Category Archives: Government

Remembering Betty Ford with Clinton Foundation, Clinton School tonight

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In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Clinton Foundation and University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service will host Remembering Betty Ford, a conversation about the woman who made a positive and lasting impact on our country.

The conversation will include Susan Ford Bales, daughter of President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford, and Lisa McCubbin, author of “Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer,” an intimate and insightful biography of Betty Ford, the groundbreaking, candid, and resilient First Lady and wife of President Gerald Ford. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa McCubbin – with foreword by Susan Ford Bales – the book tells the inspiring story of an ordinary Midwestern girl thrust onto the world stage and into the White House under extraordinary circumstances.

The program starts at 6pm at Sturgis Hall.

Setting a precedent as First Lady, Betty Ford refused to be silenced by her critics as she publicly championed equal rights for women, and spoke out about issues that had previously been taboo—breast cancer, depression, abortion, and sexuality. Privately, there were signs something was wrong. After a painful intervention by her family, she admitted to an addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Her courageous decision to speak out publicly sparked a national dialogue, and in 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center, which revolutionized treatment for alcoholism and inspired the modern concept of recovery.

All Clinton School Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or by calling (501) 683-5239.

A book signing will follow the conversation. Copies of “Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer” are available for purchase through the Clinton Museum Store online, in store, and at the event. Those who purchase their book through the Clinton Museum Store will receive priority line access at the signing.

Women Making History: Anne Bartley

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In 1976, Anne Bartley was sworn in as the first director of what was then known as the Department of Arkansas Natural and Cultural Heritage.  In that capacity, she was the first woman to serve in an Arkansas Governor’s cabinet.  She had encouraged Governor David Pryor to propose establishing the department and then had lobbied the Arkansas General Assembly to create it.  (Her oath of office was administered by the first woman on the Arkansas Supreme Court, Justice Elsijane Trimble Roy.)

Since 1968, Bartley had been involved in historic preservation, promotion of the arts, and civic engagement.   In 1979, Bartley was asked to establish a Washington Office for the state of Arkanas.  She later was involved in founding the Threshold Foundation (1981), the Funders’ Committee for Citizen Participation (1983), the Forum Institute for Voter Participation (1986), the Faith and Politics Institute (1991), Vote Now ’92 and ’94, America Coming Together (2004), Democracy Alliance (2004), America Votes (2005), and, currently, the Committee on States.

Some of the boards she has served on have been the New World Foundation, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and the Rockefeller Family Fund. She is currently on the boards of the Bauman Family Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, America Votes, and on the Advisory Councils for Project New West and TAI SOPHIA.

Tonight at CALS Ron Robinson Theater: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN is a “Movie Meant for the Big Screen”

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl PosterAs part of its “Movies Meant for the Big Screen” series, tonight (March 12) the CALS Ron Robinson Theater will be showing the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. 

Inspired by the amusement park ride at several Disney properties this movie stars Johnny Depp (channeling his best Keith Richards), Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush. Also on hand are Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook and Zoe Saldana.

Blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom) teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow (Depp) to save his love, the governor’s daughter (Knightley), from Jack’s former pirate allies, who have returned from the dead.

The film is directed by Gore Verbinski. It was nominated for five Oscars and spawned three sequels to date.

Admission is $5. The screening starts at 7pm.

2019 Governor’s Arts Award presented today

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Governor Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Arkansas Council are presenting the 2019 Governor’s Arts Awards today in a lunchtime ceremony at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.

This year’s recipients are:

  • Arts Community Development Award-Steve Clark, Fort Smith
  • Arts in Education Award – The Center for Children and Youth, Fayetteville
  • Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award – Murphy USA, El Dorado
  • Folklife Award – Oxford American, Little Rock
  • Individual Artist Award – Marjorie Williams-Smith, Little Rock
  • Judges Recognition Award – Anthony Tidwell, Hot Springs
  • Patron Award – Jim and Joyce Faulkner, Little Rock
  • Lifetime Achievement Award – Billie Jo Starr, Fayetteville

In addition to videos highlighting each of the awardees and acceptance speeches, the program will feature remarks by Governor Hutchinson, Department of Arkansas Heritage Director Stacy Hurst and Arkansas Arts Council Director Patrick Ralston.

The recipients will each be presented with a custom made earthenware jar made by Springdale artist Gailen Hudson.

 

Women Making History: Vada Webb Sheid

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Image result for vada sheidVada Webb Sheid was the first woman to be elected to both the Arkansas House and the Arkansas Senate. She was also the first woman in the Arkansas Senate who did not first succeed a husband.

Born in 1916 in Izard County, she grew up there. After graduating in high school in 1934, she attended classes in Little Rock at Draughon School of Business before returning to Izard County.  In 1940, she married Carl Sheid. Over the next few years they lived in Mountain Home, El Dorado, and Little Rock before returning to Mountain Home after World War II.

After an earlier unsuccessful race for Baxter County Treasurer in 1958, Vada Sheid was elected to the position in 1960 and served until 1965. In 1966, she was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives.  She was one of four women in the House during her first term.

Vada Sheid served in the Arkansas House through 1976. That year, she was elected to the Arkansas State Senate. She served as a State Senator from 1977 to 1985. Defeated in a bid for a third term, she was later appointed to the Arkansas State Police Commission.  In 1993, she was returned to the Arkansas House in a special election and served until January 1995.

During her service in the Arkansas General Assembly, public works and higher education projects were a major focus. She championed the construction of a bridge across Norfolk Lake as well as many other river bridges and highways in North Central Arkansas. She also pushed through the bills to establish the Mountain Home campus of Arkansas State University as well as what is now known as North Arkansas College in Harrison.

Though a staunch Democrat, she worked across the aisle to get projects completed. Her work on the Norfolk Lake bridge required lobbying of both Gov. Rockefeller and President NIxon.

Vada Webb Sheid died in 2008, but her legacy lives on.

And the Little Rock Zoo’s Sloth Bear Cub is named…..

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Photo courtesy of Little Rock ZooZAARA!

ZAARA!

Last week, the Little Rock Zoo proudly announced that a healthy female sloth bear cub was born January 9, 2019.  The proud parents are mother, Kali, and father, Sahaasa.

In celebration of their newest addition, the Zoo hosted a naming contest.  Zoo staff selected three names from which to choose. The public had the chance to vote last week. More than 3,000 votes were cast.

Zaara was the name selected.  In Arabic, it means “bright as the dawn.”  It is still a few more weeks until the public will get to meet Zaara.

The other two choices were Rani (Hindi), which means princess and Geeta (Hindi), which means pearl or song.

The cub is one of only 34 sloth bears currently held in AZA zoos in North America and is an important individual in the survival of this population. The cub is bottle-fed every three to four hours to help her continue to grow and thrive; she is healthy and progressing well, according to Zoo staff.

Women Making History: Judge Elsijane Trimble Roy

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Elsijane Trimble Roy was born the daughter of a judge. At an early age, she knew she wanted to be an attorney.  She would eventually become not only the third female to graduate from the University of Arkansas Law School, but the first female circuit court judge in Arkansas, the first female on the Arkansas Supreme Court, and the first female Federal judge from Arkansas.

She was also the first woman in the United States to follow her father as federal judge.  She presided in the same courtroom where her father had served for 20 years. She retired in 1999 after 21 years on the federal bench.

Judge Roy has received many awards and honors including being selected Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Woman’s Club in 1969, Arkansas Democrat Woman of the Year in 1976, an honor that her mother also received, and Outstanding Appellate Judge of 1976-1977 by the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association.

While she was on the Arkansas Supreme Court (to which she had been appointed by Governor David Pryor), she administered the oath of office to Anne Bartley to lead the Department of Arkansas Natural and Cultural Heritage.  Ms. Bartley became the first woman in an Arkansas Governor’s cabinet.  In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the federal bench to succeed Judge Oren Harris.