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LFS Alumni Association Announces Awards
(Posted: March 9, 2010) (Printable Version)
Seven individuals have been named recipients of the Leadership Fort Smith Alumni Association’s 2010 community leadership awards and will receive their awards at a June 3 banquet.
Awards include the Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award, given to an individual whose leadership has made a significant difference in the community, as well as community leadership awards in six categories — religion, education, business and industry, non-profit, government and health.
Sister Judith Marie Keith of Fort Smith, executive director of the Trinity Educational Trust, will receive the Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award. Community Leadership Award recipients are Rev. Kemp Holden, Dr. Paul B. Beran, Carl D. Corley, John Jeter and Tracy Winchell, all of Fort Smith, and Carol Martin of Greenwood.
Leadership Fort Smith, offered through the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, provides an issues-oriented education program to 25 regional citizens annually with the goal of empowering them to become active and effective leaders.
Julie Moncrief, executive director of Leadership Fort Smith, believes the Alumni Association awards speak significantly in representing active leadership roles in the community.
“This awards program enables the current Leadership Fort Smith class, as well as all of us, to focus on concrete examples of exemplary leadership during their class commencement, which takes place the same evening,” said Moncrief. “We learn about the paths these community leaders have blazed, and then we are even more inspired to be the best we can be.”
Moncrief said the backgrounds of the award recipients show how active the individuals are in the community:
Sister Judith Marie Keith
Sister Judith Marie Keith, recipient of the Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award, served for 27 years as president and chief executive officer for the St. Edward Mercy Health System. While she was in that capacity, accomplishments included the construction of the first all-private-room hospital, the implementation of the Western Arkansas (six-county) Emergency Medical System and the satellite hospital system to include Paris, Waldron and Ozark, and the construction of the Northside Charity Clinic. Since moving to her current position with the Trinity Educational Trust, more than $6 million dollars has been raised for construction programs, endowments and educational resources for students at Trinity Junior High. She serves on the Civil Service Commission, the Good Samaritan Clinic Board, Project Compassion and numerous other boards throughout the state.
Rev. Kemp Holden
The Rev. Kemp Holden, who will receive the Community Leadership Award in the religion category, is executive director of Union Christian Academy and pastor emeritus of Harvest Time Tabernacle. He established Harvest Time Tabernacle in 1971, moving the church from an attendance of 27 to more than 3,500 and serving as senior pastor until August 2009. He founded Harvest Time Christian School, a Christian elementary school, in 1984 and now serves as executive director of Union Christian Academy, a fully accredited K-3 through 12th grade Christian school that evolved with a merger of Harvest Time Christian School and two other local schools. He is on the board for the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor’s Crime Task Board and the Community Rescue Mission Board. In addition to serving on numerous other local boards, he was recently elected as chairman of Worldwide Missionary Evangelism Inc., a fellowship of more than 400 pastors, ministers and missionaries.
Dr. Paul B. Beran
Dr. Paul B. Beran, the recipient of the Community Leadership Award in the education category, is chancellor at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. Since coming to UA Fort Smith in 2006, he has implemented numerous programs to expand the university’s borders and improve economic development and the quality of life in the region. He is chair of the executive board of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, serves as president of the Westark Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America, was a founding member of the Young Emerging Leaders Advisory Board and holds memberships on the board of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and on the United Way Board. He has formed international partnerships with 20 universities for the exchange of students, faculty and joint research. He created the Chancellor’s Coalition for the Visual Arts and has selected, taught and led the Chancellor’s Leadership Council freshmen class since 2007. He is also active on the national BEST Advisory Council, a non-profit organization that sponsors nationwide high school robotics competitions. He received the Golden Hands Award in January 2008 on behalf of his work to advance the academic opportunities of the African-American community and provides assistance throughout the region in educational endeavors for the community.
Carl D. Corley
Carl D. Corley, who heads Carco Transportation Inc., is the recipient of the Community Leadership Award in the business and industry category. As an entrepreneur and transportation industry visionary for 50 years, he has had numerous successful business pursuits in car rentals, farm equipment, real estate and trucking. He has served on numerous boards and continues to serve on several. He has actively supported the Fort Smith Boys Club, Central Business Improvement District, Fort Smith Museum of History, Sparks Health System, the Fort Smith Art Center, Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Community Rescue Mission and First Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith. He served as a trustee on the former Westark Community College Board of Trustees and is currently on the UA Fort Smith Foundation Board.
John Jeter
John Jeter, who will receive the Community Leadership Award in the non-profit category, has been music director and conductor of the Fort Smith Symphony for the past 14 years. During his tenure, the Fort Smith Symphony has grown from a community orchestra to a nationally recognized regional ensemble demonstrating consistently high artistic standards, standards that are mirrored by strong financial success and a sound administrative organization. The orchestra's audience demographic is wide-ranging, including national symphony audiences as well as many young families with young children. The League of American Orchestras recognized Jeter and the Fort Smith Symphony as top examples of leadership, success and innovation in the orchestra industry. Jeter has created numerous award-winning educational and community programs that promote concert music to thousands of students annually. The orchestra's two internationally released recordings on the Naxos label, the world's largest classical label, have earned critical acclaim and have showcased the arts in Fort Smith on the international stage.
Tracy Winchell
Tracy Winchell, economic development coordinator for the City of Fort Smith, will receive the Community Leadership Award in the government category. Since beginning her position with the City in 2003, she has taken leading roles on the teams to retain and expand the role of the 188th Fighter Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard in Fort Smith, orchestrated development of the “Bring It Home” campaign which resulted in the successful selection as Fort Smith for the location of the U.S. Marshals Museum and developed a Citizens Academy, a 13-week course held twice a year to introduce class members to the inner workings of city government. She was also the force behind Fort Smith’s application to become an All America City as designed by the National Civic League, with Fort Smith one of 32 cities chosen to compete for 10 slots.
Carol Martin
Carol Martin, registered nurse practitioner, will receive the Community Leadership Award in the health category. She retired in 2009 after working 44 years in numerous capacities for Sparks Health System, including 25 years as director of critical care nursing. During her career at Sparks, she was instrumental in developing the Heartmobile program in 1972, which provided cardiac care to residents in rural communities, and the Stanley Evans Heart Institute in 1984, the first heart institute in Arkansas. She also taught courses for UA Fort Smith when it was Westark Community College and for Rich Mountain Community College and Arkansas Tech University. From 1996 to 2003, she served the Mountainburg area as a certified nurse practitioner at Sparks’ rural health clinic. She served on the Arkansas Heart Association board of directors for many years, including a stint as chair, and is on the Board of Governors of the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency.
The Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award is named for the late Jack White, a former community leader who made significant leadership contributions in the region. White was a graduate of the Leadership Fort Smith Class of 1990. The award was named in his memory in 1997.
The June 3 banquet is also a commencement banquet for the current Leadership Fort Smith class and is open to the public. For ticket information, call the LFS office at 479-788-7740.
| Article by: Sondra LaMar, Director of Public Relations |
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