Southern Airways will add a nonstop daily flight between El Dorado and Memphis beginning May 2, the Memphis-based commuter airline announced Tuesday.
It will mark the first time South Arkansas Regional Airport in El Dorado has had Memphis service since 2016, Southern said in a news release.
The new service is timed to allow one-stop service to Nashville on the airline's "Southern Shuttle" with a 20-minute layover. The airline already offers service between El Dorado and Dallas.
"El Dorado has a long history of airline service to Memphis International, which a prior carrier discontinued several years ago," said Stan Little, the airline's chairman and chief executive officer. "We at Southern Airways are delighted to restore their hometown-link to an easterly hub, especially to Southern's own continuing flights to Nashville International."
Southern Airways also provides commercial air service in Harrison and El Dorado under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Essential Air Service program.
-- Noel Oman
Peco Foods names Griffith new COO
Poultry processor Peco Foods has hired Bill Griffith to serve as its chief operating officer.
Alabama-based Peco Foods has processing plants, offices and contract growers across northeastern Arkansas.
After earning degrees in biology and chemistry from Virginia Tech, Griffith moved to Northwest Arkansas to work in lab services at beef processor Hudson Foods before it was acquired by Tyson Foods. He then worked as a microbiologist for Tyson and later as a manager of food safety technology until 2004.
Griffith has held various leadership roles with chicken producers Perdue Foods and Keystone Foods over the past 15 years, taking on more responsibility with each move between companies. He was the vice president of global food safety and quality at Keystone and, later, president of the company's U.S. business for about five years -- before Tyson acquired it last fall.
"Because of his track record, we have the highest respect for his ability to align products, facilities and customer needs with corporate priorities," Peco's President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Hickman said in a news release.
-- Nathan Owens
Index drops 4.62, ends day at 421.24
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 4.62 to 421.24 Tuesday.
"Another down day for stocks as investors lighten up prior to the start of corporate earnings season later this week," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 13.6 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 04/10/2019