Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame announces 8th class of inductees

The Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame (AWHOF) has released the names of its eighth class of inductees — seven women and one organization – that have made significant contributions to the state and their respective fields and stand as positive examples for women everywhere.

The inductees, who will be honored at a special ceremony on Thursday, August 22nd, at the Statehouse Convention Center-Wally Allen Ballroom in Little Rock, are:

Contemporary:
JoAnne Bush – JoAnne H. Bush began her public service career 51 years ago as City Clerk of her hometown, Lake Village, Arkansas. In 1991, she was sworn in as the city’s first woman mayor and began her service in that capacity to the city, Chicot County, Southeast Arkansas, and to the whole the state. She served as Mayor of Lake Village for 28 years and is one of three of the longest serving female mayors in the state of Arkansas. Her combined 46 years of public service also ranks her as one of the longest serving municipal officials in the state. Since retiring as Mayor, she continues her service and commitment to strengthening local government by serving as an Arkansas Municipal League (AML) Field Representative, covering several Delta counties and roughly 60 municipalities. In this formal role, she continues to mentor other elected officials/community leaders and ensure that the success she experienced is something others can also experience, realizing that the success of any one person contributes to the success of our state’s vitality.

Betty Dickey – Betty Dickey is a former chief justice and justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. She became the first woman to serve as the court’s chief justice. Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court, she became the first female prosecuting attorney in Arkansas. She was appointed to the Arkansas Public Service Commission in 1999 by Governor Mike Huckabee, who later, in 2003, named Betty his chief legal counsel, the first woman to hold that role in Arkansas history. Notably, Betty was appointed to be Special Prosecutor in 1997 to prosecute the charges against a trusted Boy Scout master, Jack Walls. Mr. Walls was a notable and well- connected Lonoke County citizen, accused of more than a decade of horrific sexual abuse crimes against young boys involved with scouting. The prosecution was successful, and Mr. Walls was sentenced to four life terms, plus two forty-year terms to be served concurrently.

Jamileh Kamran – Jamileh Kamran is a successful, self-educated fashion designer, teacher, founder, and director of the Arkansas Fashion School, the first School of Fashion, in Arkansas, receiving national accreditation by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training and licensed by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. She trains and mentors students of all ages and genders to be successful fashion designers and create jobs for themselves and others. She has elevated Arkansas fashion design to a national level of recognition.

Dr. Jacquelyn Williams McCray – Dr. Jacquelyn Williams McCray is a retired University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff dean, provost, and vice chancellor. She was the first female director the 1890 Research and Extension programs at UAPB, then was the first female selected to the combined position of Dean/Director of the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences. During her tenure as Dean and Director, the school emerged as the University’s fastest growing academic unit, having shown an enrollment increase of 40%. Her grant writing and contract negotiations through the United States Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies exceeded $20 million. After a brief retirement, McCray returned to serve as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Kathy Webb – Kathy Webb is the first open LGBTQ member of the Arkansas General Assembly and Little Rock City Board of Directors. She has had a long career in private business, most notably Lilly’s Dim Sum, Then Some restaurant, philanthropy, and local and state government. She recently retired as CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance where she served for 12 years. She has also been a leader in the women’s rights movement. Webb, who battled breast cancer, served as the founding president of the Chicago-area Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation.

Historical:

Bernie Babcock (1868-1962) – Julia Burnel “Bernie” Smade Babcock was the first Arkansas woman to be included in Authors and Writers Who’s Who. During her career, she published more than forty novels, including five books on the life of Abraham Lincoln, as well as numerous tracts and newspaper and magazine articles. She became society page editor for the Arkansas Democrat and was the first female telegraph editor in the South. During the early 1900s, she was active in the women’s suffrage movement and later in the Prohibition movement. In 1927, she helped create the Museum of Natural History in Little Rock (now Museum of Discovery) and served as its director until 1953. During the 1930s she served as the Folklore Editor of the Federal Writers’ Project in Arkansas.

Gussie Haynie (1901-1957) – Gussie Haynie was one of Arkansas’ best-known woman lawyers in the late 1930s. She was a pioneer in Arkansas in championing the rights of poor divorced women and destitute children. She was the first woman appointed a deputy prosecuting attorney and the first woman to hold an executive-level cabinet position in the state’s government, heading the Department of Public Welfare from 1937 to 1939. She sought to modernize the state’s welfare program’s administration, including introducing civil service standards for personnel.

Organization:

Committee of One Hundred for the Ozark Folk Center – Founded in 1974, the Committee of One Hundred promotes the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas, and its efforts to preserve the folk culture of the Ozarks. The Committee was originally organized to have one woman from each of the 75 counties and 25 members at large. The Committee funds Craft Apprenticeships, the Music Roots Program, the Heritage Herb Gardens, and more. Entirely volunteer, one hundred percent of fundraising, donations, memorials, and honorariums/tributes fund the preservation of Ozark Folk Culture. The Committee will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year.