Trucking chairman to deliver UAFS commencement address

story submitted by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith

Guest speaker for the Dec. 17 fall commencement exercises at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will be Robert A. Young III, chairman of the board for Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp.

The 7 p.m. ceremony in the Stubblefield Center includes the awarding of 450 degrees and certificates for those completing graduation requirements during the second summer term and the fall semester.

Dr. Paul B. Beran, UAFS chancellor, said Young’s leadership in the community is legendary.

"His stature in the business community and as Arkansas Best chairman of the Board and his years of service to the community are examples of the caliber of his leadership ability," Beran said. "He has provided countless hours to numerous efforts, projects and organizations, including his service on the UA Fort Smith Foundation Board."

Young began his career with Arkansas Best Freight System Inc. in 1964 as a supervisor of terminal operations, becoming president of Data-Tronics Corp. in 1965. He became senior vice president of National Bank of Commerce in Dallas in 1967, returning as vice president of finance for Arkansas Best Corp. in 1970.

He then moved into positions of executive vice president and chief operating officer, as well as serving as president of Arkansas Best Corp. and ABF Freight System Inc. From 1988 until 2006 he was chief executive officer for Arkansas Best Corp. and has served as chairman of the board since 2004.

Young is a member of boards for First Bank Corp. and First National Bank in Fort Smith and for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Little Rock Branch. He is active in both the American Trucking Associations and the Arkansas Trucking Association.

Young is a member of the board of trustees for Lyon College in Batesville and is on the board for the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club, where he was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2008. He is also a member of the United Way of Fort Smith Endowment Committee and of the 188th Fighter Wing/Fort Chaffee Community Council.

He previously served on numerous committees and boards for organizations, hospitals, universities and philanthropic entities in Fort Smith and the region. He is a recipient of the Westark Area Council Lifetime Alumni Award from the Boy Scouts of America, the Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award, the Arkansas Jaycees "Outstanding Young Man of Arkansas" Award and the Arkansas Community Development Program Award for Exceptional Accomplishment for Leadership in Improving Community.

Young attended Fort Smith Public Schools, received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., and was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Lyon College.

The fall 2009 candidates for graduation represent 183 bachelor’s degrees, 151 associate degrees and 39 technical certificates. Summer II graduates include 33 receiving bachelor’s degrees, 44 with associate degrees and eight technical certificates.

Commencement activities will also feature a first-time event held as part of the ceremony — the administering of the oath of office for UAFS student Jared Biggs of Fort Smith, who earlier in the afternoon will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.