Alice Walton Bust Placed at Highfill Airport

In August, a bust of Alice Walton was placed on a platform just inside the front door of the terminal that bears her name at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill.

Scott Van Laningham, executive director of the airport, said John Paul Hammerschmidt announced in 1999 at the dedication of the terminal that sculptor Hank Kaminsky of Fayetteville had been commissioned to make the bust. Hammerschmidt served for three decades as the Third District’s congressman in Washington. Kaminsky also did a bust of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Alice Walton’s father. The bust of Sam Walton greets students who pass through the third-floor entrance of the business school building at the University of Arkansas.

Van Laningham said the bust of Alice Walton was paid for by the Northwest Arkansas Council, which worked to see that a new airport was constructed. The airport was completed in late 1998. The Council didn’t reveal how much it had paid for the bust.

Alice Walton helped finance construction of the airport by using her Llama Co. to underwrite the bond issue. She moved to Mineral Wells, Texas, after being convicted of driving while intoxicated in Springdale in January 1998.

According to the police report, Alice Walton tried to throw her weight around by saying, “You know who I am, don’t you? You know my last name?” But the integrity of the Springdale Police Department wasn’t compromised.

After a 13-hour trial that included testimony from 22 witnesses and extensive media coverage, Walton was ordered to pay a fine and do community service work at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.