The Pride of Arkansas Tour continues as we travel from Blytheville to Hot Springs & everywhere in-between. Meeting many new faces and hearing tons of stories from our alumni & friends is definitely making this undertaking worthwhile.
Blytheville Reminds Us of Home
Monday, February 9, 2009
After a drive across the state, we pulled into Blytheville on Monday morning. A quick tour of the town quickly reminded us of Fayetteville with the splintered trees and piles of limbs lining the streets. Many people in the area had just gotten their electricity back on after several days in the dark following the ice storm.
We had a nice lunch at the Grecian Steak House with about 12 alumni along with Ashley Harris, a Blytheville native who oversees the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences Alumni Society.
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
There were familiar conversations for those of us who weathered the Northwest Arkansas ice storm as the alumni swapped ice storm stories and talked about how the whole community pitched in to help with the clean up.
Among those gathered was Monte Middleton, a 2007 University of Arkansas graduate who completed his degree through the workforce program, which allowed him to take classes from Blytheville. He showed great enthusiasm for getting involved in the Alumni Association. And he’s already working on convincing his 20-month-old son to be a Razorback.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the in-state Alumni traveling staff, Anthony McAdoo, Tammy Tucker, Laurel Draudt and Elizabeth Anglin, hopped in the van to travel across the Mississippi River to Memphis to Jim’s Place Grille for our evening reception. For Laurel, an Ohio native who joined the Alumni staff in January, this tour is a great opportunity for her to see a different part of the state and meet the alumni we are serving.
We filled the private dining room with about 40 people including Mid-South Chapter leaders Joel and Nancy Wood, Margo Germany and Scott Dicus, who is also president of the Memphis-East Arkansas Razorback Club. Ashley also joined us for this reception.
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
As the group watched the video presentation, “Stories from Senior Walk,” two guests surprised us right on cue. Dwight Stewart and Arlyn Bowers entered the room during the segment of the video that talks about the 1994 National Championship in basketball, and Dwight’s photo flashed across the screen just as he walked in. Dwight was a member of that team, and Arlyn was a member of the Final Four team. We couldn’t have planned that any better!
After that successful event, the Alumni staff packed up, stopped for a bite to eat and then headed to the motel to rest up for another busy day.
Homecoming in Helena
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
As the rain started to fall, we left our Germantown, Tenn., motel and headed south to Helena-West Helena. We resisted the urge to try our luck at the Tunica casinos, crossed the mighty Mississippi and pulled into Phillips County Community College of the University of Arkansas. Twenty-five alumni gathered there with us. Chuck Roscopf, a member of the Alumni Association National Board of Directors, was in the crowd, along with Angela Waldrip, a member of the CAFLS Board. We also consider her a major donor to the university since all four of her children are currently enrolled there. For one of our traveling crew, Tammy, it was a homecoming, and everyone was eager to find out how she was doing.
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
Next stop: the Larry S. Bryant Multipurpose & Wellness Center in Forrest City. There we visited with Stanley Reed, past chairman of the UA Board of Trustees, and his wife, Charlene. Angela Waldrip joined us there as well, and brought her husband, Mark. It was a small crowd, but everyone seemed to enjoy their time with us.
From there we drove to Little Rock to prepare for Razorback Day at the Capitol and our next reception on Wednesday. It’s time for a good’s night’s sleep to the sound of the rain!
Razorback Day at the Capitol
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Today was an exciting day for supporters of the University of Arkansas. About 160 University of Arkansas alumni representing 25 Arkansas counties arrived in Little Rock for the first Razorback Day at the Capitol. That included the four of us who are traveling with the Pride of Arkansas Tour this week along with other staff members who drove down from Fayetteville. We gathered for a luncheon at Next Level Events near the state Capitol and heard Gov. Mike Beebe, Chancellor Dave Gearhart, Athletic Director Jeff Long and Coach Bobby Petrino speak. Then our executive director, Mike Macechko, and Richard Hudson, vice chancellor for governmental relations, told everyone it was time to head to the Capitol to meet with their respective legislators.
The Capitol rotunda was booming with the sounds of the Razorback Band echoing off the marble walls. The many school kids who happened to be at the Capitol on the same day were wide-eyed while meeting the Razorback mascots. Tusk II’s travel trailer was parked in front of the Capitol. Earlier that morning, though, Tusk posed for photos, and Laurel even got to feed him an apple. She wasn’t the only one enjoying the day, though. Members of the Student Alumni Board also were able to attend.
Razorback Day was a big success. The Arkansas alumni in attendance definitely made an impression and let their voices be heard in support of the University. Alumni are certainly the best advocates.
From there, we headed over to the Junior League Building in downtown Little Rock to set up for our Pride of Arkansas Tour event, which was planned to coincide with Razorback Day at the Capitol. We had a room full of 60 plus people, making it the biggest event so far. Many in attendance had been at the Capitol, but we also connected with other alumni who had never attended an Association event. Chancellor Gearhart addressed the crowd, encouraging them to join “one of the best alumni associations in the country.”
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
Also in attendance were Cynthia Nance, dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law; Don Pederson, vice chancellor of Finance and Administration; Brad Choate, vice chancellor for University Advancement; and Bruce Pontious, associate vice chancellor for University Development. Two past presidents of the Alumni Association National Board of Directors, Kenny Gibbs (also a current board member) and Brian Rosenthal, also joined us, along with current board members Heather Nelson, Montine McNulty, Glenyce Feeney. Ron Rainey, president of the Capital Chapter, was also there answering questions from local alumni who inquired about getting involved in the chapter. Others representing the University included Kris Macechko from Constituent Relations, Tysen Kendig from University Relations, Harley Lewis and Joe Euculano from University Development, Kim Randle and Will Whiting from Corporate and Foundation Relations.
We wrapped up a full day of University of Arkansas events by Calling the Hogs. You can never do that too many times!
Old Main Lives in Lonoke
Thursday, February 12, 2009
After a good night’s rest, the four of us hit the road again. We made the short drive to Lonoke where we had lunch with a small group of alumni at the Lonoke Community Center. What a nice facility that is! It was there that we met Ryan Biles, a 2003 graduate of the School of Architecture, and his wife, Natalie, a 2004 graduate who runs her own interior design business. He told us about the work he did with the installation of the clock in the south tower of Old Main as a preservationist architect. He had really interesting stories to tell and definitely has a bright future.
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
From Lonoke we headed back west into Little Rock to prepare for our evening reception in Benton. We had a small group of alumni there, which included the local mayor Rick Holland. We also enjoyed talking with Alton Robertson, president of the Saline County Razorback Club, and former state Sen. Charlie Chaffin and her husband Sam. They brought their granddaughter Phoebe with them who has been considering attending the University of Arkansas. Laurel seized the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Phoebe and tell her about our student programs, REAL Razorbacks and the Student Alumni Board, and encouraged her to become a Razorback. We’re thinking we’ll be seeing her on campus in the near future!
Hot Springs Hold Many Connections
Friday, February 13, 2009
We awoke a little revived knowing that we were going to a new part of the state and it’s our last day of this leg of the Pride of Arkansas Tour. While we all were all enjoying meeting alumni across Arkansas and telling them what’s going on at the University of Arkansas and the Alumni Association, we were also excited about getting home that night and sleeping in our own beds.
After packing our belongings, we took off from Little Rock where we were staying to Arkadelphia. Our stop was at The Honeycomb Restaurant & Bakery. We definitely recommend the beef lasagna lunch special. It was excellent! We were joined for lunch by a small group of alumni and friends. Three of them, Wanda Harris, Duane Jackson and Josie Moody, worked at Henderson State University, so we asked them questions about programs at their university while they were curious about scholarships and other happenings on the UA campus. One alumna, Bobbie Bland, said she remembers when Silas Hunt, the first African American to attend the University of Arkansas, arrived on campus and also shared her memories of living in Carnall Hall.
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
From Arkadelphia we headed through the Ouachita National Forest to Hot Springs, where we had a big crowd at The Porterhouse Restaurant downtown. We were asked if we customized the “Stories from Senior Walk” video since there were so many connections to local residents. We were happy to have 2008 Alumni Awards recipients Dorothy Stuck (Citation of Distinguished Alumni) and Bob Evans (Honorary Alumni Award) with us, and they were surprised to see themselves in the video. Others attending applauded whenever Dorothy and Bob were on the screen along with any other time they saw a Hot Springs native, including Jamie Fotio and Ashley Goldman, talking in the video. Libby Vines, who serves on the Alumni National Board of Directors, and Don Schnipper, a past board president, also joined us for the event.
Pride of Arkansas Tour Photos on Flickr
After the Hot Springs event wrapped up, the four of us loaded the van and started the nearly three-hour trip home to Fayetteville. It was a busy week, but everyone agreed it was a successful and productive week. We visited towns we hadn’t visited before, listened to our alumni share stories and answered their questions. And we even learned a lot about each other while being together in a van for thousands of miles during our trek across Arkansas.
We would love to hear what you thought about the Pride of Arkansas Tour!
Leave us a comment below and let us know how we can help keep you connected to the University of Arkansas.
