Rotary Club of Arkadelphia, Arkansas
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Arkadelphia Rotary blog

Leah Sexton, author of "The History of the Pink Tomato Industry," will speak to Arkadelphia Rotary, May 1

4/23/2015

2 Comments

 
The Arkadelphia Rotary Club will meet Friday, May 1, 2015, at Western Sizzlin, 106 WP Malone Drive, for its weekly meeting. Mrs. Leah Sexton, author of "The History of the Pink Tomato Industry," has been invited to serve as guest speaker. Rotarians and guests are invited to attend. For more information on the guest speaker, please read her brief biography below. 
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Leah Sexton is originally from Warren, Arkansas, and moved to Arkadelphia in 2002 to attend college. She is an alumna of Henderson State University, having earned a bachelor of arts in communication and a master of liberal arts in social sciences. Sexton is a member of Junior Auxiliary of Arkadelphia, serves on the board of the local Boys and Girls Club, and is an alumna of Leadership Clark County. She is also an alumna of Alpha Xi Delta, for which she currently serves as on-campus advisor. Sexton works in the Admissions department at Henderson as the guest services coordinator, as well as serving as an adjunct instructor of history.

In her spare time, she sings in a cover band, Sensory 2, and loves to travel. Leah is married to Clay Sexton, and they are members of the First Presbyterian Church in Arkadelphia. Leah’s book, The History of the Pink Tomato Industry, is a product of her graduate thesis. She researched the industry that she was engulfed in as she grew up on a small tomato farm in Bradley County, Arkansas.
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Bell of Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance to speak at Arkadelphia Rotary, April 10

4/3/2015

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The Arkadelphia Rotary Club will meet Friday, April 10, 2015, at Western Sizzlin, 106 WP Malone Drive, for its weekly meeting. Mr. Stephen Bell of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance has been invited to serve as guest speaker. Rotarians and guests are invited to attend. For more information on the guest speaker, please read his brief biography below. 

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Stephen Bell currently serves as President and CEO of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance, a position he has held since August 2014. The Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance was created in 2008 to serve as the umbrella economic development organization for Clark County, Arkansas.

The Arkadelphia Alliance serves the county, which includes the cities of Amity, Arkadelphia, Caddo Valley, Gum Springs, Gurdon, Okolona and Whelen Springs, by supporting the existing business retention and expansion program while recruiting targeted industries in the areas of alternative fuels, customer development centers, distribution/logistics, and green/sustainable building products. The Alliance provides leadership as the umbrella organization which includes the Economic Development Commission of Clark County (EDCCC), Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce and Clark County Industrial Council (CCIC).

Bell earned a bachelor's degree from Hendrix College in Conway and a master's degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a current member of the Arkadelphia Rotary Club as well as a former member of the Stuttgart Rotary Club. 

Before making the move to Arkadelphia, Bell served for more than 18 years as the executive director and executive vice-president of the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce and Stuttgart Industrial Development Corp. Interesting highlights from his work in Stuttgart are recruitment, organization, and supervision of 200 volunteers for the World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest and Wings Over the Prairie Festival in addition to recruitment and promotion of the 326 business members of the Stuttgart Chamber. While in "the duck and rice capital of the world," Bell also published an annual 152-page advertisement-based city magazine (with ad sales of $45,000 annually) that includes an online edition to market the community.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations, including the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce Executives, Arkansas Economic Developers, and the Arkansas Good Roads and Transportation Council. With experience in public relations and marketing, legislative affairs, and economic development - as well as an impressive record of business retention and recruitment - Bell is prepared to help Clark County.
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Neal of Child Safety Center to speak to Arkadelphia Rotary, April 3

4/2/2015

2 Comments

 
The Arkadelphia Rotary Club will meet Friday, April 3, 2015, at Western Sizzlin, 106 WP Malone Drive, for its weekly meeting. Ms. Christa Neal has been invited to serve as guest speaker and will provide an update on the new Percy and Donna Malone Child Safety Center. Rotarians and guests are invited to attend. For more information on the guest speaker, please read her brief biography below. 
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CHRISTA NEAL is originally from Greenwood, Arkansas, and first moved to Arkadelphia to attend Ouachita Baptist University. Neal earned her B.S. in Psychology from OBU, where she met her husband, Jay Neal. The couple moved to Northwest Arkansas where Christa attended grad school at John Brown University while Jay worked to complete law school at the University of Arkansas. She graduated with a masters degree in marriage and family therapy and community counseling and has since worked in a variety of settings as a therapist. 

Neal has experience working in a community clinic, a facility for homeless teens and young adults, and in several school districts. During her time as a mental health therapist, she met many children and adults who had experienced some sort of physical, emotional, or sexual trauma. Neal received specialized trauma-focused training and is the founding director of the Clark County Child Safety Center. The Center is in the process of opening, and as such, it is important to build awareness of the facility and its services. Community support will be necessary as the Center's staff and advocates work to better inform the public about child abuse, how to help reduce the number of occurrences in our area, and how to donate to the Center.

Neal and her husband have two precious daughters, Georgia and Vivian, and reside in Arkadelphia.
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    Media Contact(s)

     Stephen Bell, Public Relations


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  • Home
    • Club History
    • Club Membership >
      • About Membership and Dues
      • Daniell, Gina
      • DeWitt, Terry
      • Franz, Joe
      • Graham, Eddie
      • Grant, Daniel
      • Hasley, Leah
      • Kluck, Wesley
      • Loe, Shelley
      • Lynch, Alfred B.
      • McCorkle, Ed
      • Ross, Lori
      • Schuck, Gaylen
      • Sesser, David
      • Sesser, Deborah
      • Thomas, Nikki
      • Thomson, David
    • Club Projects >
      • Scholarship Support
    • Documents and Forms
  • Facebook Community
  • Contact Us
  • Calendar
  • T-Shirt Pre-Order Form