Terry Benham

Terry Benham prides himself in his entrepreneurial leadership. What started with a $2,500 loan out of high school, turned into a multi-million-dollar business. He hopes to bring this entrepreneurial spirit to Benton as mayor, and help make the Saline County seat a mecca for start-up businesses.

A 1985 Benton High School graduate, Benham is a founding partner at Impact Management Group – a consulting group specializing in public relations, public opinion and government relations. The company houses offices in Little Rock, Baton Rouge and Washington, D.C. He served in the U.S. Army for six years and as a civilian has continuously worked to strengthen emerging democracies worldwide.

“I’m an entrepreneur and want to see our community become the home to central Arkansas start-ups,” Benham says. “Although I’m only 51 years old, I’ve had a very successful business career, and I believe it’s time for my generation to lead within our community. We have accomplished much and we can’t afford to go backward.

“My qualifications and experience are different from those of my opponents. Benton needs a strong, business-minded, entrepreneurial leader who can preserve the progress we’ve made and take us to the next level. That’s why I’m running for mayor of Benton.”

Benham calls himself “the poster child” for why people seek Benton as a home. “I’m a product of Benton Public Schools, attending Howard Perrin Elementary, Eastside Junior High and Benton High School. When we moved here, we lived on Desoto, but my dad and grandpa built the house I grew up in on Brookview Drive – a house my dad lives in to this day. My family and I have lived in downtown Benton before, and currently live in Hurricane Lake Estates. I’ve worked all over the world but have called Benton my home since I was a little boy.”

Benham was a key player in the public initiatives that provided funding for renovations to Benton Public Schools, the Benton Event Center and Riverside Park. He says those projects are at the center of the city’s economic growth over the past eight years and wants to continue down the path of progress.