Jonesboro Unlimited

10/16/2026

Community members, industry partners, and educational leaders gathered for a construction celebration today for the Career Readiness Education and Skills Training (CREST) Center at Arkansas State University. Building has been underway for several months already, and when completed, CREST will enhance workforce training opportunities in advanced manufacturing, food processing, and steel production.

"By connecting education and training to the needs of our region’s employers, we are creating pathways for students and working adults to gain valuable skills, earn stackable credentials, and advance their careers,” said Dr. Calvin White Jr., Chancellor of Arkansas State University. “We are also equipping the industries that are driving the region’s economy with a skilled workforce they need to grow and succeed.”

White said that CREST brings together A-State, ASU-Newport and Arkansas Northeastern College with a shared goal: building a stronger workforce in Northeast Arkansas.

Hytrol Conveyor Co. is the founding industry partner.

“This represents a true evolution; the next step in our workforce development capabilities, not just in our community, but our region and this state,” said Mark Young, President and CEO of Jonesboro Unlimited.

Phase one of CREST is made possible through a $7.5 million grant from the Arkansas Department of Commerce Higher Industry Readiness through Educational Development (HIRED) program. Regional organizations and government partners are providing additional funding, including Craighead County, Jonesboro Unlimited, Workforce Training Consortium, and Hytrol Conveyor Co.

“Through facilities like this, it gives young adults a place to start to move themselves forward, and that is what we are here to do,” said Marvin Day, Craighead County Judge.

Day said a college education is beyond the reach of many, but the CREST Center will help bridge that gap, and he is looking forward to seeing what this endeavor will do for the community.

Among the many speakers at the event were Dr. Calvin White Jr., Chancellor of Arkansas State University; Arkansas Congressman Rick Crawford; Dr. Will McLean, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of Arkansas State University; Ike Wheeler, Chancellor of ASU-Newport; Dr. Chris Heigle, President of Arkansas Northeastern College; Dr. Ken Warden, Commissioner of Arkansas Division of Higher Education; Craighead County Judge Marvin Day; Mark Young, President and CEO of Jonesboro Unlimited; Phillip Poston, Chief Administrative Officer of Hytrol; and William G. Wright, Tax Credit Executive at Southern Bancorp.

CREST - Career Readiness, Education & Skills Training
Arkansas State University
ASU-Newport
Arkansas Northeastern College
Workforce Training Consortium
City of Jonesboro, AR - Government
Craighead County
Southern Bancorp
Hytrol
Arkansas Division of Higher Education

10/15/2026

10/08/2026

10/01/2026

SANY Nutrition Group held a grand opening for their new $30 million manufacturing facility yesterday in Jonesboro. Housed in the former Butterball building, the company produces protein-rich snack bars and bites with the ability to make 500 million per year. Around 75 employees have been hired with plans to reach 150 in the next three years.

SANY founder and investor Angela Pernsteiner celebrated the event with a ribbon cutting, acrobats, musicians, and a dinner with several guest speakers including Jonesboro Unlimited President and CEO Mark Young. The evening was filled with gratitude to the Jonesboro community and stories about the founding and development of the company.

Located in Craighead Technology Park, SANY joins several other food manufacturers already operating there.

We congratulate SANY Nutrition Group on this exciting milestone and appreciate them for choosing Jonesboro as the home for their growing operation!

09/16/2026

Join us in celebrating Donna Holt, Jonesboro Unlimited Executive Assistant and Economic Development Associate for the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Tamara Roberson, Chamber of Commerce Director of Sales, on being recognized as 2026 NEA Women in Business by Northeast Arkansas Talk Business & Politics!

For 39 years, Donna has been a constant at JU and the Chamber, serving as the backbone of both organizations and helping keep things running smoothly day in and day out. Tamara joined the Chamber almost a year ago and hit the ground running, quickly taking the lead in her role.

They were recognized last night in a ceremony at The Lounge at Huntington Square alongside eight other accomplished honorees. We congratulate all the women chosen for this distinction!

Learn more about these incredible NEA Women in Business at https://tinyurl.com/4ydxxfz5

Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce
Talk Business & Politics-Statewide
The Lounge at Huntington Square

09/07/2026

Thank you to the workforce who keeps our community moving forward.

Happy Labor Day from Jonesboro Unlimited!

08/20/2026

Take a look back at the groundbreaking for InnovAsian's frozen food manufacturing facility in Jonesboro and the significance of this investment for the region.

Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Craighead County
City of Jonesboro, AR - Government
Always Jonesboro

08/18/2026

As a valued partner of Jonesboro Unlimited, we appreciate Hytrol and its continued commitment to workforce development! We look forward to seeing the CREST Center at Arkansas State University in the future and the opportunities it will create.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘈-𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘛𝘌:

𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐀-𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 $𝟓𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐲𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲

The Career Readiness Education and Skills Training (CREST) Center, currently under construction at Arkansas State University, is poised to serve the Northeast Arkansas community once completed.

"CREST was never intended to be something A-State could build alone,” said interim Chancellor Calvin White Jr. “Its success depends upon bringing education and industry together around a common goal: creating more opportunities for the people of Northeast Arkansas while building the workforce needed for the future.”

Today, Hytrol Conveyor Company committed a $500,000 gift, becoming CREST’s founding industry partner.

“Hytrol has spent more than six decades growing alongside Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas,” said Philip Poston, chief administrative officer at Hytrol. “Our future is tied to this region, and we believe that one of the most important investments that we can make is in the people that drive that future. "

White continued, “They employ our neighbors, support our communities, and invest in the people who call Northeast Arkansas home. Hytrol understands that their success is connected to the success of this entire region. That understanding is at the heart of CREST.”

CREST is bringing employers to the table, listening to the skills that they need today, while anticipating what they will need tomorrow. The CREST Center will prepare people to succeed in a rapidly changing workforce.

The ASU System Board of Trustees recently named the primary workforce training space in the CREST Center in recognition of the company. The Hytrol Workforce Training Room will be part of phase one of the three-phase building process.

“When completed, the Hytrol Workforce Training Room will be a place where people develop skills, discover opportunities, and prepare for careers that can change the trajectory of their lives and those of their families,” White added.

"The naming of the Hytrol Workforce Training Room is meaningful to us,” said Poston. “We like what that room will represent. It will be a place where people gather to learn, develop new skills, collaborate, and prepare themselves for what's next.”

The $18 million phase one of construction will be a 26,000-square-foot facility, expected to be completed by spring 2027, with classes beginning in fall 2027.

Mark Young, president and CEO of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, said this all started more than three decades ago, when the Workforce Training Consortium (WTC) was formed to look ahead at the ever-changing needs of our community.

“CREST is the culmination of that vision that happened over 30 years ago,” said Young. “It will provide not only an opportunity for employers to better prepare the existing workforce, but it also provides an opportunity to train the future workforce. CREST will play an impactful, meaningful role in people’s lives.”

Made possible through a $7.5 million grant from the Arkansas Department of Commerce Higher Industry Readiness through Educational Development (HIRED) program, the CREST Center will eventually be a 70,000-square-foot facility. Craighead County, Jonesboro Unlimited, and WTC have committed additional funding.

“We are proud to be the founding industry partner. We look forward to continuing the work alongside Arkansas State, ASU-Newport, Arkansas Northeastern College, and the many community partners that will make CREST Successful,” added Poston.

CREST - Career Readiness, Education & Skills Training

(PHOTO) CREST and Hytrol Conveyor Company representatives included (from left): Jerry Morgan, Dr. Robin Myers, Dr. Calvin White, Ike Wheeler, Robert Jones, Phillip Poston, David Peacock, and Ruth Poston.