Why I Launched Here

I was living in Fayetteville and working as a police officer when I met my husband, Stephen, an international security consultant. We saw a need for security training that wasn't being filled. I owned 30 Black Angus cows and the cattle operation was a bit much for me, so I sold them. Those cows helped to finance our new business.

We employ instructors from the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. Our clients include governments and corporations everywhere that work in hostile environments. We operate in Africa, Trinidad, Iraq, Nigeria -- there are security issues everywhere in the world. Our business exploded after 9/11.

At first, getting our instructors to and from Fayetteville was hard -- they had to fly into Tulsa or Little Rock, which are two to three hours away. Soon after, though, the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport was expanded, and now many airlines fly in and out of there. It's about 20 minutes from our headquarters, and that's made traveling just fabulous.

We built our training facility in Prairie Grove, 20 minutes north of here, because it would have been much harder to get permits in Fayetteville -- we use live weapons. The traffic's fine except when the Arkansas Razorbacks are playing.

It's a very economical place to live and work. National chain hotels cost about $58 a night on our corporate rate. And there's plenty to do. Dickson Street, downtown, is renowned for music, and we're close to Branson, Mo. -- although our clients are usually too busy to go out. -Elaine Appleton Grant

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