Fletcher Lord, Jr., chairman of the board, Bumper to Bumper/Crow-Burlingame, has been named to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Established in 1999, the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame was created by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville to honor and preserve the legacy of Arkansas’ finest business leaders, while highlighting Arkansas’ growing economic opportunities. Only four Arkansans, either by birth or by choice, are chosen each year.
The induction ceremony will take place at Little Rock’s State House Convention Center in February, 2023. Each new inductee will be presented with a medal as well as a glass award. Following the ceremony, an engraved plaque will be hung in the visitors’ atrium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the University of Arkansas Campus.
“The selection committee is thrilled with the caliber of the class of 2023 for the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame,” said Jason LaFrance, Arkansas Business Hall of Fame committee chair and president of Dale Capital Partners. “Fletcher Lord is a leader in the automotive parts industry and brings tremendous economic support and pride to our state through Crow-Burlingame, Bumper to Bumper and the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance.”
“I was pleased and surprised, of course,” said Lord in his usual careful, soft spoken drawl. “But you have to understand. This award isn’t really about me. A lot has to happen to perpetuate a business like this. My grandfather started this company with the idea that it would be multi-generational. My father came to work here, and he didn’t really love the industry. It was the depression. It was solid. So he came and he stayed, but he didn’t love it… But unlike my dad, I love this industry. Love the people. Love the vendors. It was a great industry to spend a career in. You work hard, you take care of people. Your personal inter-relationships are directly related to your successes and failures.”
