Jay Chesshir, President and CEO at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce will be going over options for financing for small business owners. He will be providing high level insight into each option and give you the information of where to access these options and guide you in the right direction. If the Third Congressional Coronavirus Stimulus passes by the time this event takes place, he will be covering that as well. You can expect us to go over these three options at least:

1. SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program
2. Quick Action Loan Program
3. Grants for COVID-19 Response Organizations

We are excited to have Jay on this series and wanted to give you a little bit more information about him! On May 19, 2006, Jay Chesshir became the 15th President and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce in its 153-year history. He began his career at the Little Rock Regional Chamber in February 2005 serving as their Economic Development Vice President, Senior Staff Executive for Fifty for the Future and Executive Director of the Metro Little Rock Alliance, an eleven-county economic development marketing coalition.
Under his leadership, the Chamber has directly worked projects accounting for over $2.6 billion in new and expanded capital investment, more than 17,500 jobs and $636 million in new annual payroll for the metro Little Rock region.

In 2016, he was elected national chair of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Board of Directors, representing more than 7500 chamber professionals from over 1300 chambers of commerce across the United States and Canada. In August 2017, he became the only person in ACCE’s 103-year history elected to serve a second term as their Board Chair. In addition, Jay currently serves on the UA Little Rock College of Business Advisory Board, UA Little Rock College of Engineering & Information Technology Leadership Council, Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board, Venture Center Board and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100. He is also a Ford Foundation Fellow of the ACCE Regionalism and Sustainable Development Program.

Jay was selected to serve on the Arkansas Task Force on Non-Baccalaureate Postsecondary Education to study workforce development issues facing the state as well as the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Committee on Higher Education. He is a former chairman of the Arkansas Economic Developers. The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas recognized him for his outstanding representation of the Arkansas business and economic development community during the 83rd Legislative General Assembly.

Jay served as Amendment 2 Campaign Committee Secretary for the statewide campaign which successfully led a constitutional amendment to create a “super project” incentive program for Arkansas. He has since been instrumental in helping lead two additional statewide election campaigns to maintain the competitiveness of Arkansas’ incentive programs. He was also selected as the Arkansas Economic Developer of the Year by the Arkansas Economic Developers Association.
He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas. Jay has been designated as a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives and is a graduate of both the Institute for Organization Management and Economic Development Institute.

Rock City Digital has partnered with business owners and leaders in Central Arkansas to bring you answers to the questions you are having during this difficult time. Our goal is to help small business owners survive this crisis by offering tips and tricks from other leaders who have creatively positioned themselves to stand out from their competition and successfully have figured out how to run business in a different way.

Join us for this lunch series at 12pm for the next couple of weeks as we all try to navigate how to run business in a way that’s never been done before.

Gina Radke is not a consult. She is not a brand manager. She did not start her career as a professional author and speaker.

Gina Radke is a businesswoman. She owns and serves as CEO of an Aerospace/Marine Design and Manufacturing company. She serves on state boards for economic and workforce development. She is an International Industry Trade Adviser to the US Congress.

Gina is a woman who is making things happen. And she does it with wit and grace.

As a woman in business, whether it’s your own business or a corporate career, you need a tribe. You need or needed a mentor. Gina is that mentor.

Gina is known not only for her accomplishments but for her humor and no holds bar straight talk. She is also known for overcoming the perfectionist curse. She’s real, and she’s raw.

Gina has been called a Feminine Feminist for her promoting the idea of making male allies and a Southern Belle Badass. Gina wants to help others both women and men, succeed in life and business.

Gina is both inspirational and informative. She inspires you to live your best life all well giving functional tips on how to make it happen.

Rock City Digital has partnered with business owners and leaders in Central Arkansas to bring you answers to the questions you are having during this difficult time. Our goal is to help small business owners survive this crisis by offering tips and tricks from other leaders who have creatively positioned themselves to stand out from their competition and successfully have figured out how to run business in a different way.

Join us for this lunch series at 12pm for the next couple of weeks as we all try to navigate how to run business in a way that’s never been done before.

Dr. Jeff D. Standridge will be speaking on leadership during difficult times. Dr. Standridge helps organizations and their leaders generate sustained results in the areas of innovation, strategy, profit growth, organizational effectiveness, and leadership. Formerly a Vice President for Acxiom Corporation, he has led established and startup businesses in North & South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Jeff serves as Managing Director for the Conductor, Co-founder of Cadron Capital Partners, and teaches Entrepreneurial Finance & Innovation Leadership in the College of Business at the University of Central Arkansas.

Dr. Standridge has been an invited speaker, trainer, and consultant for numerous companies, institutions, and organizations across five continents. He is also a two-time best-selling author of “The Innovator’s Field Guide: Accelerators for Entrepreneurs, Innovators & Change Agents” and “The Top Performer’s Field Guide: Catalysts for Leaders, Innovators & All Who Aspire to Be.”

Prior to his business career, Jeff spent more than a decade in healthcare, serving as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and as a member of the Angel Flight Helicopter Transport Team at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He is also retired from the U.S. Army – Arkansas Army National Guard.

Jeff holds the Doctor of Education with special work in Leadership & Organizational Development, as well as a Master of Education with special work in Human Resource Development.

Rock City Digital has partnered with business owners and leaders in Central Arkansas to bring you answers to the questions you are having during this difficult time. Our goal is to help small business owners survive this crisis by offering tips and tricks from other leaders who have creatively positioned themselves to stand out from their competition and successfully have figured out how to run business in a different way.

Join us for this lunch series at 12pm for the next couple of weeks as we all try to navigate how to run business in a way that’s never been done before.

Our speaker for this event is Kristen Kennon! Kristen is the CEO of iRealty Arkansas with 6 offices in Central Arkansas and over 180 agents. She is madly in love with her husband, Jon, and has two boys, Steele and Slater. She loves to play tennis and sing parodies. Her masters is in Sports Administration. She started her career in Parks and Recreation but left after 9 years when she had her first son. She became a Realtor in 2013 and bought her company after 3 years. She has grown it to where it is now through mergers, acquisitions, and mostly through her strong passion to create a positive work culture. She was named the 2019 LRRA Realtor of the Year and is a 2020 Arkansas Business 40 under 40 Honoree. Kristen wholeheartedly believes in the Go-Giver attitude. She believes in empowering others to be the best version of themselves by motivating and inspiring them to chase their dreams.