Illinois River Watershed Partnership appoints three new board members

The Illinois River Watershed Partnership appointed three new members to its board of directors at the IRWP’s annual meeting earlier this month. Mike Malone, Cliff Gibbs and Jason Bramlett will replace outgoing directors, and they will serve three-year terms. All are long-time residents of Northwest Arkansas with strong connections in the region.

Malone of Fayetteville is president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council where he has led and steered water quality and regional initiatives for the past 10 years. His priorities include strengthening the group’s reputation nationally as an inclusive, stakeholder-driven organization, and its collaboration efforts with Oklahoma.

The IRWP is demonstrating that a two-state collaboration with Oklahoma can work, and Malone’s goal is to assist in furthering those efforts, he said.

Gibbs of Siloam Springs is a former full-time farmer who owned and operated breeder-hen and cow/calf operations in the area. For the past 30 years, he’s worked for Arvest Bank and serves in a regional management position there. Gibbs has owned farmland near Osage Creek and Illinois River for more than four decades.

Bramlett, an attorney, is a partner with the Fayetteville firm Friday, Eldredge & Clark. Bramlett said his general legal expertise will be of value to IRWP and the board.

The IRWP’s Board of Directors is a 26-member body selected to encompass a variety of expertise, backgrounds and opinions. The board is comprised of three members each from the following categories: agriculture, business, conservation, construction, government and technical-research education. Additionally, three to 13 members serve in at-large capacities to give the board flexibility in growth, diversity and balance.