Pictured from left to right are Scott Caldwell, Wayne Cranford, Wayne Woods, Donnie Smith, Jim Johnson, Shelby Woods and Archie Schaffer.
SPRINGDALE, Ark. (Nov. 4, 2011) — Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW), an independent full-service communications agency, announced Thursday the creation of a $25,000 endowed scholarship to honor the late Don Tyson.
Leaders from CJRW and Tyson attended a check presentation at Pratt Place Inn prior to a celebration of the agency’s 50th year in business. CJRW, one of the most established communications agencies in the region, was founded in Little Rock on Oct. 15, 1961.
The event also marked the 25th anniversary of CJRW’s partnership with Tyson Foods Inc.
The Don Tyson Endowed Scholarship for Agricultural Food and Life Sciences Studies will be distributed through the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation and will go to a graduating Springdale senior who plans to attend the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.
“A partnership of this length is extremely rare in the consumer products industry,” said Scott Caldwell, vice president for marketing services, “and we’re grateful for the opportunity to honor the late Don Tyson with this endowed scholarship.”
Thursday’s event in Fayetteville included catering by Chartwells, the University of Arkansas’ food service provider; elegant décor by Randal Wright of Eventures; and music by Cherry Brooks, her partner Cal Jackson and Cate Brothers saxophone player David Renko.
The party featured a champagne toast by Wayne Woods, the agency’s chairman and CEO: “Tonight, we give thanks for the gift of words; the beauty of design; the marvels of technology; the power of persuasion; and for chickens, cows, pigs and Razorbacks.”
CJRW’s Northwest Arkansas office, located in Springdale, employs a quarter of the company’s nearly 100 professionals and seeks to continue the legacy started by its founders decades ago.
The agency was established by Wayne Cranford and Jim Johnson in Little Rock in 1961 and quickly became the state’s largest agency. In 1984, Ron Robinson’s name was added to the door, and in 1990, Cranford Johnson Robinson Associates merged with the Woods Brothers Agency, the region’s largest tourism and hospitality agency led by Shelby and Wayne Woods. The merger created Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods.
In 1998, CJRW acquired Blackwood Martin and Associates and established a lasting presence in Northwest Arkansas, serving clients such as Tyson, Kum & Go, Nanomech, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Car-Mart, the Razorback Foundation, FidoPharm and others.
About Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, CJRW is a full-service communications agency with offices in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas. CJRW also owns Jones Film Video, one of the region’s leading film and video commercial production facilities. The agency is the only U.S.-based affiliate of Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm with more than 130 offices on six continents. Additionally, CJRW is a member of MAGNET, the Marketing and Advertising Global Network of 40 agencies in 12 countries. For more information, visit www.cjrw.com
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