Fort Smith Metro News Briefs: Fort Smith educators recognized, Fort Chaffee command change set

Following are news brief items from the Fort Smith metro.

School Foundation Awards
The Fort Smith Public Schools Foundation recently recognized three educators and staff as part of the third quarter Employee Recognition Awards.

“Each quarter we receive numerous outstanding nominations, each worthy of receiving recognition,” David Humphrey, the foundation’s president, said. “While difficult to choose just one winner in each category, the strong pool of nominees each time underscores the outstanding talent, character, and expertise of the teachers and staff who work for Fort Smith Public Schools.”

Following are the recipients for the third quarter.
• Ignite Award: Grace Kindy, kindergarten teacher, Bonneville Elementary School
• Kind Counts Award: Karen Vicens, counselor, Northside High School
• Every Day Leader Award: Bradley Johnson, coach, Darby Middle School

The Ignite Award recognizes employees with five or fewer years of service who are igniting passion and purpose within their schools. The Kind Counts Award recognizes employees who lead with kindness and build positive, supportive relationships. The Every Day Leader Award recognizes employees who demonstrate leadership through their daily actions. Nominations in the categories are accepted quarterly from district staff, students, parents, and community members.

UAFS Cap and Gown Support
The 2025-2026 Lion Leadership class at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will host a cap and gown donation drive from 10 a.m. to noon, April 18, in the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center on the UAFS campus.

The drive will support the Lion Regalia Closet, a campuswide donation and redistribution effort designed to reduce financial barriers for graduating students. For UAFS students, the cost of a cap, gown and tassel averages about $50, an added expense that can come at the end of a semester when students are also preparing to move, start new jobs or manage other graduation-related costs.

“We know graduation is such an exciting time for our students, but it can also be really stressful because they are juggling so much at once,” said Dr. Jordan Mader, associate professor of chemistry and member of the Lion Leadership 2025-26 class. “We want to make sure getting a cap and gown is not an obstacle to their well-earned celebration, and we see the Lion Regalia Closet as a simple, practical way we can support our students while also living out the mission of UAFS and our Lion Leadership class.”

Close to 700 students choose to participate in commencement ceremonies at UAFS each year, with around 250 walking in December and 450 in May. The Lion Regalia Closet will complement the existing career clothing closet on the UAFS campus, and will be maintained by the Babb Center for Career Services.

Chaffee Change of Command
Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general, has selected Col. Stephen Brack to succeed Col. Kevin Cox as the garrison commander of Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center. A change of command ceremony is set for 1 p.m., April 12, at Fort Chaffee.

Brack enlisted in the Army in 1995, serving as an armored crewman at Fort Irwin, Calif. He joined the National Guard after his initial enlistment. He completed Officer Candidate School in 2002, commissioning a second lieutenant. In 2003, he began helicopter pilot training at Fort Rucker, Ala.

He’s served in varying leadership roles throughout his military career, including 77th Theater Aviation Brigade commander, and state Army aviation officer for the Arkansas National Guard. Brack has more than 3,700 flight hours in OH-58 A/C Kiowa, UH-1 Huey, and the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center is the state’s largest military installation covering 65,000 acres in the Fort Smith metro. Military units from around the country complete routine training at the installation, to include maneuver training, live-fire exercises, river crossing operations, urban combat training, command post exercises, and battlefield simulations.

FCJMTC is one of only nine installations designated as Regional Collective Training Capability site, and during FY23 was one of five National Guard installations identified as a Level 1 Garrison Training Center and a Contingency Mobilization Force Generation Installation.

ABF Award
Fort Smith-based ArcBest, a shipping and logistics company, has received the 2025 American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Excellence in Security Award. ABF is the first carrier to earn the award 12 times and the only carrier to receive it three consecutive years. ABF previously received the ATA Excellence in Security award in 2024, 2023, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004 and 2001.

ABF, a less-than-truckload freight carrier, is the largest subsidiary of ArcBest.

The ATA Excellence in Security Award is a nationally recognized honor focused exclusively on security performance within the trucking industry. Presented annually by the ATA’s Transportation Security Council, the award recognizes one motor carrier that demonstrates sustained leadership in security practices and sets the standard for protecting its employees, customers’ freight, facilities and equipment.

“Earning the ATA’s Excellence in Security Award for a record twelfth time reflects the high standards we hold across ABF’s network,” said Matt Godfrey, president of ABF Freight. “From training and technology to strong partnerships with local and federal law enforcement, security is embedded into how we operate every day. Our customers trust us with their freight, and this recognition speaks to the disciplined, consistent work our teams do to deliver the dependable experience they expect from ABF.”

Fort Smith Spring Clean
The city of Fort Smith is holding its annual Spring Clean Up on April 18 and April 25. The clean up is for Fort Smith residents only, and no trailers or commercial vehicles are allowed. Proof of residency – a driver’s license or utility bill – is required.

The following drop-off locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on each day of the clean up.
Ward 1 – 3900 Grand Ave.
Ward 2 – 5100 Plum St.
Ward 3 – 6015 Boys Club Lane
Ward 4 – 8800 S. Dallas St.

Also, document shredding and electronics waste drop-off will be available each day at the Ward 1 and Ward 4 locations.