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A Home Away From Home

Katie Plumski | June 1, 2017

People | Inside Magazine

A look at what makes so many glad to call Bentonville, Ark., home

America’s landscape is dotted with small towns, each filled with unending displays of people with big hearts. Picture this place in your mind:

A bustling Saturday morning farmers market that has been providing the community with a diverse array of homegrown produce, homemade crafts and a sense of community for over 40 years.

There are monthly community festivals in the town square featuring live music and family activities that bring together thousands of residents, a scale that most communities can only organize yearly.

It’s a community where people value art and history is celebrated daily.

This town is Bentonville, Arkansas.

The Community

“From its embrace of art and stewardship of community, to refined gastronomy and a strong connection to nature, this new American town inspires a feeling that you can’t quite put your finger on,” a newspaper portrayed in a recent article.

The type of people you will find in this town is unmatched as well. One of the community’s newest denizens, Scott Nemec, shares that, “It feels like only one out of every 10 people you meet was actually raised in Arkansas, yet everybody embraces Bentonville as their home.” Nemec was drawn to the town by a job opportunity as a national team leader of category management at Hormel Foods, but now appreciates the warmth of community in his new home.

Even though the population breaks the 40,000 mark, the sense of community is unending. Bentonville is an incredible example of a town that continually gives back. Part of this trend is because of the influence the Wal-Mart business has. A businesses started by the Walton family in the town in 1950, the company has set the trend for other businesses to follow. The Hormel Foods sales office in Bentonville participates regularly in community events, charity fundraisers and community service activities.

It feels like only one out of every 10 people you meet was actually raised in Arkansas, yet everybody embraces Bentonville as their home.

Scott Nemec

From the ongoing partnership with the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter and the Boys & Girls Club, to the recurring community service activities done as a group, including the Heart Ball with Mercy Clinic and the various philanthropic fundraising events, the Hormel Foods team in Bentonville is filled with big hearts, as is much of the town.

You don’t have to go far, you don’t even have to leave the city square, to quickly find out why this community is a beloved small town and why good-hearted people are so quick to call it home.

This article was featured in Issue II of Inside Hormel Foods magazine. Click here to explore these unique collections of thought-provoking and heartwarming stories, recipes and features on our employees and the different areas of our company, all packaged up in a beautifully designed digital viewer for you.