Fort Smith hires purchasing manager

Charity Gregory will become the purchasing manager for the City of Fort Smith upon the retirement of Alie Bahsoon on Aug. 16. She comes from the City of Barling, where she has worked as the city’s finance director since December 2019.

Prior to that, Gregory worked as the purchasing/facilities administrator for the Sebastian County Judge’s office from June 2014 to December 2019. Gregory has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Her annual salary will be $87,006.40.

“We are pleased to announce that Charity Gregory will be our new purchasing manager. Charity brings with her an extensive resume in finance and purchasing for government agencies, making her an exceptional fit for this role. Her expertise and experience will be invaluable as we continue to uphold the high standards set by her predecessor, Alie Bahsoon. We are confident that Charity’s leadership and vision will further enhance our procurement processes and benefit our city greatly,” said City Administrator Carl Geffken.

The purchasing manager, under the guidance of the chief financial officer, oversees and facilitates the procurement process in accordance with city policies by sourcing suppliers and managing vendor relationships to ensure a seamless supply chain of commodities and services and maximizing cost savings and is responsible for the annual acquisition of auto, equipment,
and property insurance.

Bahsoon is retiring after 30 years with the city. He was hired by the city on June 6, 1994, as the general ledger accountant in the finance department. In 1999, he took over the purchasing manager’s position. He said that he was not sure about the position when he took it over but soon realized it was the perfect fit.

“We are deeply grateful for Alie’s 30 years of dedicated service to our city. Not only is he an expert in procurement, but he is also one of the most genuinely kind and compassionate individuals we have ever known. Alie has left an indelible mark on both his colleagues and the community, and he will be greatly missed. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement,” Geffken said.

Upon retirement, Bahsoon is moving to Orlando, Fla., to be closer to his daughter and son-in-law.

“My son will follow suit in the Spring of 2025, and it will be wonderful to have all of us together. I want to be around for when the grandbabies start coming. I plan on taking a couple of months and traveling overseas to visit with my family and relatives (Ivory Coast, West Africa, and London),” Bahsoon said. “On a side note, I will miss Fort Smith (the town) and the City! It has been my home since 1996 when I moved here because of my wife whom I met in college. Her family was from Fort Smith and after we got married (34 years), we raised our two children here and it has been such a blessing living in Fort Smith. It was the perfect place to raise a family and despite the numerous opportunities we had to move, we always chose to stay here. My decision to move is merely to have a fresh start and to be close to my kids (and grandkids someday) and to support each other for we miss Joanie (my wife) immensely and the memories we created in Fort Smith as a family continue to be daunting despite losing her in December of 2021.”