https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2026/mar/22/cindi-ferguson-shares-life-lessons-with-atu/
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RUSSELLVILLE – Cindi Ferguson provided the spring 2026 ATU LeMoyne Smith School of Business Distinguished Lecture Series address in Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall on Wednesday.
That same day, Ferguson and her husband Jimmy Ferguson were recognized with the naming of the new student union at Arkansas Tech University.
The 69,990-square-foot Ferguson Student Union was named after the couple who made the lead gift in support of the construction of the facility. Jimmy Ferguson served on the student affairs staff at Arkansas Tech from 1975-94 before he and his wife went on to success as McDonald’s franchise owners and operators in central Texas, according to a news release from the university.
“Jimmy and I have always had a very God-driven life,” Cindi Ferguson said when asked what she hoped her audience would take from her remarks during the lecture series. “That’s the main highlight, but the other part is they need to know self-confidence. No matter what they are doing or where they go, they need to be confident in their presentation, confident in what they are doing … and that’s kind of hard sometimes.”
She told the Arkansas Tech students that her career began with jobs such as receptionist, nursing supervisor and working in a real estate office in Russellville.
Through her real estate work, she learned that McDonald’s was seeking female entrepreneurs to open new restaurants.
McDonald’s was averaging 20,000 applicants per year to become owner-operators within its system when Cindi and Jimmy Ferguson became interested in the process in the 1990s. Of those 20,000 applicants, approximately 2,000 were selected for interviews, and only 20 to 200 were selected.
The Fergusons made it through that process and became part of the McDonald’s organization in 1994 with one restaurant in central Texas. Once they opened, it was more than nine months before either of them had a day off from work, and that was only because the restaurant was closed for Christmas, she said.
“You work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year … period,” said Ferguson when telling the students what it is like to own a business.
After a period of trial and error, the Fergusons identified a management system that worked for them. Jimmy oversaw operations, while Cindi managed the back office and ensured all of the matters related to finances and human resources were in order.
Over a span of three decades, the Fergusons’ business grew to include ownership of more than 30 McDonald’s restaurants in and around Austin, Texas.
“Treat people well,” Ferguson said. “I don’t care if they’re your boss or the people you manage. You need to treat people fairly and with respect.”
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