Making it Big-Time: Jeffrey Allen Murdock, an associate professor of music education at the U of A, has been announced as one of 10 finalists in the country for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award.

• The award recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the area of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The winner will receive a $10,000 award and matching grant for their school’s music program. The nine additional finalists will receive $1,000 and matching grants.
• According to the U of A, Murdock is known internationally as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. He currently serves as associate director of choral activities and associate professor of music education at the U of A.
• “There are so many deserving music educators in this country who are in the trenches doing this work. I’m honored to have been chosen from among them," said Murdock. -UA

The Music Educator Award recipient will be announced during GRAMMY Week in March 2021. The 63rd annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony will take place on March 14, 2021.

Fayetteville City Officials will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 11, at the site of the new police headquarters and fire station, located at the northeast corner of Deane Street and Porter Road.

• Approved by voters in 2019, the city purchased the 11.6-acre property for the facility for $2.59 million from the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture.
• The massive project includes an 82,630-square foot police station with an indoor firing range and support buildings, and a 7,322-square-foot fire station. A roundabout will also be added at the intersection of Dean and Porter and on-street parking on both roads. -Fayetteville Flyer
• Limited parking will be available to the north and east of the University of Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, along North Dvorachek Avenue and West Heck Street. Personnel will be present to help attendees with parking. M
  asks and social distancing will be required at the event.

View the official press release HERE.

Heads up Bentonville: The California-based financial tech company, Loanpal, has signed a multi-year lease in Bentonville and will open a new operating center in the space formerly occupied by The Holler in the 8th Street Market.

• Loanpal is a renewable energy and home improvement lender with a mission to connect the world’s growing sustainability marketplaces. The company plans to hire for nearly 100 positions in customer operations, partner management, software engineering and data science.

• Founded in 2003, Loanpal has loaned over $28 billion to customers and is the No. 1 solar lender in the US. Since 2018, loans generated by Loanpal’s have allowed more than 175,000 families to access sustainability products for their home through a 'buy-now pay-later' process.

• "The positioning of this new location in the heart of Bentonville strengthens our economy by attracting tech talent, and it also increases opportunity for local small businesses,” said Graham Cobb, President and CEO of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce. -Talk Business & Politics

The Bentonville based Walton Family Foundation ("WFF") unveiled their strategic grant-making plan on Monday, pledging over $2 billion in philanthropic efforts over the next five years.

• The five year plan also prioritizes three main goals: Championing community-driven change, prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion, and collaborating with partners to develop innovative approaches that bring people and ideas together from all walks of life.

• According the the press release, the WFF will home in on three specific programs:
• Home Region Program: Will advance economic & cultural vibrancy, foster inclusive growth, and support community leadership & capacity-building.
• Environment Program: Initiatives will drive innovation, use markets to advance sustainability, encourage smart policy, and empower diverse allies.
• K-12 Education Program: Aims to increase achievement & opportunity, foster diverse coalitions, and accelerate breakthrough innovation.

• “To create meaningful and positive change in the communities we serve, we must first listen to and learn from those closest to the complex challenges. That insight will empower breakthrough ideas that are the building blocks for the big system change we hope to achieve," said WFF Executive Director Caryl M. Stern. -WFF