SPRINGDALE -- The Jones Center is in a better position to stay open for the long term after closing a campaign that increased its endowment to $50 million, officials said Thursday.
Officials announced a donation from Johnelle Hunt in the center's lobby Thursday morning. The donation closes a two-year fundraising campaign bringing in $30 million, said Ed Clifford, chief executive officer of the center and Jones Trust.
Hunt is the widow of J.B. Hunt and co-founder of J.B. Hunt Transportation Services of Lowell.
Clifford said he wouldn't give the amount for Hunt's donation, because she doesn't want it to be known. He said it was "significant." He also wouldn't reveal the endowment's total before Hunt's donation.
The end of the campaign means the center is "sustainable" and will be open for a long time, Clifford said.
"We look forward to lots of great years in this facility," he said.
Many of the donations given over the past two years came from local organizations and families, Clifford said. He mentioned the Walton Family Foundation, George family and Tyson family as examples.
The Walton Family Foundation is associated with the Walton family of Bentonville, founders of Wal-Mart. The Tyson and George families are associated with the Springdale-headquartered poultry companies.
Bernice Jones, widow of Harvey Jones, opened The Jones Center in 1995. The facility once was a truck terminal for Jones Truck Lines, which was their business.
Many of the families that donated knew the Joneses when they were alive, said Russell Tooley, chairman of the center's board. Those donors cared about making a difference and giving back, he said.
The Jones Center features an ice rink, swimming pool, gymnasium and fitness center. It offers activities such as fitness classes, children's ballet and pickleball. The center will celebrate 20 years in October.
Interest income from the center's endowment is used to operate the center, Clifford said. Of the center's annual operational budget, $1.6 million comes from endowment interest, $1 million comes from leases and fees and $1 million comes from fundraising events managed by a development council.
The center once was funded almost exclusively from interest on investments held by the Jones Trust, said Joel Carver, board member, earlier this year. But the recession decreased the holdings of the Jones Trust, sinking them from $49 million to $23 million around 2008.
In 2009, center officials began charging for recreational activities such as swimming and ice skating, which were once free, Carver said previously.
The Jones Trust would have run out of money in three years, but officials changed The Jones Center's model in 2011, Clifford said earlier this year. The center reduced the number of staff members from about 120 to about 50 between 2009 and 2010, excluding people working on contract, he said.
Two boards of directors -- for the Jones Center and Jones Trust -- were combined during the changes, and the new board developed a plan, Clifford said earlier. The center also began selling memberships and started fundraising for the endowment during the changes.
Donations to the endowment over the past two years and the closing of the campaign shows the center is coming back from the economic downturn, Tooley said.
The increased endowment will also help the center fill more community needs, Tooley said. The center will continue to not turn anyone away. The center's leadership wants the center to be busy.
"We're in a much better spot than we've ever been," he said.
Tom Triplett, a Springdale resident, was using the fitness center Thursday morning. He said he has a membership and is there three to four days a week.
Triplett said the center has a large impact on his life. He retired two years ago, and the fitness center gives him a place to exercise. He said he lives two miles from the facility.
"It's extremely convenient for me," he said. "I'd hate to do without it. It's so handy."
NW News on 02/27/2015