LITTLE ROCK — The Clinton clout has ushered two major international gatherings to Arkansas this fall.
In October, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host between 45 and 55 foreign ambassadors in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas, officials say.
In December, former President Bill Clinton will bring about 40 fellow members of the Club de Madrid, an international organization of former heads of state, to the Clinton Presidential Center and other venues, they said.
Details of both trips are still being worked out and itineraries remain in flux, say officials with the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the state Economic Development Commission.
The U.S. State Department, which is the lead organizer of Secretary Clinton’s gathering, declined to comment.
While not bringing huge amounts of dollars to the state’s hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions, the benefits to Arkansas are bountiful, said Jordan Johnson, spokesman for the Clinton Foundation.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us,” Johnson said. “We’re going to put our best foot forward.”
The Oct. 21-24 event will be hosted by the State Department and tentatively includes from 100 to 120 ambassadors, spouses and staff members, said Gretchen Hall, president and chief executive of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Hall said the group is to depart Little Rock on Oct. 23 for Northwest Arkansas where the visitors will tour the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
The Club de Madrid gathering will take place Dec. 16-19 and includes possible visits to Heifer International, the Old State House Museum and the Governor’s Mansion, Hall said.
Hall said the Clintons’ guests may not spend a lot of money. Most of the guests will stay at the Capital Hotel, she said.
But the “magnitude” of the events will focus national and international attention on Little Rock and Arkansas, Hall said.
“It will absolutely help our profile. It’s tremendous,” she said.
And with so many power brokers from around the world descending on the state, Grant Tennille, executive director of the state’s Economic Development Commission, said the moment is right to impress.
“Arkansas always exceeds expectations,” Tennille said. “You take every opportunity you can to spread the word about Arkansas as far and wide as we’re able to.”
Many of the former leaders in the Club de Madrid are now businessmen. The development agency plans to hold round-table discussions for both events to promote Arkansas as a destination for international businesses, Tennille said.
“We look at an opportunity to showcase our state and our people and what we do here, particularly the things we do very well,” he said.
Tennille assumes that the Clintons’ personal connection to Arkansas clinched the deal for both events.
“Certainly, we are grateful for everything both of them do to promote Arkansas around the world,” Tennille said.
He said that when Gov. Mike Beebe traveled to China this summer he noted that: “Everybody in China knows two things about Arkansas: the president and the secretary and they know Wal-Mart. It’s an enormous calling card for us.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 09/21/2012