you, "Is that smart business?" One reason that organizations don't have either a person or systems driving teamwork is because they don't know what to do. They may have read about other companies who have created a high-performing team-based environment and it may sound too complicated to integrate into your culture. But let's look at the very basics. The success of your organization is determined by three working relationships: 1) among members of a work unit, 2) the specific dynamics between a supervisor and their people and 3) between work units. Let's look at the very basic components of a system. 1. Teamwork performance standards. We call that the TeamWork Values Statement that defines both the values and specific behaviors to be institutionalized in the organization 2. Measurement. You know the benefits of data and the MBC Software allows you to obtain real-time measurements. 3. Improvement model. Use data to identify strengths and weaknesses, identify solutions to strengthen weaknesses and measure the success of the solutions. 4. Communication. All of your employees are from the "show me" state, thus a communication system must be designed to continuously remind everyone about the importance of the team work performance standards and the progress being made to integrate these values into the basic working relationships. THOUGHTS TO THINK ABOUT... "The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it." -Franklin P. Jones "Being kind to others...is being kind to yourself as the first recipient of your kindness." -Larry Cole "We sometimes treat people like a baby treats diapers." -Author Unknown Calendar of Events Dardanelle July 2: 4th of July Weekend Fun & Community Softball Game Mount Nebo State Park Ball Field & Amphitheater. Mount Nebo is a great place to celebrate! Kick off the morning by participating in or observing a community softball game at 10 a.m. At 2 p.m., children and adults compete for prizes in fun, traditional races and games. July 1-4: Fourth of July Weekend Lake Dardanelle State Park and Visitor's Center. Call 479-967-5516 for more information and details of their weekend schedule. There will be lots to do! July 30: Mount Nebo Remembers Day Mount Nebo State Park Pavilion. Help record the history of the mountain before and after it became a state park. Admission: Free Aug 20: Civil War Days Mount Nebo State Park. Visit a civil war encampment, see drills and marches, and hear living history presentations. Aug 27-28: 12th Annual End-of-Summer Hang Gliders' Fly-In Mount Nebo State Park. Join the Central Arkansas Mountain Pilots to watch and learn about hang gliding. For more information on the above events call 479-229-3655 or email mountnebo@arkansas.com Russellville July 4: 14th Annual Community Fireworks Display Old Post Road Park. Display begins at 9:15 p.m. Call 479-968-1272 or visit website www.eteamz.com/rsvlparksdepartment. Admission: $3.00 per car donation. July 10: Arkansas River Valley Arts Center announces the July exhibit featuring works by Janice Crummer The exhibit opening reception and opportunity to meet Janice Crummer and view her work will be from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the ARV Arts Center, 1001 East B Street. The exhibits are free and open to the public. The children's activity for July will be a trip to the final performance of "Anything Goes". For more information contact Betty LaGrone at 479-968-2452 Aug 6-12: Babe Ruth 10-Year-Old World Series Hickey Park. The best ten year old teams from across the country compete in a double elimination tournament to determine the World Series Winner! For more information contact Danny Hipps 479-264-3904 Admission: $5 Aug 19-20: 16th Annual Valleyfest Old Post Park. Games, amusement rides, BBQ cook-off and live entertainment. Proceeds benefit Ark. River Valley Boys & Girls Club. For more information contact Cathy Andrasik 479-968-7819 Clarksville July 21-24: 64th Annual Johnson County Peach Festival Town Square. For more information contact Ken Medeiros 479-754-9152 or visit website www.jocopeachfetival.8m.com. Admission: Free events; pageants $6 Aug 11-13: 6th Annual Bargains Galore on Hwy 64 130 miles Fort Smith to Conway. Great shopping! Morrilton July 4: July 4th Fun and Games Day Petit Jean Mountain. Observe our nation's birthday with an abundance of activities. For more information call 501-727-5441. Admission: Free For a complete schedule of events, visit their website www.petitjeanstatepark.com/calendar Aug 5-6: 17th Annual Great Arkansas Pig Out City Park. Activities begin 5 p.m. Friday. Bring chairs for free concerts by some of country music's favorites both nights. For more information contact Pig Out Committee 501-354-5400 website www.pigout.org. Admission: Free Aug 11-13: 6th Annual Bargains Galore on Hwy 64 130 miles Fort Smith to Conway. Contact Joe Williams 501-354-4180 Altus July 4: 4th of July Celebration Altus City Park. Music, food, sack races, women's skillet throw, turtle races, and fireworks display. Admission: Free July 9: 2nd Saturday Flea Market Free space for flea market items, produce, yard sale goods, etc. For more information on the above events contact Jennifer Brown 479-468-4684 or visit website www.altusarkansas.com. Aug 11-13: Bargains Galore on Hwy 64 130 miles Fort Smith to Conway. Contact Linda Hiles 888-568-3552 email bargainson64@arkansas.net Centerville Dragway July 2: SL/TNT HOT Street Showdown July 3: Summer Bracket Showdown July 9: SL/TNT Outlaw July 10: CLOSED July 16: SL/TNT PRO Street Begins July 17: Points/Awards 2nd Half July 23: SL/TNT Imports Only July 24: 300' ATV Dirt Drags Only July 30: SL/TNT/Arkansas Z Club Show July 31: Points + Fast Ford Bracket Aug 6: SL/TNT/Arkansas Z Club Aug 7: 7th Points + Arkansas Z Show Aug 13: SL/TNT + Street Radial Aug 14: CLOSED Aug 20: SL/TNT Real Street Aug 21: Points Race & Cop Cars Aug 27: Street Legal/TNT Imports Aug 28: ATV Dirt Drags Only For more information on the above events call 479-576-4001 email cvdrag@arkwest.com website www.centervilledragway.com