The University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business has selected Mark Pollack for this year’s Distinguished Alumni of the Year award.

Pollack, president of Affirmative Risk Management, has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry.

He is a former member of the UALR College of Business Advisory Council, a current member of the UALR Foundation Fund Board and a longtime supporter of the university. Pollack received his Bachelor of Business Administration from UALR in 1988.

The College of Business also announced that Thomas Dickinson, a 2007 graduate of the UALR Executive MBA program, will receive this year’s Dean’s Award for Excellence.

Pollack and Dickinson will be honored during the 2016 College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 19 at the downtown Little Rock Marriott, 521 President Clinton Ave.

Registration begins at 10:45 a.m. with lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $100, of which $75 is tax deductible, and must be purchased in advance.

For more information, visit the Distinguished Alumni Award Luncheon registration site. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Sheena Howell at 501.569.3208 or smhowell1@ualr.edu

Meet the honorees

Mark Pollack

Mark Pollack is the founder and president of Affirmative Risk Management. ARM currently handles claim-related matters in all 50 states as well as in 12 Canadian provinces and territories and in London, England.

A 1970 high school graduate of Ft. Eustis, Virginia, Pollack got his start working as an auto parts salesman in North Little Rock, Arkansas at Moore Ford.

After serving in the United States Army, active duty, and in the National Guard, from 1969-75, Pollack joined HC Inc, a heavy equipment repair facility, where he worked his way up from parts procurement to senior vice president of the organization.

While working, Pollack enrolled at UALR to pursue a business degree.  He graduated magna cum laude in 1988 from the UALR College of Business.

Pollack is now an accomplished entrepreneur, public speaker and expert in the insurance industry. Having started Affirmative Risk Management while still in school in 1987, Pollack helped the company grow into a renowned international business in the insurance field with more than 50 employees.

Pollack has served on the UALR College of Business Advisory Council and has been active in the college as an adjunct professor. He is president of the Hunters Cove Property Owners Association and a member of the UALR Foundation Fund Board.

Pollack and his wife of 45 years, Patti, have one daughter Chantal Roberts who is an equity partner with ARM.

Thomas Dickinson

Thomas Dickinson is a general manager for McGeorge Contracting Co. 

Dickinson was born in Little Rock. He graduated in 1996 from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. A double major at Southern Methodist University, Dickinson received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and History in 2000.

After graduation, Dickinson got his start with McGeorge Contracting as he developed a site in Bryant. During his time with McGeorge, he enrolled in the Executive MBA at UALR. Dickinson graduated with his Master of Business Administration from the UALR College of Business in 2007.

Dickinson is a former member of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Alumni Board, a current member of Rotary Club 99, a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas, the treasurer and vice president of the Arkansas Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and a board member of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Board of Visitors.

Dickinson and his wife, Anna, have two daughters, Evelyn, 5, and Mary Harmon, 3.