First National Bank of NWA (formerly First National Bank of Rogers) recently expanded into Washington County with a branch bank located at 2638 Joyce Blvd., Suite 1. The branch opened Dec 1.

“As promised, FNBNWA continues to show a commitment to our customers and community by providing more convenience and expanded services within our region,” Rob Husong, regional president of First National Bank of NWA, said in a statement. “We are excited about expanding into Washington County with our new Fayetteville branch. FNBNWA takes pride, not only in offering exceptional banking services, but in investing in the communities we serve.”

First National Bank of Northwest Arkansas will begin construction on a Bentonville branch in 2015.

First National Bank of NWA is a division of the First National Bank of Fort Smith, which was chartered in 1872. The company provides its Northwest Arkansas customers with five branches, including Rogers (Pinnacle), Rogers (Dixieland), Lowell, Centerton and Fayetteville, with Bentonville slated to open in 2015 in addition to 13 branches located in the Fort Smith metro.

The board of directors for Butterfield Trail Village named Quintin Trammell as the new president and CEO effective Dec. 1. He has served as interim CEO since June.
 
Trammell joined the leadership team at Butterfield Trail Village in February as chief financial officer, where he directed all fiscal activities for the organization, including overall accounting, pro-forma development, budgeting and auditing and financial reporting to the board of directors. He previously served as chief financial officer at the Siloam Springs School District, where he provided financial oversight for more than 20 years during a time of significant growth.
 
In his new position as CEO, Trammell will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Butterfield Trail Village retirement community, work with the village’s leadership team, the resident council and the Butterfield Trail Village Board of Directors.
 
“We’re delighted that Quintin is our new president / CEO,” said Mike Jones, chairman of the BTV Board. “During the interim tenure his guidance was impressive as Butterfield embarked on major construction projects: our new Wellness Center and the Assisted Living Center. We look forward to a wonderful 2015 with Quintin at the helm.”
 
Trammell earned his bachelor’s degree in from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Arkansas Society of CPAs. Trammell is a member of the Washington County and Benton County Historical Societies, and has served on the boards for both organizations.
 

Look for a change in leadership at the helm of another state agency as Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson puts his stamp on workforce development. Arkansas Department of Workforce Services director Artee Williams says he has been told that he will not be retained in his post in the new governor’s administration.

Williams was originally appointed DWS director by Gov. Mike Huckabee in March 2004. He was reappointed by Gov. Mike Beebe in 2007.

Hutchinson said throughout the 2014 campaign that he wanted to be the “jobs governor,” and DWS is one of several agencies that impact jobs training and development. The agency also oversees monthly state unemployment data, produces frequent workforce reports, is a conduit for funding for federal jobs programs, and manages the state’s career training centers.

Williams has served as chairman of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet and currently serves as chairman of the Arkansas Public Employee Retirement System Board of Trustees.

In a press release on Tuesday (Dec. 9), Williams said he “looks forward to spending time with his family, traveling and pursuing other opportunities.” Williams is a long-time state employee having served in the Clinton, Tucker, Huckabee and Beebe administrations. In addition to DWS, he held posts as Deputy Director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and as State Personnel Administrator in the Department of Finance and Administration.

“I appreciate the years of service that Artee Williams has provided as Arkansas Workforce Services director and am grateful for his work during the transition. I look forward to building upon the leadership that Artee established,” said Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson.

Van Buren-based USA Truck announced Tuesday (Dec. 9) an expansion of its Strategic Capacity Solutions (SCS) division primarily through opening a new office in the east coast port city of Jacksonville, Fla., and opening a larger office in Chicago.

SCS is a freight brokerage business for the long-haul trucker and has helped the company return to profitability in recent quarters.

Operating revenue in the segment during the thrid quarter was $49.359 million, or more than 32% of total revenue. That is up from 27.2% during the same quarter of 2013. For the first nine months of 2014, SCS division operating revenue was 31.94% of total USA Truck revenue, up from 25.99% in the same period of 2013.

“Our growing footprint — including the opening of our first SCS office in Florida — reflects our recently announced strategy to build aggressively on the success of our Strategic Capacity Solutions business,” John Simone, president and CEO of USA Truck, said in a statement. “SCS has been a key contributor to USA Truck’s strong performance throughout 2014, and we are taking a series of steps to expand and strengthen the blend of transportation services we offer in the coming year.”

Simone also said in the statement that SCS is growing its customer base, which now includes more than 25% of Fortune 100 manufacturers.

“In fact, more than 90 percent of our top 100 customers consistently use multiple USA Truck services, underscoring the power of our Company’s diversified and integrated business model,” Simone said.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College is now offering a new online learning program for students pursuing a GED.

The college’s Adult Education Program has a history of providing flexible class schedules to meet the needs of busy adult students. Classes are offered mornings, afternoons and evenings with instruction individualized to meet student needs. The new distance learning option provides additional ways to work within adults’ busy schedules.

Distance learning is a method of providing instruction to students who are not physically present in a traditional classroom setting. Students enrolled in distance learning classes complete assignments online and communicate regularly electronically with the instructor. NWACC Adult Education Distance Learning requirements include:

• Completing 12 or more hours of study per month in one of the following online instructional programs — Aztec, My Skills Tutor, Steck-Vaughn, or Key Train;

• Contacting the distance learning teacher at least once a week via telephone, e-mail, classjump.com, or face-to-face;

• Making adequate progress in studies; and

• Visiting the Adult Education Center at least once month for a face-to-face meeting with the Distance Learning teacher.

Distance learning GED classes are taught by Jeannie Peters, an NWACC adult education instructor who is certified through the Arkansas Department of Career Education. Peters has been a member of the NWACC adult education faculty since 2008. She has a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College and a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

For more information on the new distance learning program visit the college online. The fall semester ends Dec. 19 and the spring semester classes will begin Jan. 12.
 

The age old question of what goes into a chicken McNugget at McDonald’s is answered by Tyson Foods in an effort to help the fast food giant with its ongoing transparency campaign.

Tyson Foods allowed McDonald’s to produce and share a video on You Tube that walks consumers through one of five Tyson further processing facilities that makes chicken McNuggets for McDonald’s.

Tyson said it begins with white meat chicken that is cut from the tenderloin, breast and rib meat. Next the white meat is ground with a small amount of chicken skin added back for additional flavor and juiciness as white meat chicken tends to be dry. Tyson said there are no feet, beaks, bones or dark meat in the grind. 

Amy Steward, meat scientist at Tyson Foods’ Obion County, Tennessee chicken processing plant, said the ingredients added to the meat grind are available on McDonald’s website and they include water, sodium phosphate and food starch for added moisture. Flavor enhancers include salt, wheat starch, dextrose and citric acid. Steward said rosemary extract and safflower oil are added to preserve freshness.

When the final blended product is complete it has a similar texture to coarsely ground beef. The McNuggets are pressed into four shapes — bell, boot, ball and bone — and coated in a light tempura batter. The foodservice product is partially fried to create the crunchy breaded texture and then flash frozen to preserve flavor. The product is fully fried on location by the restaurants.

Tyson said it routinely checks for quality each hour at the plant, frying up a batch of McNuggets in the test kitchen onsite and then sampling them for taste and appearance.

In other news Wednesday, McDonald’s released plans to trim down it value dollar menu come January. McDonald’s is cutting eight items from its menu beginning in January to boost service speed. The fast-food giant is also reducing its number of extra value meals from 16 to 11 as it seeks to turn around its U.S. unit.

The company has struggled recently to turn around its performance with comparable restaurant sales dropping 4.6% in November. Year to date, the company's stock is down 6%.

The Griffin Family of Fort Smith have donated $100,000 to the Old Fort Homeless Coalition to be used for the Riverview Hope Campus.

The effort behind the campus is to bring together the various agencies in the city that  provide services to the city’s homeless population.

“We’ve been blessed as a family to be part of Fort Smith’s growth and progress for many years. Fort Smith’s future depends not only on continued business development, but also providing the highest level of care for all its residents,” Rick Griffin, Griffin Properties of Fort Smith, said in a statement. “The proposed Riverview Campus is an extremely worthwhile endeavor. It’s our hope that this gift can be a catalyst for others in Fort Smith to build upon.”

The planned Riverview Hope Campus is expected to provide access to counseling, case management, medical and mental health services, basic education/GED classes, job training and placement services. Food, shelter, a worship center, bathrooms, showers, barbershop, laundry, storage and kennels will also be available.

“Research of ‘best practices’ across the United States convinced us that a comprehensive Social Services Campus model was preferred because it would change lives for the better and lead to self-sufficiency,” said Ken Pyle, Executive Director of the Fort Smith Housing Authority and President of the Old Fort Homeless Coalition. “This generous gift propels us in the right direction and solidifies the community’s desire to make this a reality. Our sincere thanks to the Griffin Family.”

In January, outgoing Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel will launch a new private law firm with two partners — senior assistant Scott Richardson and assistant attorney General Bart Calhoun.

McDaniel, Richardson & Calhoun PLLC will be based in Little Rock and focus on the areas of business law, commercial litigation, regulatory compliance, bankruptcy and public policy advocacy as well as education and agriculture law.

The firm will also practice personal injury and family law and the group plans to have additional offices in Jonesboro and Washington D.C.

“It has been a privilege to serve as attorney general and I look forward to many more years fighting for and protecting the rights of Arkansans,” McDaniel said. “I could not ask for a better team with which to start the next phase of my professional career. I have spent my entire career trying to make the system work better for people. My partners and I plan to continue that work for our clients, whether it’s in the regulatory environment or the courtroom.”

Bentonville-based America's Car-Mart continues to break ground on more dealerships in underserved markets.

The buy here, pay here used car dealer announced the opening of its 137th dealership on Wednesday (Dec. 10) in Ada, Okla. Ada marks the 25th dealership in Oklahoma and the third new opening for fiscal year 2015. 

“We intend to add new dealerships selectively in what we consider to be good, solid communities with a targeted number of eight dealership openings for fiscal 2015, subject to favorable operating performance,” said CEO Hank Henderson.

Car-Mart shares were trading down 1.89% on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 10) at $51.37. The share price has ranged from a recent high $54.68 to low $34.56 over the past 52-weeks.

Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville announces a new robotics technology for knee and total hip replacement procedures, performed using a new, surgeon-controlled robotic arm system that enables accurate alignment and placement of implants.

“Accuracy is key in planning and performing both partial knee and total hip procedures,” said Michael Maline, DO, orthopedic surgeon at NMC-Bentonville. “For a good outcome you need to align and position the implants just right.  RIO enables surgeons to personalize partial knee and total hip arthroplasties to achieve optimal results at a level of accuracy and reproducibility previously unattainable with conventional instrumentation.”

The new technology features a patient-specific visualization system and proprietary tactile robotic arm technology that is integrated with intelligent surgical instruments. It assists surgeons in pre-planning and in treating each patient uniquely and with consistently reproducible procedure.

This is a treatment option for adults living with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis that has not yet progressed to all three compartments of the knee. It is less invasive than traditional total knee surgery. A pre-surgical plan is created based on a CT scan of the patient’s own knee, and the surgeon uses the robotic arm during surgery to resurface the diseased portion of the knee, sparing healthy bone and surrounding tissue for a more natural feeling knee. An implant is then secured in the joint to allow the knee to move smoothly again.

During surgery, the new technology provides visualization of the joint and biomechanical data to guide the bone preparation and implant positioning to match the pre-surgical plan. After first preparing the femur or thighbone, the surgeon uses the robotic arm to accurately ream and shape the acetabulum socket in the hip, and then implant the cup at the correct depth and orientation. The surgeon then implants the femoral implant.

“We are proud to be the first in NWA to use this innovative technology,” said Sharif Omar, CEO, Northwest Health System. “It is part of our commitment to provide our community with the best possible healthcare.”

An ammonia leak at Tyson Foods Chick’n Quick plant in Rogers sent more than two dozen workers to area hospitals on Wednesday (Dec. 10).

The leak occurred around 3:30 p.m., near cooling units on the roof of the further-processing facility. Ammonia was drawn into the plant creating a Hazmat response involving 29 emergency personnel dispatched to the scene.

Employees were allowed back in the plant by 4:25 p.m. All but one of the 25 workers sent to area hospitals had been released from area hospitals by 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to company statement.

Tyson Foods released the following statements regarding the incident:

“Contractors were performing maintenance on the roof of our Rogers Chick ‘n Quick facility today and a small amount of an ammonia smell was pulled into the plant through the air conditioning system. As a precaution we immediately evacuated about 250 employees. There were some team members who asked to see a doctor and they went to the hospital. We’re still gathering details, but initial readings inside the plant indicate that ammonia was not detected in the environment.”

“Some team members asked to see a doctor and went to two area hospitals for observation. As of 9:30 p.m. all but one of our team members have been released from observation. The health and safety of our employees is very important to us, that’s why we have extensive safety and health training, programs and policies in place at all of our facilities.”

Tyson also thanked the quick response of the Rogers Fire Department for their assistance.

“The health and safety of our employees is very important to us, that’s why we have extensive safety and health training, programs and policies in place at all of our facilities. Our emergency plan worked as designated today.”

Arvest Bank promoted Dax Moreton to loan manager in the Prairie Grove market. He replaces Steve Purdy, who is retiring in January after serving as loan manager in Prairie Grove for 19 years.

Moreton has worked as a commercial loan officer for Arvest Bank in Prairie Grove for the past 14 years. During the past year he has worked from the Arvest Bank branch in Lincoln. He will continue to manage his existing commercial loan portfolio as he assumes his new duties.

“Dax is a strong asset for Arvest Bank and the local community,” said Mike Willard, president of Arvest Bank in Prairie Grove. “His banking experience is top-notch and he understands what our customers need from their banking partner.”

Moreton earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 2000 while also playing baseball for Arkansas Tech University. He is a 2009 graduate of The Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

He and his wife, Christina Moreton, have a daughter, Brinkley. The family operates a small farming operation of commercial beef cows. He is active in the community and serves as the vice president of the Lincoln School Board, the board of directors for the Lincoln Summer Ball Program, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the Ganderville Cemetery.

A new leader has been selected to oversee the animal well-being efforts at Tyson Foods. Dr. Christine Daugherty has been named vice president-Animal Well-Being Programs and Technology, replacing Dr. Dean Danilson who is retiring after 26 years with the company, according to a Tyson Foods release on Monday (Dec. 15).

Daugherty will be responsible for leading the company’s commitment to proper farm animal treatment. This includes overseeing the Tyson’s FarmCheck program which includes third-party, on-farm animal well-being audits, working with an external Animal Well-Being Advisory Panel and commitment to additional research. She will also be responsible for managing Tyson Foods’ animal well-being staff as well as animal handling training and audits at the company’s processing plants.

“Chris has been involved in Tyson Foods’ animal well-being efforts over the past 11 years through the science, research and legal roles she’s had with the company,” said Mike Roetzel, group vice president for operation services for Tyson Foods. “I believe her education, experience, and leadership skills make her an excellent choice for this important job. In addition, her knowledge of cutting-edge technologies will help us further explore new and unique animal well-being innovations.”

A native of Iowa, Daugherty joined Tyson Foods in 2003 serving as an attorney and providing counsel in such areas as animal welfare, research and development, intellectual property and food safety. She was promoted to director of intellectual property and technology development for Tyson Foods in 2011 and two years later was appointed chief technology officer for Cobb-Vantress, a poultry breeding company owned by Tyson Foods.

Daugherty has helped provide strategic oversight for Tyson Foods’ poultry research farm. She is an internal committee member for the FarmCheck program and serves as executive committee member of the Cobb-Vantress Animal Welfare advisory program. She is also on the U.S. Poultry Foundation Research Advisory Committee that funds research projects that benefit the poultry and egg industry.

Daugherty has a doctorate in life sciences from Louisiana State University and a law degree from the University of Arkansas. She also has a master’s degree from Iowa State University and a bachelor’s degree from Central College of Iowa. Before joining Tyson Foods, she worked as a patent and trademark attorney for a northwest Arkansas law firm and was a research scientist at the University of Florida.

For the second straight year, a graduate of NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program received a perfect 800 score on the National Physical Therapy Assistant Examination.

The program also marked 15 years of having its graduates achieve a 100% passing rate on the national exam.

A perfect score on the national board examination is a rare occurrence, and this year marks the second year an NWACC graduate score achieved a perfect 800. Since the test’s inception, a perfect score has been achieved on only a few occasions, said Sammi Eddie, PTA program director.

“I am so impressed with the students and faculty that have made this possible,” Eddie said.  “I think the success stems from the high quality of our students in the program and the faculty’s emphasis on critical thinking skills throughout the program. We set high expectations here, and students seem to always rise to the occasion.”

“Throughout clinical rotations and practical testing situations, students are taught to prepare many treatment scenarios for their patients, and they are then expected to implement the safest and most functionally beneficial treatment option,” she said.

The Physical Therapist Assistant program at NWACC is designed to prepare students to perform as entry-level assistants. Under the supervision of a physical therapist, entry-level PTAs provide rehabilitative care with simple or complex patients to optimize an individual's level of function after an injury or illness.

Mary Ross, dean of the Division of Health Professions, also praised the faculty for their dedication and service and Eddie for her leadership in the program. “The PTA program is one more excellent example of how our students in the Health Professions leave NWACC possessing the skills and knowledge to provide exemplary patient care to the residents of northwest Arkansas,” Ross said. 

“We are proud of all of our Health Professions students, and their dedication to such a rigorous academic program,” Ross said. “More than 90% of our graduates remain in Northwest Arkansas. What this means for our students is solid preparation for their respective career fields, and what it means for the larger community is an outstanding level of care being provided by our graduates.”

The new North Street Clinic on the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus in Fayetteville said it will offer chronic disease management for type 2 diabetes. The clinic is open on Thursdays from 2 to 5 p.m. The services are delivered to patients by students in UAMS Northwest programs — medicine, pharmacy and nursing — under supervision of UAMS faculty.
 
“This clinic is a convergence of our commitments to addressing health disparities in our community and offering opportunities for our students to strengthen their skills through interprofessional education,” said Peter Kohler, M.D., vice chancellor for UAMS Northwest and a co-principal investigator on a recent federal grant for studying ways to improve diabetes self-management among the Marshallese living in the region.
 
Northwest Arkansas is home to the largest Marshallese population in the U.S., which experiences a significant and disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes, conditions such as high blood pressure and health disparities. The rate of occurrence of diabetes among the Marshallese is one of the highest of any population group in the world.
 
Diabetes was identified as the top health concern by the Marshallese community, and the clinic provides critically important care for patients with type 2 diabetes, said Pearl McElfish, director of research at UAMS Northwest.

For the UAMS students who will manage the clinic services and coordinate care under supervision, the clinic will give them more experience providing care for populations that experience health disparities. It also will give them the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams alongside students from the other programs.
 
“Interprofessional education gives students a better appreciation for the roles that each of the health professions play as part of the overall health care team,” said Dr. Bill Buron, regional assistant dean for the UAMS College of Nursing and the clinic’s director.
“Students will learn more about health disparities in their own community, which will make them a more culturally competent health care provider.”
 
The clinic will include more than 3,000 square feet, including exam rooms and a conference room for students to meet with preceptors who will guide them. In addition to the nursing, pharmacy and medical students from UAMS Northwest who will participate, social work students from the UA will work with patients.
 
McElfish said the North Street Clinic will complement other community health organizations in the Fayetteville area, seeking to fill the specific gap in diabetes care for those Pacific Islanders who are uninsured or not eligible for Medicaid.
 
“Through this clinic we hope to reach those in the Marshallese community who otherwise may have no option for dealing with this chronic disease,” McElfish said
 
For more information on clinic appointments, call (479) 713-8694.

Wachter Inc., a provider of electrical, data, communications, automation and other building systems to Wal-Mart Stores and other business, announced the expansion of its facility in Lowell.

The company plans to invest $2 million in the expansion and add 20 new jobs, bringing total employment at the facility to 260. The expansion of the Lowell facility is necessary due to Wachter’s continued growth, both locally and nationally, over the years.

Founded in 1930 by William Wachter as an electrical services company, Wachter was recently named among the top 50 electrical contractors in the United States by Electrical Construction & Maintenance magazine.

“Wachter’s decision to expand this facility is a testament to the quality of work produced by the company’s existing employees in Lowell,” said Grant Tennille, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “We appreciate Wachter’s continued commitment to growing and investing in Arkansas.”

Wachter holds electrical licenses in all 50 states. The company’s design, engineering, construction and emergency electrical capabilities are recognized nationally.

“It's always good to see a business be able to announce expansions and new hiring,” said Raymond Burns, President/CEO of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce. “Wachter is a great company that does some truly amazing things.  The Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce celebrates with Wachter as they announce their growth and hiring plans and looks forward to working with them as they continue to be an important part of our community.”

The company has had a presence in Lowell since 2003.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College will soon have another special topics course to add to its repertoire. The course, titled “Science Fiction as Literature,” will be instructed by Timothy McGinn and offered during the spring semester, which begins Jan. 12.

The class will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 to 4:15 p.m. in room 1008 of Burns Hall on the Bentonville campus.

The course will feature insight into the grandfathers of science fiction, such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, as well as modern authors. Collectively, the course will cover short stories that span over 150 years of science fiction. Individuals seeing to register for the class may visit the NWACC website.
 

A slate of five chamber of commerce members has been selected to serve on the Springdale Chamber Board of Directors beginning Jan. 1. The five members in good standing who received the most votes are:
 
Rick Barrows - Multi-Craft Contractors
Derek Gibson - Legacy National Bank
Patty Hatfield - Handyman Connection of NW Arkansas
Frank Ray - Harps Food Stores
Rocky Steele - Rocky Steele Nationwide Insurance

Each of the elected members will serve a term of three years, according to the chamber release.

Directors whose term expires at the end of 2014 include:


Don Gibson -Legacy National Bank
Bill Mathews - McDonald's
Jan Phillips - State Farm Insurance)
Steve Miller - Miller Boskus Lack Architects
Brenda Green Northwest Arkansas Community College
 

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism provided on Tuesday (Dec. 16) its list of Henry Award finalists, with Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith area connected to several of the potential winners.

The 2015 Henry Awards winners will be revealed at the 41st Annual Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism to be held in Texarkana at the Arkansas Convention Center March 8-10, 2015. The awards ceremony will take place during the Governor’s Banquet on the final night of the conference, March 10.

The Henry Awards honor Henri de Tonti, the man historians consider to be among the first “Arkansas Travelers.”

The awards and respective finalists are:
The Media Support Award, which is presented annually to a distinguished individual or organization for extraordinary attention to and/or support of Arkansas’s tourism industry through the use of media.
• Gospel Station Network, Ada, Oklahoma
• The Helena World, Helena-West Helena
• Jay Lindly (KDQN), De Queen

The Bootstrap Award, which is presented annually to an individual, organization, or community that has achieved significant success “on a shoestring,” having limited means to work with, either in resources or finances.
• Buck Fever Festival, Banks
• Helena Museum of Phillips County, Helena-West Helena
• WWII Japanese Internment Museum, McGehee

The Arkansas Heritage Award, which is presented annually to an individual, organization, or community that has made a significant contribution toward the preservation of some aspect of Arkansas’s natural, cultural or aesthetic legacy.
• Heifer Ranch, Perryville
• Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, Dyess
• Old Independence Regional Museum, Batesville

The Grand Old Classic Special Event Award, which is presented annually to a festival, fair or other special celebration that has “stood the test of time” and become an established example to follow.
• Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend, Eureka Springs
• Lights of the Ozarks, Fayetteville
• Quapaw Quarter Association Spring Tour of Homes, Little Rock

The Outstanding Volunteer Service Award, which is presented annually to a community, individual or organization that, through outstanding volunteer spirit, has made a substantial contribution to Arkansas’s tourism industry.
• Charles Snapp, Walnut Ridge
• Fatima Treuer, Eureka Springs
• Mulberry River Cleanup, Ozark

The Community Tourism Development Award, which is presented annually to an individual or organization that has achieved substantial success in the enhancement of its local resources through imaginative and innovative development efforts.
• BPW Barn Sale, Camden
• City of Conway, Conway
• Hot Springs Baseball Trail, Hot Springs

The Natural State Award, which is presented annually to a community, organization, special event or attraction that “stands out in the crowd” because of its unique appeal, media coverage, creative approach and/or enhancement of community pride, thus benefiting the state’s quality of life.
• Bridges of Pulaski County/River Lights in the Rock, Little Rock
• Fayetteville Ale Trail, Fayetteville
• Slaughter Pen Mountain Bike Trail, Bentonville

The Tourism Special Achievement Award, which is presented annually to an individual or organization that has contributed to the tourism industry through leadership “above and beyond” the normal requirements of their jobs.
• Best Western Arkansas Cooperative, Statewide
• Hope Platform Committee, Hope
• U.S. Marshals Commemorative Coin Program, Fort Smith

During the Henry Awards ceremonies, inductees into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame and the Tourism Person of the Year will also be announced. The Hall of Fame honor is presented annually to an individual or individuals who have been actively involved in tourism for many years and who have made substantial contributions to the betterment of the industry as a whole.

Selected by former honorees, the Tourism Person of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual who has been actively involved in tourism and who has made a substantial contribution, within the past year, to the betterment of the tourism industry as a whole.

Washington Regional Medical Center has been recognized by VHA Inc., a national healthcare network, for outstanding clinical performance.


The Clinical Excellence Award for Core Clinical Process acknowledges Washington Regional’s outstanding performance related to the treatment of heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia and for the prevention of surgical site infections.

Based on hospital performance data during four consecutive quarters ending June 30, VHA recognized Washington Regional for achieving an average performance score equal to or exceeding 98% in each of the four categories.

“This award reflects the long-standing dedication that our employees, nurses and physicians have to ensure that our patients receive quality, compassionate care,” said Mark Bever, Washington Regional executive vice president and hospital administrator. “It is an honor to see the efforts recognized by VHA.”