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This article originally appeared in the River Valley & Ozark Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on March 25, 2007

Conway Block: Helping customers achieve the backyards of their dreams

By Tammy Keith

Conway Block has a simple goal: building memories one block at a time.

Paul Tipton has spent 25 years creating a business that helps people receive maximum enjoyment from their homes and yards.

He knows homeowners value time with family, and spending it outside together is one way to do that. The trend today is to make outdoors a second living space, and Conway Block has the right products and the staff to help make it happen.

Whether it's a beautiful patio, a retaining wall, or just the perfect bird bath or concrete bench, Conway Block has what homeowners need to increase the value of their homes, as well as quality family time.

Sheri Granger, sales and marketing director, said people are invited to come into the showroom at Conway Block's newest location in the Gold Creek community, No. 6 Sidebottom Road, and flip through the tons of catalogues and books available, or even watch a video to get ideas.

They do free - yes, free - design consultation to help customers achieve the back yard of their dreams. It's what Tipton likes to call "service with a personal, down-home touch."

If plain, concrete blocks are what a customer needs, they are available, too. Contractors and architects alike have trusted Conway Block for years and have visited the downtown location on Front Street.

There are plenty of examples in Faulkner County and throughout the state of Conway Block's sculptured and tumbled block retaining walls, some creating beautiful mosaics. The business sells Versa-Lok, which is an interlocking retaining wall that can go several feet in the air without the use of mortar. Conway Block also has garden-wall material and stepping stones made of concrete, available in a variety of colors, which also can be used for the inside of fireplaces or on the home's exterior.

Tipton, who is active in Conway through the Optimist Club and Boy Scouts, believes in the community and in family values. His business philosophy is, "The only thing achieved without effort is failure." It seems simple to him: sell quality products, be fair with customers, give them good prices and good service.

Homeowners may not be thinking about Paul Tipton when they have their backyard family barbecue on their patio or watch the birds splash in the birdbath on a nice spring day, but Tipton gets satisfaction in knowing in some small way he's a part of it.

Reprinted with permission