Parks department names new head of welcome centers

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism has named Kayla Hardage the new welcome center administrator for the state, the department announced on Thursday (Jan. 26).

Hardage will oversee all of the Arkansas welcome centers and staff located on the borders of the state and will plan marketing and social media strategies to promote tourism, according to the department. She will also be responsible for managing the compilation and production of monthly and annual reports.

Hardage previously served as manager of the Little Rock Welcome Center, which serves as headquarters for the centers. While manager of the Little Rock center, she provided administrative support for Arkansas’ 13 other centers and was responsible for staff education and other special projects, including the coordination of the department’s fundraising auction during the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism, according to the department.

There are welcome centers in Bentonville, Harrison, Mammoth Spring, Corning, Blytheville, West Memphis, Helena/West Helena, Lake Village, El Dorado, Texarkana, Red River, Van Buren/Fort Smith and Siloam Springs.

Prior to joining the tourism department, Hardage was an event planner and promoter for DeGray Lake Resort State Park until 2015.

She graduated with a bachelor’s of science in family and consumer sciences from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, according to her LinkedIn profile.