Tag Archives: Charles Morgan

Final day for 2015 Arkansas Literary Festival

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2015 ALF 2The final day of the Arkansas Literary Festival kicks off with David Rosenfelt discussing Hounded at the Clinton School at noon.  That will be followed by Arkansas Puzzle Day from 1pm to 4pm at the Clinton School.

The used book sale will continue at both the Main Library and River Market Books & Gifts.

Karen Joy Fowler and Megan Mayhew Bergman will be on a panel at 1:30pm at the Ron Robinson Theatre.

At 3pm, Charles Morgan will lead the final session of the 2015 ALF when he discusses his book Matters of Life and Data at the Ron Robinson Theatre.

Charles Morgan discussing MATTERS OF LIFE AND DATA to close the 2015 Arkansas Literary Festival

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CDM-Book-CoverThe 2015 Arkansas Literary Festival comes to a close on Sunday, April 26 with a conversation between Charles Morgan and Kelley Bass.  These two longtime friends will be discussing Morgan’s book, Matters of Life and Data at 3pm in the Ron Robinson Theater.

Here is how Morgan describes the book:

“I didn’t set out to become a collector of your and your neighbors’ information. When I was growing up, nobody but egghead scientists talked about ‘data.’ It was the mechanical age, and I was a gadget geek, taking apart my cousin’s toys and trying to put them back together again. I was especially crazy about cars and engines, and had it not been for a fateful encounter during college recruiting season, I might’ve lived my life as a race car mechanic instead of learning about computers at IBM. As it turned out, pursuing Big Data allowed me the resources to become a professional race car driver on the side, competing against the likes of Paul Newman, who makes appearances in these pages as well.

“Such are the wonders of this journey we’re all on. Mine has taken me from the frontier of western Arkansas, where my ancestors owned a hardware store selling iron tools to westbound travelers, to the frontier of the digital age, where room-size computers have become eclipsed by the power of smart phones. And in a sense, the story you’re about to read isn’t so different from those of the colorful adventurers who stocked up their wagons at my family’s hardware emporium and headed west to make their fortunes. Data mining is the new gold rush, and we were there at first strike, dragging with us all our human frailties and foibles. In this book’s cast of characters you’ll find ambition, arrogance, jealousy, pride, fear, recklessness, anger, lust, viciousness, greed, revenge, betrayal, and then some.”

“It is a messy story. In the big picture, this could be called a narrative of America since World War II. But in the micro telling, think of it this way: The man who opened your lives to Big Data finally bares his own.”

Museum of Discovery goes Uncorked tonight

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Charles Morgan and Alex Dietz, who helped build Acxiom from a small Conway business into a global force in data and data management, will serve as honorary chairmen for the 11th Annual Uncorked: The Mad Scientist Mash, a fundraiser for the Museum of Discovery. The event will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. October 18 at the museum, 500 President Clinton Avenue.

“As kids, Alex and I both were energized by science, technology and math – and that led us to get our degrees in engineering and go on to Acxiom in the early 1970s,” Morgan says. “We think it is critical that more Arkansas youth get the chance to have that same spark ignited, and the Museum of Discovery is the premier institution in our state providing that opportunity in a dynamic, hands-on, interactive environment.”

Guests, ages 21 and older, will be able to explore and experience the almost 90 interactive exhibits and discover the fun of science. There also will be interactive “Mad Scientist” experiments and encounters with the museum’s own live animals.

Tasting stations will include specialty wines and beers courtesy of Glazer’s of Arkansas. A wine pull will provide attendees the opportunity to win bottles of wine, some of which sell for well more than the $20 cost to participate. A silent auction will showcase wine-related items, gift certificates, unique experiences and more. Attendees can park free in the River Market parking deck; the entrance is on Second Street between River Market Avenue and Sherman Street.

This year’s “must have” raffle item will be a $1,000 gift certificate to Kenneth Edwards Fine Jewelers.

Event proceeds benefit the Museum of Discovery’s statewide educational outreach programs.

Morgan joined Acxiom as vice president in 1972, became chief executive officer in 1975, the position he held before retiring in 2008. Dietz joined Acxiom in 1970 and helped set the data product vision for the company, serving many years as Products Division leader before retiring in 2009. They were two of the visionaries who grew the company from 25 employees and $500,000 in annual revenue in the early 1970s to a global footprint with more than 7,500 employees and $1.5 billion in annual revenue when they retired.

“I was always interested in math – and in how things worked,” Dietz said. “It was that interest and curiosity that helped me drive innovation in Acxiom’s products. Charles and I urge all Arkansans who care about our state’s future to support the Museum of Discovery and this enjoyable Uncorked event.”

Event tickets are $100 and can be purchased at http://www.museumofdiscovery.org. For more information, please contact Meredith Poland at mpoland@museumofdiscovery.org or 501-537-3077.

About the Museum of Discovery

Located in Little Rock’s historic River Market District, the Donald W. Reynolds Science Center at the Museum of Discovery is central Arkansas’s premier science, technology and math center. With nearly 90 state-of-the-art interactive exhibits in three galleries focused on health, physical and earth sciences, and a highly trained staff, it is a leading resource for informal science-related education. The Donald W. Reynolds Science Center at the Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded the Museum a $9.2 million grant solely dedicated to the renovation. The money paid for the renovation of 44,000 square feet of existing space, a 6,000 square-foot addition and new exhibits throughout the facility.