ASU College of Business names mall developer, hospital CEO 'Executives of Year'
Jonesboro Sun
10/28/2005
JONESBORO -- Two of Jonesboro's best-known businessmen have been honored as "Business Executives of the Year" by the Arkansas State University College of Business Alumni Chapter.
Bruce Burrow, partner of the Jonesboro-based MBC Holdings LLC (formerly Belz-Burrow Development Group), and Ben E. Owens, president and CEO of St. Bernard's Healthcare, were awarded at the alumni chapter's annual homecoming breakfast held Saturday morning at the Holiday Inn Holidome in Jonesboro.
In his introduction of Burrow and Owens, Dr. Len T. Frey, chairman of the College of Business, praised the vision and steadfastness of both honorees.
"The Mall at Turtle Creek has created more excitement than anything in the history of Jonesboro," Frey said. He praised Burrow's work throughout the state, including the development of The Peabody Little Rock hotel and the
Hilton in Little Rock. Burrow is also developing the Shoppes of North Hills in North Little Rock, which will have the state's first Bass Pro Shop.
Burrow's work and influence in Jonesboro is a major reason that John Q. Hammons chose the city as the location of a proposed hotel and convention center, Frey added.
As for Owens, Frey said that the St. Bernard's official has helped transform Jonesboro in the past 30 years from "a city with a hospital" to a "regional center of medicine."
In accepting the awards, both Burrow and Owens had high praise for ASU's role in the economic health and success of Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas.
"It's very special for me to not only receive this award, but to receive it at the same time that Ben (Owens) does," Burrow said. "He's someone I have a lot of admiration and respect for."
In his talk, Burrow noted that in his office is a statue of "The self-made man," which depicts a person chipping an image of himself from granite. "There is no self-made man," Burrow said. A person's accomplishments reflect the influence of everyone who's had an impact on that person, such as the faculty and staff at Arkansas State University, Burrow added.
Owens, recognized by many as the person who has spurred the growth of St. Bernard's into a major medical community, has also been involved in economic development. He was one of the founding members of Jonesboro Unlimited, a private grassroots organization that has worked for approximately three decades on industrial and business development.
Owens said it is his pleasure to be named for the honor.
"It's also a pleasure to be included in a group of folks who make a difference" in our community, the university, the state of Arkansas and the nation, Owens said. "Education makes things happen and puts us and our people in the forefront of many things that are going on in our country today."
Owens told the alumni that his wife is a graduate of the ASU College of Nursing, and his son and daughter are graduates of ASU and "both of them have moved on to do well (because of) their educations."
The medical executive said it was a pleasure for him to be on the podium with Burrow. "In the 33 years that I have known him and have been an observer of what he has done and how he has gone about doing it, he had a vision and kept his goals in sight," Owens said.
"Thank you, Bruce, for The Mall at Turtle Creek," Owens added. "In my judgment, this mall is going to be the major economic engine that drives this community forward into the future. If I were the mayor or county judge I would come over and pat him (Burrow) on the back, because their revenue
streams will be major benefactors from the going forward of this activity."