NWA EDITORIAL: Region's collaborative spirit articulated in Northwest Arkansas Council

From time to time, we hear from a resident of this little -- but growing -- corner of the state who wonders exactly what the Northwest Arkansas Council is up to. After all, the region's voters didn't elect the members of this nonprofit organization, although some people who have won elections are counted among its members.

It's a fair question, isn't it? Who decided it would be the Northwest Arkansas Council to set the course for the region's future?

Then again, that's not exactly what's going on here.

Northwest Arkansas is home to a lot of folks who moved here from elsewhere -- from places they wanted to escape because of a lack of growth and opportunity, and from places growing perhaps a little too fast, exacerbating the challenges that seem a natural byproduct of such growth. Shrinking communities can find it difficult to get much of anything going in terms of economic development and quality-of-life improvements. Booming communities, like Northwest Arkansas, are full of new opportunities as well as potential pitfalls -- increasing crime rates, overheated housing costs, traffic congestion and the like.

Dealing with all that is, of course, the local governments to which we all -- well, the folks who show up at the polls -- elect community leaders we collectively believe will provide guidance for a better future. Some do it well, others not so much. In any case, those folks face some limitations when it comes to casting a real vision for Northwest Arkansas, whether one considers that just Benton and Washington counties or the greater NWA region. The primary influence of a mayor or city council members is in their cities. Same goes for the leaders of each county's government, with the added complication that county government in Arkansas mostly stays focused on essential services, such as roads, law enforcement, the judicial system.

There are plenty of places around the country in which parochial concerns get far more attention than regional ones. One of Northwest Arkansas' great strengths has been a largely cooperative spirit among jurisdictions large and small, with recognition that what's good for the region is generally good for residents, businesses, and each city and county.

Since 1990, that's where the Northwest Arkansas Council has played a major role. Its mission is the promotion of growth, vitality and development of Northwest Arkansas and its people. Business giants like Sam Walton, J.B. Hunt and Don Tyson, among others, recognized the need to promote and develop Northwest Arkansas as a region. Coordinated and collaborative efforts by the council with the cities and counties of the region is what turned cow fields into a regional airport. It's what moved 18-wheelers and passenger cars off the old, winding -- and too often, foggy -- U.S. 71 and onto a magnificent Interstate 49. It's what found a way to deliver treated drinking water from Beaver Lake to the smaller towns of Benton and Washington counties.

One could certainly be forgiven for thinking of the Northwest Arkansas Council as a regional chamber of commerce. It's membership certainly includes the local chambers, other nonprofit groups like The Nature Conservancy and the Endeavor Foundation, medical systems and educational institutions, utilities and, yes, the publisher of this newspaper.

The Northwest Arkansas Council continues a strong role for the region, having taken coordination of vaccination clinics as the region tries to shield itself from adverse impacts of the pandemic. It studies issues such as high housing costs, the value of amenities to the region's economic future, attracting talent, health care and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Just recently, this newspaper reported on the council's ad campaign in Austin, Texas -- to be expanded to Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle -- to let people in those booming, high-tech communities know there's another place where their talents can be used and their lives might be lived with less stress and trouble. "Life Works Here" is the message about Northwest Arkansas and the work/play life balances possible here.

"We have 10,381 jobs we could fill right now," said Nelson Peacock, the president and chief executive of the Northwest Arkansas Council.

At its roots, the Northwest Arkansas Council is an organization built on the collaboration of the region's communities, with recognition that some shared unity of purpose benefits everyone.

Does it mean the council can do no wrong? No. Some folks today, for example, are upset that the organization is seeking taxpayer funding -- contributions from local governments -- for a campaign to promote vaccinations as a strong weapon in the battle against covid-19. In our book, it's exactly the right medicine, so to speak. Some oppose the use of tax dollars to persuade taxpayers to behave one way or the other.

Overall, though, the Northwest Arkansas Council has demonstrated its work has consistently been in the interests of a better Northwest Arkansas. We would hate to imagine what opportunities the region would have missed had it not been for the Northwest Arkansas Council's work.