OPINION

REX NELSON: Going MAD down south

In 1991, when I was editor of Arkansas Business, I spent a delightful day in El Dorado with Charles Haywood Murphy Jr., who had been born in the city in March 1920. His father had moved there in 1904 to operate a bank. By 1907, the elder Murphy owned 13 banks in Arkansas and the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The elder Murphy also built a sawmill south of El Dorado, then constructed a railroad so he could supply the mill with timber.

"Land acquisitions in south Arkansas and north Louisiana led to oil exploration ventures, which provided royalties and operating interests," longtime El Dorado resident John Ragsdale once wrote. "Charles Murphy Jr.'s father had him manumitted by court order at the age of 16 so that he could legally transact business for himself, and Murphy entered the petroleum industry as an independent operator (not affiliated with some of the major companies already operating in the area) while in his teen years. When his father had a stroke in 1941, Murphy had to take over management of the various businesses."

At the end of the day in 1991, I had a question for Murphy, who had become one of the best-known business and civic leaders in the South. I asked if he had any advice for business owners and managers reading our publication. Without hesitating, he said: "At least once a day, look someone else in the eyes and say, 'I don't know.'"

I don't know what the future holds for south Arkansas, which has been losing population for decades. But, as I said in Sunday's column, it's far too early to write an obituary for El Dorado just because Murphy Oil Corp. is moving to Houston. Murphy USA Inc., which spun off from Murphy Oil in 2013 and employs almost 10 times as many people in El Dorado as Murphy Oil, is staying put. The leadership of Murphy USA and members of the Murphy family have made clear that they remain committed to the Murphy Arts District, a $100 million effort to transform the city into a regional center for arts and entertainment.

Twenty-six years after the spring day spent with Charles Murphy Jr., I spent another day in El Dorado with his son Madison and Claiborne Deming, chairman of Murphy Oil. They explained to me at the time that MAD was the next step in a coordinated effort to create a jewel in the pine woods of south Arkansas. Murphy USA must compete for talent against companies headquartered in large metropolitan areas. On that day in 2017, Madison Murphy quoted Daniel Burnham, who was among the country's most famous architects and urban planners in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Speaking about the design for the city of Chicago, Burnham said: "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans, aim high."

"This is not a small plan," Madison Murphy said. "It's blood-stirring ... We're not going to get the next Toyota plant. I see four drivers when it comes to attracting jobs. Those are education, infrastructure, tax rates and quality of life. Quality of life was our weakest link."

After Murphy Oil announced its decision to move, Andrew Clyde, president and CEO of Murphy USA, said: "As major donors and sponsors of a variety of prominent arts, entertainment, athletic, civic and other organizations and programs in El Dorado, we remain committed to the Murphy legacy of giving back to our community. This includes supporting many of the high-profile assets of the community, including the Murphy Arts District and the Mystic Creek golf facilities."

Everything about MAD is first-class, from the wine list in the Griffin restaurant to the entertainment venues. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this audacious (yes, some would say they're mad) effort to turn El Dorado into a regional draw is its nationally known leadership team. It starts with Terry Stewart, former CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He took over the Cleveland institution in 1999 (it had opened in 1995) and stayed there until 2013.

In a recent article for The Bitter Southerner, Tony Rehagen wrote: "Stewart brought in architect Paul Westlake, who had a hand in designing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and four of the six largest performing arts centers in the United States. The MAD chief marketing officer, Bob Tarren, came from jobs with Circuit City corporate, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Frick Pittsburgh, and he was succeeded in late 2019 by Lisaann Dupont, the former communications and marketing guru for the Ryman Auditorium. Even Austin Johnson, executive chef in charge of the Griffin and the food at the other venues, has a Parisian pedigree.

"If the scale of this project sounds a bit outsized for a town of 18,000 people, it is. But MAD president and COO Pam Griffin says there are already shoots of early progress. ... El Dorado doesn't just want transient tourism dollars. The city wants to rebuild its cultural scene, its nightlife, its infrastructure and the community to make it attractive for companies that might consider relocating here. More importantly, it wants to keep the talented young people ... who could help new companies thrive. And the only thing bigger than the investment of capital and energy into MAD are the stakes riding on its success."

Madison Murphy told Rehagen: "It has always been a little difficult to recruit here. ... We're going to go down swinging."

Yes, Madison, MAD is blood-stirring. Murphy Oil or no Murphy Oil, please keep swinging for the fence.

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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.

Editorial on 05/27/2020

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