Two elected to NorthWest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees

Two new members of the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees were chosen in a recent election and will be sworn in 4 p.m. on Jan. 9 in Burns Hall at the Bentonville campus.

Debbie Hobbs of Rogers was elected to represent District 7, and Dr. DeAnne Witherspoon of Bella Vista was elected to represent District 2 within the NWACC’s taxing school districts of Rogers and Bentonville. They will each serve six-year terms, along with two other trustees elected in November, according to NWACC.

Hobbs and her husband Ray are owners of Hart Tackle in Lowell. Debbie Hobbs is also a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, serving three terms from 2009 to 2014, a former Benton County Quorum Court member, former school counselor and teacher and a former secretary of the Benton County Sunshine School Board, according to NWACC.

She holds a Master of Science in counseling education from the University of Arkansas and earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of the Ozarks. Hobbs and her husband Ray have two children.

Witherspoon is a retired optometrist, former chair of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce and president-elect of Rogers Noon Rotary Club.

In 2015, she received the Athena Leadership Award from the Northwest Arkansas Business Women’s Conference and the Lifetime of Excellence Award from the Arkansas Optometric Association. In 2002, she was given the Louis Thaden Woman of the Year Award.

Dr. Witherspoon previously served on the NWACC Foundation Board for 14 years and is also a past president of the boards of directors for Altrusa International of Rogers, St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and the NWA Crisis Intervention Center.

She holds a Doctor of Optometry degree from Southern College of Optometry in Memphis and earned her bachelor’s degree Kansas State University.

After optometry school, Dr. Witherspoon served as an officer in the United States Air Force for 10 years, receiving the Air Force Commendation Medal and completing Squadron Officer School.

She and her husband David, also a retired optometrist, have two daughters and one grandson.

Trustees who were re-elected in November are Joe Spivey of Rogers and Mark Scott of Bentonville.

Spivey, vice president at First Security Bank, represents District 9 and was elected vice chairman of the Board of Trustees for 2017. He previously served as secretary of the NWACC Board of Trustees and has been chairman of the Land Use and Facilities Committee. He is a Blue and Gold Officer with the United States Naval Academy and past president of the Rogers Noon Rotary Club. He has served on the boards of directors of the NWACC Foundation, Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, Subiaco Academy and the Benton County United Way, according to NWACC. Spivey and his wife Suzanne have two children.

Scott, senior communications manager for global ethics and compliance at Wal-Mart Stores, represents District 6. He has experience working in higher education, including for NWACC, Hendrix College in Conway and the University of Arkansas System. He served on the communications staff of former Gov. Mike Huckabee and of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, when Hutchinson was  member of U.S. Congress. He and his wife Kelsey have three children, Anna, Emily and Will.

During the November meeting of the Board of Trustees, Mauricio Herrera, who represents District 8, was elected board chair in 2017. Ron Branscum, who represents District 5, was elected secretary.