Wal-Mart paying UA nearly $1.2 million for shareholder week services

Retailer to pay univeristy nearly $1.2 million

NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Brooke Murphy (left) and Alexa Wimberly, both with University of Arkansas Summer Conferences, leave fresh linens and towels in one of the rooms in Maple Hill South Friday on the campus in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. signed a new contract to cover facilities and services during shareholder week. Wal-Mart’s international and domestic employees will fill about 5,000 rooms on campus during the week and and the university’s conference services staff are making final checks before the first international visitors arrive.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Brooke Murphy (left) and Alexa Wimberly, both with University of Arkansas Summer Conferences, leave fresh linens and towels in one of the rooms in Maple Hill South Friday on the campus in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. signed a new contract to cover facilities and services during shareholder week. Wal-Mart’s international and domestic employees will fill about 5,000 rooms on campus during the week and and the university’s conference services staff are making final checks before the first international visitors arrive.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay the University of Arkansas about $1.2 million to house and feed an estimated 4,700 employees attending shareholder events this week.

Employees started to arrive over the weekend and will fill about 2,450 rooms and eat about 72,000 meals on campus.

2015 shareholders meeting

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will hold its annual shareholders meeting at 7 a.m. Friday in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The meeting will be webcast at news.walmart.com/ev….

Source: walmart.com

By the numbers

Walmart shareholders 2015

• $450,000 UA total housing revenue

• 4,700 Walmart employees staying on campus

• 2,450 rooms

• $500,000 food service cost

• 72,000 meals served during week

• $130,000 University of Arkansas Police Department cost

• $78,000 parking and transit cost

Source: University of Arkansas

About 14,000 people will attend the retailer's annual meeting on Friday, but the company hosts special events for employees throughout the week, including tours of the home office in Bentonville, meetings and concerts.

A housing contract between the university and Wal-Mart for shareholders week states the retailer anticipates approximately 25,000 people will attend an event on campus during the week.

"They are so excited to see where it all started," Kayla Whaling, Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said of visiting employees.

International workers began to arrive at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport over the weekend, and the bulk of U.S. workers roll into the area Monday and Tuesday.

Wal-Mart employs 2.2 million people at more than 11,000 stores in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. About 1.3 million people work at more than 5,000 stores and clubs in the U.S.

Whaling said more than 2,500 U.S. workers will attend this year's events. Each Walmart store is numbered based on when it opened; store No. 1 is on Walnut Street in Rogers. Odd- and even-numbered stores rotate each year and typically send one or two representatives selected at the store level, she said.

Michael McAllister, interim assistant director for conference services at the university, said Wal-Mart fills rooms near capacity for the week, and years of practice have helped the event run smoothly.

International and U.S. workers arriving by airplane receive room key packets at the airport. Employees coming by bus run through the dorm check-in process at the Springdale Holiday Inn, McAllister said. U.S. workers living within a 10-hour drive of Northwest Arkansas are bused to the event, Whaling said.

"We can receive bus loads a bit easier at the Holiday Inn, and it allows the groups to check in more quickly," he said.

Preparations for shareholder week began as soon as students moved out for the summer, McAllister said. Final exams were May 4-8. Graduation was May 9.

"Most of the spaces are ready to go," he said Friday morning. "We get as close to hotel standard as possible."

The majority of visitors will leave after Friday's meeting.

Steve Voorhies, manager of media relations for the University of Arkansas, said the university expects about $450,000 in housing revenue from the event. The contract states Walmart will pay $28 per bed per night for each reserved bed regardless if it is filled.

Food services for the week will cost the retailer approximately $500,000, Voorhies said. Chartwells has the university's food service contract and provides the employee meals during shareholder week

Kim Johnson, Chartwells marketing director, said it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

"This is due to the shear number of meals we serve, the complexity of setting up a dining facility inside the tennis building and individualized menus for ancillary catering locations," she said.

The Dills Indoor Tennis Center is where Wal-Mart employees gather for meals.

Johnson said Chartwells staff have become more efficient running the shareholder week meals over the years and were even able to start a food recovery program during last year's meeting.

Chartwells worked with Razorback Food Recovery, a group of student volunteers from the campus Center for Community Engagement, who were able to distribute unserved food to food pantries and agency such as the Salvation Army and Feed Fayetteville. Tyson Foods provided a freezer trailer during the week to keep the recovered food cold, she said.

"We are continuing this effort this year," Johnson said.

NW News on 05/31/2015

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