K-9 vest money part of Leadership Fort Smith ceremony

Even before the 25 members of the Leadership Fort Smith 2013 class graduated, they had already given back to the community.

Members of the class presented an almost $1,000 check on Thursday to the Fort Smith Police Department to pay for a protective vest for one of the four dogs of the K-9 unit.

The class graduation was part of the Alumni Association’s annual Commencement and Leadership Awards Ceremony held May 2, at the Reynolds Conference Center on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus.

During the year of learning about the community, members of the class learned that the FSPD had only three vests for the four dogs. The custom-made vests come with a sticker price of about $1,000. A member of the class decided it would only require about $40 from each class member to cover the cost.

“So that class member sent out an e-mail and it went back and forth … and so here we are with the vest,” explained Barbara Harvel, executive director of Leadership Fort Smith.

FSPD officers Kirk Redwine and Joey Boyd attended the ceremony to accept the check.

“All our dogs will have a vest now,” Boyd said proudly during an interview prior to the event.

As part of the graduation ceremony, Melody Trimble, the former CEO of Sparks Health System, was recognized as the recipient of the Jack White Leadership Fort Smith award.

The award for Trimble and six other community leadership awards were presented at the Alumni Association’s annual Commencement and Leadership Awards Ceremony held May 2, at the Reynolds Conference Center on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus.

The Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award is given annually to an individual whose leadership has meaningfully improved the quality of life in Fort Smith by contributing time and energy in a multitude of ways for the betterment of our city, demonstrating vision, commitment and courage to achieve positive results while also displaying characteristics such as honesty, moral strength and compassion.

Trimble, who no longer works in the Fort Smith area, joined Sparks in the fall of 2009, after the hospital was purchased by Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates in a $138-million deal that closed Nov. 30, 2009.

In January, HMA officials promoted Trimble to president of the company’s Southern and Western Group, which includes 26 hospitals in seven states. The seven-state region is Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.

During her three years in Fort Smith and Van Buren, Trimble improved her systems’ health care services in almost every aspect, from recruitment to investment to quality to profit, according to the Leadership Fort Smith statement.

Trimble received several prestigious awards, provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in community sponsorships and donations, volunteered for several local and state-wide organizations and was an active member of her church, all while displaying almost legendary compassion for anyone she encountered.

The other community award winners were:
Business/Industry
Jason Green, vice president-human resources, Baldor Electric Company

Education
Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, chancellor, Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus

Government
The Honorable Mark Hewett – Circuit Judge, 12th Judicial District

Non-Profit
Linda Kaufenberg, executive director, Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Crawford, Franklin & Sebastian Counties

Healthcare
Dr. Sandra Johnson, Johnson Dermatology Clinic

Religion
Dr. Dale Thompson, pastor, First Baptist Church of Fort Smith

LEADERSHIP FORT SMITH 2013 CLASS
Following are members of the 2013 graduating class.
Mark Arant of Muldrow, Okla., dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at UAFS.

Ben Carroll of Fort Smith, manager of human resources for USA Truck Inc.

Josh Carson of Fort Smith, attorney with Jones, Jackson & Moll PLC.

John Cooley of Fort Smith, chief financial officer for Propak Logistics Inc.

Joel Culberson of Fort Smith, senior account analyst for Data-Tronics Corp.

Rham Cunningham of Fort Smith, production and digital media coordinator for Williams/Crawford & Associates.

Michele Delawder of Fort Smith, cancer support house director at the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House.

Robert Halliburton of Greenwood, senior vice president of commercial lending at Liberty Bank of Arkansas.

Jeff Harmon of Greenwood, director of marketing and communications at UAFS.

Susan Hinshaw of Fort Smith, branch manager for First National Bank.

Mike Jacimore of Fort Smith, senior vice president/sales manager at Arvest Bank.

Bo Loftis of Van Buren, attorney with Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus.

Lyndsee Lyons of Pocola, Okla., executive assistant, Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority.

Kelly McGruder of Fort Smith, director of membership and marketing with the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Chris Melton of Fort Smith, site director for Sykes Enterprises.

Darryl Presley of Fort Smith, technology manager for Saint-Gobain Proppants.

Tonya Rogers of Fort Smith, branch manager at United Federal Credit Union.

Barry Rowton of Fort Smith, vice president of information technology for Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp.

Michelle Russell of Charleston, sales manager for TEC Staffing Services.

Anthony Sims of Fort Smith, assistant principal at Northside High School.

Abbie Taylor Cox of Alma, executive director of Project Compassion Inc. and owner of Cox Consulting.

Ginger Thompson of Pocola, Okla., family room program director for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma Inc.

Pattie West of Fort Smith, distribution services manager for Golden Living.

Dr. Josh Wilkinson of Fort Smith, internal medicine/pediatric physician at Mercy Clinic.

Karen Wuthrich of Fort Smith, vice president of commercial lending at BancorpSouth.