Central to NWA: A UCA Podcast

Ep. 8 - From UCA to CEO: Alexa Williams’ Journey

• University of Central Arkansas • Season 1 • Episode 8

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A double alum with a double take on impact. We’re joined by Alexa Williams, president of Celebrate Arkansas, to explore how a regional magazine became a precision PR platform that connects businesses, nonprofits, and culture across Northwest Arkansas, without losing the soul of print. Alexa’s path runs from HR to tech to graphic design, then into entrepreneurship with Glass Ivy, and ultimately into leading a brand known for standout covers and community-first storytelling.

We dig into the practical playbook: why internships in HR and marketing gave Alexa an edge, how a hybrid MBA unlocked momentum while working full time, and what it takes to build a client base that lasts a decade. She shares the moment a cold call turned into her first long-term account, the strategy behind Celebrate’s year-ahead editorial calendar, and why “print is dead” misses the point when distribution is targeted and the audience is crystal clear. Expect insights on brand trust, targeted media, and the power of return on relationship in a region dense with nonprofits.

Beyond business, Alexa gets honest about leading while parenting: choosing non-negotiables like school drop-offs, embracing an unpredictable schedule with a shared digital calendar, and finding reset time through weekly rock climbing. We also spotlight recent cover wins, from a food and beverage issue with Feeding America’s Claire Babineaux-Fontenot to a culture-jolting Nelly cover with Walton Arts Center, showing how local teams can deliver national-quality storytelling.

If you care about Northwest Arkansas growth, UCA roots, entrepreneurship, or the future of regional media, this conversation delivers practical takeaways and fresh energy. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Arkansas stories, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show.

Welcome And Double Alum Reveal

SPEAKER_01

This is Central to NWA, a UCA podcast. I'm your host, Paul Gatling, and we are bringing the University of Central Arkansas to Northwest Arkansas. Each episode, we will talk with leaders, alumni, and innovators driving this region forward. People who are shaping industries and defining what is next for our state. Let's get started. All right, we're back now. Time for another edition of Central to NWA, a UCA podcast. Paul Gatling here with you. And with me today is a guest who has a distinction that is very unique among this podcast already. You ready for this? I guess so. You know what I'm going to say? Yes, I think so. All right. So this is our seventh episode. And for the first time, my guest does not have just one but two degrees from the University of Central Arkansas, which officially makes her un overqualified to sit here next to me on this podcast. Of course, I'm talking about Alexa Williams. She is the president of Celebrate Arkansas Magazine, UCA double alum and an entrepreneur to boot. So Alexa, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you, Paul, for having me. I'm excited to be here today.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so two UCA degrees, business degree in 2014, MBA in 2018. You must have really liked it in Conway, right?

SPEAKER_00

I did. You know, my family, I graduated high school in Cabot, so it's close to home. And also, I know we're going to dive into a little bit deeper, but both times whenever I was trying to choose where to continue my education, I looked around a lot and just always felt that UCA was the best place for me. So went back a second time.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Well, so how does that feel now sitting where you are today to hear double UCA alum? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

A little bit crazy. You know, I didn't think one originally, I didn't think I was going to go into business whenever I first went to UCA. That wasn't my original plan. And so deciding to go back and continue my business education there was something that I was very excited to do, but not necessarily what I planned for from day one. So looking back now and seeing that I have two degrees from the same university, a smaller university in Arkansas, is pretty exciting.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Well, very good. Well, we're glad to have you here. I'm glad to have you here and excited to keep this podcast uh rolling with a great UCA alum here in Northwest Arkansas. So um, for people who may be hearing your name for the first time, you know, how do you introduce yourself when you when you meet people? You meet a lot of people and come

What Celebrate Arkansas Really Does

SPEAKER_01

into contact with a lot of business owners and business leaders and entrepreneurs at the magazine. How do you introduce yourself to them?

SPEAKER_00

Usually I say hello. My name's Alexa, like Amazon. That usually breaks the ice, now that that's a very common word. Um, and then I say I'm the president at Celebrate Arkansas. I'm also a wife and a mother to two, and I enjoy outdoor recreation, and I live in Fayetteville. I'm a big razorback baseball fan, all of those things.

SPEAKER_01

You have checked all the boxes in Northwest Arkansas, uh, outdoor recreation, especially, razorback baseball, which are coming up on that pretty soon. So when someone hears celebrate Arkansas for the first time, um, what do you want them to know immediately about what that brand and that company is and what does it represent?

SPEAKER_00

So, whenever people initially hear celebrate Arkansas, especially if you're from the Northwest Arkansas region, you think of a magazine, right? And that is what we are at our bread and butter is we are a monthly publication. However, what I like to articulate to people is that we're much more than that. We would consider ourselves a public relations entity. We like to be at the intersection of community and business, which is a very unique aspect of what makes Northwest Arkansas so vibrant and what has contributed to its growth over the past few years. So being able to coincide our messaging and our publication with that is really what makes us unique.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And you, you know, based in Bentonville, of course, but with a statewide reach to your website and subscriptions, several subscribers throughout the state. So not just Northwest Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00

Right. Not just Northwest Arkansas, and actually not just Arkansas itself. You know, many of our clients and our partners are doing business on a national level. So we do have some reach, not just in the state, but where other companies are headquartered that we may partner with here in a regional capacity.

SPEAKER_01

All right. So let's rewind

Choosing UCA And Finding Business

SPEAKER_01

a bit. Uh, and we we talked about UCA, the path from Cabot to Conway and University of Central Arkansas. What originally um brought you to Conway? You said con you said UCA um checked a lot of boxes for you. Why did why did you trust that UCA was going to be the place for you uh to kick off your professional career after high school?

SPEAKER_00

So I knew I wanted to stay in Arkansas. Both of my parents graduated from high schools in Arkansas. We moved around a lot because my dad was in the army. And then I got to graduate from Cabot. So I wanted to stay in the state, but I didn't exactly know where I wanted to go. So, as any good senior in high school does, I went and toured a lot of places with my family. And I really liked the close-knit atmosphere of UCA. Plus, the campus was very walkable. It's very beautiful. And then to boot, I also was given a scholarship opportunity that kind of sealed the deal for me to go there.

SPEAKER_01

When did you move to Cabot? You said the military career, you moved around a lot. When did you move to clear?

SPEAKER_00

I was fortunate to be in Cabot from fourth grade until I graduated high school.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, not too bad. So um, where are some other places that you lived? What was the most exotic location that you lived in America or outside of America?

SPEAKER_00

No, no, I never got to live abroad, unfortunately, but probably the most exotic place would be Washington, D.C.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Yeah. And the reason I asked that one of my best friends, he was a military kid, and he actually uh, and I met him at uh Milder, Henderson State. He went to high school in Germany. Okay. He l he's from upstate New York and um, you know, really lived all over the place and now subsequently has high school buddies from all over the world because they all congregated there in Germany. So uh you studied business, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Originally I went into UCA studying biology. Um and then but yes, but after two years and going through organic chemistry, I decided that I wanted to change course. And at that time was really trying to evaluate what I really wanted to do, what I was passionate about, and what fit for me long term. And the two things that kind of really came to mind is I've always been a people person. I've always been involved in organizations, I've always had a lot of friends. And so business kind of really coincided with that aspect of my life. And then with the thought that I also love creativity and innovation and things like that. And so I felt that business was a good fit. And so transitioned after two years into the business program there.

SPEAKER_01

And so, how did that uh that personality of yours, how did that uh translate there at UCA? Describe your undergraduate career. What were you involved in? How would you uh remember your um undergrad experience at UCA?

Internships That Shaped A Career

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I was very involved in various organizations. I was involved in Greek life, um, I was involved in the Business and Information Technology Club. I was also a member of the Association of Future Alumni and did a lot of other activities on campus, but that would probably be the biggest things that I spent time in.

SPEAKER_01

What gave you the biggest boost? I mean, what confidence boost? What were you most excited to be around? Was it a professor or a class or a moment or the Greek life? I mean, what would you say you uh would be the top line on your uh your resume there?

SPEAKER_00

I think Greek life introduced me to the widest variety of professionals. I got to see a lot of advisors from not just my organization, but others as well that have had strong career paths and got to see how that translated from graduating UCA to making an impact in their professional life. Outside of that, um, one of the professors that made an impact on me was Doug Voss, who I believe is still at the business. Um, oddly enough, I have an emphasis in my undergrad in supply chain and logistics because of Professor Voss. That is not something that I ever would have considered. Um, but his class was very intriguing and very interesting. And he was able to articulate real world, real world scenarios and how that would relate.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, those are two words I would use to describe uh Doug as well. Interesting and intriguing. Yeah, you'd probably agree. So um you came back for your MBA, I think. You graduate in 2014, started your career, then you came back in 2017. What changed uh for you the second time around? What was that experience like as you're I kicked you out into the world, but you went back to get that uh secondary degree?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So I decided that I wanted to continue my education for several reasons. Partially because, you know, I was young in my career and I felt that there was still a lot that I wanted to learn, a lot that I wanted to refine in my business knowledge. Outside of that, I also felt that an additional degree would give me credibility as somebody who was very young and early on in their career. Whenever I was trying to decide where to get my MBA from, I was once again in Arkansas and was trying to figure out which program was a good fit. And I ultimately decided that UCA was the best fit for me because of their flexibility for people that are working full-time. At the

From HR To Tech And Design

SPEAKER_00

time, I was working full-time, but I did not want an only online program. I did not want something that was classified as an executive MBA or a professional MBA. I wanted a true MBA that I could get while also working full-time. And I found that UCA's College of Business was able to allow me to take classes in the evening as well as online. So I had a hybrid model that worked for me so I could work full-time, get the MBA degree that I wanted, but also maintain my career.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and and part of your um undergrad experience too, I don't want to gloss over because I think we've we've talked about this. You you did some internships as well. You did some HR internships and marketing internships and some of that business experience. How valuable was that to you, uh, especially maybe looking back on it now, how important was you for you to go through that while you were an undergrad?

SPEAKER_00

Very important. Um, like you said, I did an HR internship and a marketing internship, and both were vastly different. Whenever I was doing the HR internship, the company at the time had just acquired another company. So we were redoing every employee's benefits, payroll, all of that. So I got a lot of first minute experience there on what the inner workings of a business look like. And then alternatively, with my marketing internship, it was for Moe's Southwest Grill in Conway. And so I got to do a lot of boots on the ground marketing, a lot of activations, a lot of in-person networking opportunities. So both of those really shaped my understanding of how businesses worked from different facets, but also gave me an opportunity to get my feet wet in a few different areas.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and just get a head start. I mean, really give you that extra baseline of knowledge, uh, besides the you know, the classroom theory from UCA. All right. So after graduation, you know, tell me what your um your early career looked like uh after the first few years.

SPEAKER_00

So whenever I started my career outside of college at a UCA the first time, um, I went into HR. That's what I had experience in. That's what my first job was in. And while I loved the aspect of getting to deal with people every day, I was kind of lacking that innovation piece, that creativity piece that wasn't really present in most HR departments. So an opportunity internally opened up for what was called an associate producer, um, which is a very unique role, is was at a tech company. And so it was kind of a hybrid of customer support, app building, a little bit of design, and then working with app stores like the Apple Store and Google Play Store. So there was a learning curve, but I really got to work one-on-one with the businesses, specifically with people in the finance industry that were looking for like a way to get into technology, a way to build an app at an affordable price. And so I got to try out graphic design for the first time. I got to spend more time working with small businesses, which really shaped the rest of my career. And from there, I kind of worked my way up through the company and transitioned into graphic design, which was a personal passion of mine. I had great teammates that helped train me along the way. It was very much a hands-on learning experience. I was very fortunate to get to work for some major corporations for the first time in that role, like Microsoft and Sirius XM. And so that was my first kind of experience working for those top-tier level companies that have really high expectations, very rigorous guides and rules and things like that. And so that was fun. And then from there, I really kind of started getting my feet wet with the whole entrepreneur thing. Um, at the time, the company I was

Moving To NWA And Entrepreneur Spark

SPEAKER_00

working for had acquired a marketing agency. And so I was sitting down with some of those new team members, and I was like, you know, I think that this company would benefit from having design and marketing services as its own unit of offering rather than as a secondary service to support development. And so that was the first time I'd ever kind of pitched a new business idea or business model, and it was accepted. And I was able to help drive what that would look like for the company and shape that. Um, and that really was probably the most impactful turning point in my career was getting to start that division and kind of grow it and shape it into what I thought would be beneficial for our customers or potential customers.

SPEAKER_01

And so all of this is um in central Arkansas. You're still there?

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

So explain the situation the circumstances of coming to Northwest Arkansas through all of that.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So at the time, whenever I was a graphic designer, transitioning into this marketing and strategy role, the company I was working for decided to open an office in Fayetteville on the Fayetteville Square. And they were looking for people that were willing to relocate to that location. And we had an office in Conway. We had an office outside of Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee. So there was a conglomerate of people that were coming from the other offices to relocate to Fayetteville to get that one off the ground. And so my husband is also from Arkansas. His family's from the River Valley area. We'd been in Conway for a while. And so we didn't have kids. And we were like, yeah, let's go to Northwest Arkansas. Let's see what it's about. So that was the first time I lived in Fayetteville and worked out of that office, helped get that office off of the ground. And then through all of that, was relocated back to Conway after some time, which is then when I started the MBA program.

SPEAKER_01

Right. And so being an entrepreneur, uh, entrepreneur uh means different things to different people, but I think universally to everybody, that can be a little scary. Right. And so um, what was the first moment though through that and starting your own business that you thought, hey, I I think this works. I think I can do this, I think this is something that I can do. Was there a was there an aha moment when you form your own business?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So after I stepped away from my nine to five and went full entrepreneur mode, things like you said were a little scary at first. I was building this infrastructure for a business model,

Launching Glass Ivy And First Big Client

SPEAKER_00

trying to make it look exactly how I wanted, while also staying in contact with people I'd met through my career thus far to kind of build a network of customers or at least people that were willing to share my name in a room. And I'll never forget, I was in Conway and my husband and I were going out to dinner or something of like that. And we stopped at a gas station and I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize, which back then wasn't spam, but could have been so it's kind of a 50-50. And the things have changed. Exactly. I went ahead and answered it, and it was a gentleman named Lee, and he was with a company called Unified Payment Group out of Nashville. And he was reaching out because they were in need of a new marketing and design agency. They were unhappy with their current setup. And they had heard through word of mouth business from my previous employer that that is something that I might be able to do. And for me, that was the first moment that I was like, oh my gosh, maybe I can actually do this. Maybe this is actually gonna work. And Unified Payments Group is actually someone that I still work with today. And so I've worked with them now, ooh, about 10 years. Yeah, well.

SPEAKER_01

Sure. And for those who don't know, your company is called Glass Ivy. Right. And still something that you you pay attention to, something that's a going concern in in Fayetteville.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Yeah. So for a while we did have a brick and mortar office in Fayetteville through my transition into president at Celebrate. That's something that I've kind of backed off a little bit. And so I do have a few clients that I regularly maintain, some of their digital marketing infrastructure or just on a consulting basis.

SPEAKER_01

So keep that hat on then for a minute, then. What matters the most today in terms of you know digital marketing and technology? Is it the platforms in the tools, or is it the um the trust, the relationship, the clarity of message? Which of those things would you give more weight to?

SPEAKER_00

I'd say you have to have a healthy mixture first. You can't just have this great relationship and be naive to the technology and platforms available, but also vice versa. You can't be up to date with the latest technology and tools, but then not pay attention to what your customer is actually wanting and what they need. So I think that you have to have both. Um, especially in my time at Celebrate, though, I have learned that the relationship and understanding what your customer actually needs, even if they don't really understand what they need, is probably the most important, that relational aspect.

Relationships vs Tools In Marketing

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I know you said you're you're pulling back a little bit of that from from glass ivy, but do you do you still actively try and uh gain new clients, new customers, or more is it more about just uh taking care of the customer base, the longtime customer base that you have?

SPEAKER_00

At this time, it's definitely just taking care of the customer base that I have. Not that in a perfect world, I would be able to focus more time on that entity issue in someday. Sure. But for now, that's what it looks like.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, yeah. Not going to throw it away after like you've 10 years now, not gonna get rid of it. All right. So let's go to the celebrate Arkansas years. Of course, uh, those of us, especially Northwest Arkansas, know what a recognizable brand that is. I think um 2003 was the founding year over over 25 years, almost 25 years, depending on how you want to switch that. How did you come to join that company and then later move into the leadership role that you're in right now?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so at the time I was running Glass IV full-time at our brick and mortar location in Fayetteville. And I'd been approached that Celebrate was in the process of changing leadership over the next few years, and they were looking for somebody to step in that understood Northwest Arkansas, was good at the person relational aspect of business, but they wanted somebody that could bring in another side to the business, somebody like myself who had experience in other media formats, other marketing formats, rather than just print to make sure that the company was going to be well-rounded and innovative moving forward. And so they were looking for kind of a special person, asked if I was be interested. And at the time I was interested, but I was still doing this other thing full-time, right? So what I decided to do was start part-time and part-time capacity, understand what the business was about. Um, so I started as an account executive in 2023 and kind of got my feet wet with understanding what Celebrate's brand stood for in the community,

Joining And Leading Celebrate Arkansas

SPEAKER_00

right? Like you said, those that are in Northwest Arkansas probably recognized the name Celebrate Arkansas, at least in some capacity, as did I, but I didn't truly understand the intricacies of kind of matching the community aspect with the business aspect. And it's very unique. And it was really exciting to learn that sort of business that is very return on relationship and very engaged in what nonprofits are doing and things of that nature. So it's been a lot of fun. I got to work with major corporations again, which is something that I hadn't been doing at Glass Ivy since my emphasis was primarily small to medium enterprises and startup. And so that was kind of how I got into celebrate. And then over the past few years, as former leadership retired, then I was able to step into the role of president. And it's been great.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you mentioned the the corporations and the the ones that you get to work with. I mean, of course, the the the big household names that we all know, the legacy companies here, but I mean there are corporations from all over the country that have a presence here that that show up in your magazine to one degree or the other. You also mentioned that P word, the print word. I mean, you you work in um in an environment where you hear often, I'm sure, as I did in my former life at the business journal, a quote, print is dead. Now, that's not me saying that. That's what people say to me. Print is dead. Does print really matter? What what do you say when when you hear that? How do you push back against that?

SPEAKER_00

Well, in this day and age, I would say one, that print is not dead. I think that if you've been following marketing trends, one, even in TV advertisements, on social media, things like that, you see that nostalgia is really having a heyday. People are really wanting to find something that they trust, something that makes them feel good. And sometimes a print publication does just that. I personally read magazines that aren't just celebrate, right? I have other print publications that I really enjoy. But I think too, whenever you take a step back and you look at what is the core of marketing, right? What are you trying to do with a marketing initiative, a public relations initiative? You're trying to have those touch points and tell a story for a specific audience. And whereas some print publications are mass-produced, celebrates is very, very unique in the way that it is probably one of the most targeted ways that you can do print media. We have a very specific audience. We distribute primarily to enterprise locations, um, retail locations in the region, national headquarters, Walmart's home office in some capacity. And so we're able to really hone in on what our messaging is because we know exactly who's reading our magazine, which in the marketing world is very beneficial, but also not very common.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, right. And you come out once a month, right? Publish once a month. So, and this may be a better question for your editorial team, but I'll ask you anyway. I'm sure you can explain it to me. So, your editorial calendar as you go throughout the year, when I think of Celebrate Arkansas, I think of great covers. I think of great people on your cover, notable people, celebrities, national celebrities from athletics and entertainment and uh certainly the world of business. But uh take me through that planning process. I mean, you

Planning Covers And Standout Issues

SPEAKER_01

identify what you want your month-to-month to be, and then how do you go about securing, you know, the person or the or the topic or what you want? What is how far out do you plan for that? And how easy or not easy is that to come together?

SPEAKER_00

Well, we plan about a year in advance. Um, so quite a ways out. So every year around late summer, August-ish, we have a meeting where we evaluate what the theme of every publication for the following year is going to be. There are some themes that are gonna be legacy things that we stay true to year over year. And then there's some that we adjust or we tweak. And then once we decide what every 12-month theme is going to be, then we take a look and see, okay, well, what kind of covers would we want to have for those publications? What would most resonate with our audience? And then kind of go through that methodically as to how to make that happen.

SPEAKER_01

What cover or what issue has resonated the most with you in the past two or three years? Is there is there a single issue or two that uh immediately come to mind?

SPEAKER_00

So two issues immediately come to mind. The first issue I ever got to sit in the room during the cover story interview would be the 2023 October issue, which is our food and beverage issue historically, and it featured uh Kent Eikenberry of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank alongside Claire Babineau Fontener of Feeding America. And so she is, you know, making tremendous change on a national level. And I was able to sit there in a room at the old warehouse for the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and hear her story of how she came to be in the position that she is today. And that was probably the most impactful for me because one, Claire's doing amazing things and Kent has done amazing things for the region. And two, I got to see that one from beginning to end. I got to be there whenever they were shooting the pictures, doing the interview, all of those things. The second one that's probably the most impactful to me is the first time that I was a part of a celebrity cover or what I would consider a big celebrity cover, which would have been the 2024 August issue, which featured Nellie on the cover. Oh. Um with Amp Up the Arts and the Walton Arts Center. And that was something that we got to do from an exclusive capacity through our partnership with the Walton Arts Center. And so that was the first time I got to be a part of putting a really big household national celebrity on the cover of a publication that is printed through a team of seven here in Bennville, Arkansas. And so that was really fun.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's certainly going to catch some attention. I think when they when you see the magazine and people see uh, you know, Nellie on the cover of you mentioned some of your partners there, of course, the Walt Arts Center and and and others. You know, people see those partnerships on the surface, right? But what are they, is there a misconception misconception about those partnerships that you have with the magazine? And and what is the biggest one that you hear and why is it a misconception?

SPEAKER_00

Um, I think that one of the things that I like to keep in mind with Northwest Arkansas in general is we have one of the highest nonprofits per capita of anywhere else in the US, right? Which is one of the reasons that this community has grown and thrived like it has. Celebrate is in a unique position that we partner with a lot of those nonprofit organizations. As a public relations entity that

Nonprofit Partnerships And Givebacks

SPEAKER_00

wants to be a pillar of things happening in the community, we recognize what those organizations are doing and we want to be a part of that in a supportive way. So, for instance, last year alone, we partnered with over 30 nonprofit organizations and did some sort of in-kind work, whether that's through sponsorship of their events and covering those events by taking photos, whether that's editorial features or in-kind advertisements to promote either an initiative or an event that they have going. We do that very regularly. That's a core pillar of our business, is making sure that we are supporting those community organizations. And then on top of that, we also do some advertising give back programs where we are able to bring in national household names that are some of our partners, and we allow them to participate in an advertising program where they not only get to showcase their products or their people or what they're doing in the community, but a portion of those advertising dollars are donated directly to an organization in the community. So that's a way that we are putting our money where our mouth is, right? We're not just saying that we're involved in the community. We're actually out there giving away in kind work and we're also donating cash and bringing in sponsors, bringing in other organizations to help support these causes and organizations.

SPEAKER_01

And doesn't it feel good to give back and support all those causes because they're around every corner up here? Um that there's so much opportunity to do that. Absolutely. Right. So all right. Well, let's talk about uh your family. You talked about your you and your husband, um, Taylor, also a University of Central Arkansas graduate, the two of you raising raising your family in Fayville. So how do you how do you navigate this this season of life? You're in a you know a leadership position uh with the company, but also uh there's that that you know work-life ballast that we hear so much about. How do you navigate that?

SPEAKER_00

Well, first, I think navigate is a good way to describe that. There's definitely some navigating going on, especially this week as we've had snow in the area, right? So I think that there what first I think there's a misconception of balance, right? I don't think that there ever truly is a balance whenever you're a working parent. I think that you have to prioritize and you have to be able to give and take. Um, for instance, I prioritize taking my kids to school. That's something that's very important to me. So I make sure that my office hours are going to be accommodating so that way I can do that at least 90% of the time. Um, one of the ways I'm able to have this career and do things like that is through a support system. And I'm very fortunate that my husband

Family, Routines, And Real Tradeoffs

SPEAKER_00

is able to work from home. And so he does have a flexible job as well. And so we definitely divide and conquer whenever it comes to household items. And then outside of that, I do have friends and family in the area that are very supportive of not only my family and my children, but also of my career.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So the non-negotiable is taking your kids to school. Understandable. I think anybody would feel the same way. Are there some trade-offs that you've had to accept?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So part of my role at Celebrate is attending a lot of events. A lot of events. Yes. We talked about all of those nonprofits and they have amazing charitable events. And so part of my job is attending quite a few of those. With that comes the fact that sometimes on Fridays, Saturdays, any day of the week, that there may be a time where I'm not able to be home for dinner or bedtime or things like that. And so that is something that I have had to adjust to and just be mindful of whenever I do have time or I do have a day where I'm working from home, that I can adjust my work schedule to be mindful of quality time with both of my kids and with my family.

SPEAKER_01

So to me, in other words, it sounds like there's not a normal week for you. Correct. Right.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, yes, we are very big on a digital calendar that has everybody's appointments, events, everything mapped out. So that way we try to plan ahead. But no, I would say in my household at least, we do not have a typical Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So so to k to to take your kids to school, let's say for example, that is a that's a tangible thing that you can control that would maybe inject some normalcy into your week, right? To hold on to this. Is there anything else that you that you strive to do or want to do each week to just give you something that's I know this is not going to change from day to day to week to week?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, in our household, we do Sunday night pizza nights as a family. And so that's something that we do every week if we can. Outside of that, I love reading. And so I like to read with my children. And then my husband and I are both rock climbers, and so we like to try to rock climb either in a gym or outside once a week.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, then. Um, a couple questions then. Uh, so what's your favorite pizza?

SPEAKER_00

Um, that is a good one.

SPEAKER_01

That is this homemade pizza, you do it at the kitchen, you're going out to places. So I won't ask you your favorite place and put you on the spot.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, well, my favorite place is pizzeria ruby. Okay. And Junpson. Okay. And my favorite pizza from there is the vodka pie. So I highly recommend that one.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, pizzeria ruby vodka pie. Okay. And rock climbing. Where has that been something you've done since you were 10 years old? Did you pick this up later in life? How did you come to uh to that outdoor recreation activity?

SPEAKER_00

So I've been rock climbing for a little over three years now. And I was introduced to it by a friend who actually introduced me to the owner of a climbing gym through my work at Glass Ivy. And so that was the first time I ever stepped foot in a rock climbing gym and just

Pizza Nights, Climbing, And Outdoors

SPEAKER_00

really took to it. I've always been a very competitive person. And I liked the aspect of with rock climbing, you either complete the route or you don't. There's a very clear, like win-lose scenario there. And so being able to combine that aspect with just staying physically active and then getting to tie in being outdoors in Arkansas. It's been great.

SPEAKER_01

I I think if it's a completed or don't, I definitely want to be inside, not outside trying to climb up the the face of the of the Buffalo River or anything like that. Do you climb outside or is this okay? Yeah. Any um any accident, any heroic tales?

SPEAKER_00

Any uh No, not to date, thankfully. Um, my favorite place to climb outside right now is probably Horseshoe Canine Ranch outside of Jasper. And my family, we like to all go camp out there and then go climb together. So that's really fun. But there's a lot of great places out here in Northwest Arkansas to get outdoors and climb.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, sure. Okay. Um, you mentioned storytelling earlier, and um, you know, there's a balance of what uh any any media company does and what a publication does. But tell me why do you think that Arkansas stories, you know, of entrepreneurs, of businesses uh up here, what you do, why do those stories uh matter so much right now?

SPEAKER_00

I think that anytime you think of Arkansas, especially whenever you're dealing with clients on a national level, there's a misconception about what is available in the area, what type of businesses are in the area, what type of people are in the area. And so I think that it's important to combat that with some of those amazing stories of people that are successful and are doing great things in the community, whether from a personal standpoint, a community organization, or in their professional career.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because there's people who are coming here from all over the world, right? They're they're bringing their businesses here and also bringing their families here uh to grow their companies. And it's not misconception about what people think it is. It's not solely retail or it's not solely, you know, those legacy companies. There's such a uh an environment that continues to evolve around here, healthcare just being one example of things that are going to have a huge runway uh for many, many years to come. Um, so in thinking of UCA then and and your alma mater, um, you know, what role uh do higher education institutions play in um in strengthening the connection between uh central Arkansas, where you uh were, I'll

Why Arkansas Stories Matter

SPEAKER_01

say raised since you moved in fourth grade. You were raised in central Arkansas, went to school there, started your career, but now you're in northwest Arkansas. What role do colleges play in in bridging the gap, the connectivity gap between Central Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas?

SPEAKER_00

I think that my time at UCA and in Central Arkansas specifically really helped me understand what I wanted, right? The things that I loved about Conway specifically since I lived there and went to school there twice, was the aspect of community and how the city as a whole was trying to grow, whether from an infrastructure standpoint, you know, adding more parks, more bike trails, having activities downtown, things like that. Those were all things that were very attractive to me. And so I learned through that, through my time at UCA and through my time in Conway, that that is something that I wanted for me and my family. And then also business opportunities, because I saw that being from a small town in central Arkansas, that there was, you know, there's the companies that you think of that are headquartered in Little Rock or headquartered in Conway. But but until you're part of that community, you don't really understand all of the other small businesses that are part of that ecosystem. And so I think that it really helped set my expectations for not only what I wanted out of an area to raise a family, but also helped me understand the greater picture of a business ecosystem that is not just the major corporations, the household names, but also includes those small to medium enterprises and those startups that are maybe family-owned or maybe owned by one or

Bridging Central And Northwest Arkansas

SPEAKER_00

two people, that it's a very well-rounded ecosystem and community. And that's kind of what I was looking for. And so Northwest Arkansas was another perfect example of that. And I really enjoy living here.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and you see a lot of that up close because um, you know, the ecosystem that you work in is in downtown Bittenville. So you get to see a lot of that. Uh, a lot of the people and places and things that that sprout up there is truly mind-boggling, uh, but you can just run into around every corner, right? Yeah. So um what's I'm gonna give you, since you're uh our first double alum, uh you you are uh a lot more accomplished than my uh you know previous guests. I'm just kidding, previous guests, but I'm gonna throw some lightning. I'm gonna throw some lightning around questions uh at you uh and see what um some of your reflections are. All right, what's the best advice you've ever received?

SPEAKER_00

That you can be good at anything, but you can't be good at everything. Um, I think that that is something that I've stayed true to. You know, I love graphic design, for example, and I've done that for a long time. I'm never gonna be the best graphic designer in the world. And so understanding that there are things that I'm really, really good at. And just because I love it doesn't mean that that's what I have to do.

SPEAKER_01

What is a tool, a habit, or a system that you genuinely swear by?

SPEAKER_00

I genuinely think that everybody should have a hobby or activity that is totally separate from work that is something that is personal to you that you really enjoy. So that way you have that outlet for whenever you're starting to feel burned out or you need time to yourself. And for me, that's rock climbing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's right. All right. What is a uh an entrepreneurship myth that you would love to retire for good?

SPEAKER_00

I think my favorite entrepreneurship myth that I would love to retire for good is that you have to have a large investment to get off the ground. I started my company, Glass Ivy, with no investment. It was just me, myself, and what I was able to put in personally. And then, like we've talked about, I still have that business open and operating today.

SPEAKER_01

Is there a story behind that name, Glass Ivy?

SPEAKER_00

So a little bit, yes. Um, one, I was trying to think of something that was really cool, really catchy, um, that would be recognizable. And then I was trying to think of what I really liked personally and what kind of resonated with my business mission. And the glass part is transparency. I feel like whenever you talk to a marketing agency, a lot of times you don't really know what you're gonna get. There's a lot of behind the closed doors of what services they offer, what their pricing is,

Lightning Round: Advice And Myths

SPEAKER_00

what results you're gonna get, all of that. And I wanted to eliminate that. And then the IV portion was the growth aspect of helping small businesses grow and bonus points because I like plants.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, very good. All right, so you're approaching um, I think three years at Celebrate, Arkansas. You've got a great product, you've got a great team. What is next for that magazine and that company?

SPEAKER_00

I think twofold. I think that we're going to stay true to what our brand mission is. You know, we've had longevity in the community because of that aspect. We've stayed true to what Celebrate wants to do, which is tell stories about people and businesses and community and kind of be at a crossroads of those three aspects. Alternatively, I think that we are going to continue to grow and innovate in a way that meets our customers where they are. I'd love to introduce more omni-channel opportunities for public relations and really bridge that gap between what we're able to do and Crent and elevate other tools and other opportunities as well.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. And so what's next for Alexa Williams, five years from now, uh, when people think about you or run into you, what do you hope they they say that you helped build with that company?

SPEAKER_00

I hope that they see the growth of maintaining the celebrate brand trust and name and see the progress that we've made towards bridging the gap between print and omnichannel opportunities for our clients. I'd also love if they saw how much we were able to put back into the community and how much we were able to do with the nonprofit organizations that are really making a change in Northwest Arkansas.

SPEAKER_01

All right, very good. Great stuff. All right, where's the best place for people to find Celebrate Arkansas online and keep up and follow the word Pekin D?

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. I would encourage you to visit celebratearkans.com. All of our publications are available in a digital format there. I'd also encourage you to follow us on Instagram at Celebrate Arkansas, where we do a lot of our boots on the ground behind the scenes of making the magazine as well as community initiatives and involvement.

SPEAKER_01

You mentioned Instagram. Do you have a favorite social media platform or one that you you find more useful than the others?

SPEAKER_00

I think personally I spend the most time on Instagram as far as engaging with others in the community. However, from a professional standpoint, I have found LinkedIn to be the most helpful in my professional career and in business trying to connect with people. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Love LinkedIn. I don't I don't know why people sleep on LinkedIn. I think it's fantastic. I got to get on Instagram, though. That's I'm uh I'm lacking there. All right. So, Alexa, thanks very much for being here. Thanks for representing UCA and for Arkansas so well. Really appreciate you.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for having me, Paul.

SPEAKER_01

All right, very good. And that's it for this edition of Central to NWA. We appreciate you tuning in. Until next time, go Bears. That's it for this episode of Central to NWA, a UCA. Podcast. I'm Paul Gatling, Senior Director of Northwest Arkansas Engagement for the

The Future Of Celebrate And Alexa

SPEAKER_01

University of Central Arkansas. Be sure to subscribe to the show and follow UCA on all the appropriate social media. I'll see you next time on Central to NWA.