He promotes financial literacy with nonprofit entity in schools | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

When Stephen Lane makes hiring decisions at Clark Contractors in Little Rock, he always checks the financial literacy of candidates, especially recent college graduates.

“Did they support themselves through college?” he says. “Do they have an idea of how to take care of themselves financially on their own?”

Those who check those boxes, Lane says, are most likely going to be employees who are “critical thinkers,” and that’s exactly the kind of person he wants to hire.

Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s in White Hall, Lane, 45, says his parents encouraged him to be independent and responsible. But, too often, now, he says many parents are “too involved” in overseeing all aspects of their children’s lives. That “helicopter” parenting style, can make life harder in the long run.

The importance of such life skills is a big reason that Lane, who is vice president at Clark Contractors, decided to begin working as a volunteer for Economics Arkansas, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic literacy in Arkansas schools. He is currently serving as vice-chairman of the group’s board of directors, and is on the committee overseeing the Leadership in Free Enterprise (LIFE) Awards luncheon on Nov. 4 at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Little Rock.

“When I heard what Economics Arkansas was doing, you know, equipping educators on how to teach financial independence, that just struck a chord in my heart,” Lane says.

Lane learned about Economics Arkansas as part of his work overseeing projects for Clark Contractors. Many of those projects are located at schools across the state, and he found himself meeting people associated with Economics Arkansas regularly while visiting the schools. As he looked into the program, he saw that most of the group’s board included financial advisers, accountants, lawyers and bankers.

“I said, those are not the only ones that deal with economics, you know, contractors and other industry also deal with economics in real life,” Lane says. “And I kind of told them, jokingly, you need to get some more diversity on the board with some other business leaders.”

The group’s leadership agreed, and Lane has been on board for about a year and a half. “I’ve just thoroughly enjoyed it,” he says. “My mom was an educator, too, and I always feel like, you know, the educators are just obviously unsung heroes.”

Providing training and resources in the principles of economics and personal finance to pre-K-12 teachers in public and independent schools in Arkansas is the mission of Economic Arkansas. Founded in 1962 by Arch Ford, the Arkansas commissioner of education, Economics Arkansas is “a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, educational organization,” according to its website, economicsarkansas.org.

One of the best-known programs offered by Economics Arkansas is The Stock Market Game, which the group began offering in 1999. The game, a national program of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation, has three divisions: elementary (4-6 grades); junior high (7-9 grades) and senior high (10-12 grades).

The game is a simulation of investing in the stock market where teams of one to five students are each given a virtual $100,000 to invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds. The team with the most money at the end of the competition is the winner.

Since Economics Arkansas obtained the license to facilitate The Stock Mark Game 27 years ago, more than 275,000 Arkansas students have completed the investment simulation, says Kathleen Lawson, executive director of Economics Arkansas.

In addition to going into schools to provide programs like The Stock Market Game, Lane notes that Economics Arkansas helps connect educators with businesses directly.

“One of my favorite things that Economics Arkansas does is they do a fantastic job of getting the educators out in the community, too,” Lane says, adding that they will arrange for teachers to visit local businesses and learn more about what they do. Then, he says, they can go back and “tell the students about what’s out their in real life; what it takes to be in that industry.”

AWARDS LUNCHEON

As part of his work with Economics Arkansas, Lane is helping with the LIFE Awards luncheon, which is the group’s largest annual fundraising event. The 2026 Honorees are Walter E. Hussman, Jr., chairman WEHCO Media Inc., and R. Madison Murphy, chairman of Murphy USA Inc., president of The Murphy Foundation and co-founder of the Presqu’ile Winery. The luncheon is the biggest annual fundraiser for Economics Arkansas.

“You look at the honorees, Mr. Hussman and Mr. Murphy, and just know that they exemplify what it means to be a leader in free enterprise,” Lane says.

Lawson says Lane has played a crucial role in organizing this year’s luncheon.

“He has been instrumental in helping us secure one of this year’s honorees and has also been a tremendous ambassador and fundraiser for the event,” Lawson says. “Thanks in large part to his efforts, we sold out all available sponsorships more than two months in advance. That is certainly a testament to the strength of our honorees and the event itself, but also to Stephen’s ability to build relationships and bring people to the table.”

Lawson adds that Economics Arkansas, with Lane’s help, has also far surpassed its fundraising goal for this year’s LIFE Awards. “That translates directly into more resources to support Arkansas teachers and advance economic and financial education for students across our state,” Lawson says. “We are incredibly grateful for the time, talent and energy he has invested in making that possible.”