Valentine’s soiree both lovely, lively
A circle of friends, mostly retired professionals, kept their two-decade tradition of meeting for a Valentine’s Day Sweethearts’ Dinner. But instead of meeting at a restaurant, they chose this Feb. 14 to convene at the Little Rock Governor’s Mansion District home of Karen Buchanan and her husband, Judge Olly Neal.
Guests were Dorris Gardner, dean of the graduate school at Jackson State University in Mississippi; her husband, John Gardner, a retired university vice president for finance; retired educator Patricia Peer and her husband, Wilbur Peer, lobbyist and a former assistant U.S. secretary of agriculture; retired teacher and math specialist Rose Barnes; and George Herts, retired associate vice chancellor and dean of the school of education at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Buchanan is a retired school principal and administrator; Neal is a retired Arkansas Court of Appeals judge.
Joshua Fletcher provided keyboard music as a backdrop for the gathering — a lively one, despite the absence of several couples due to illness and travel. The evening began with cocktails and appetizers and included a pre-dinner champagne toast. Chef Sterling Burns served a threecourse gourmet meal that featured a “surf and turf” double entree with choice of salmon or shrimp with beef fillet or chicken.
The group also kept its tradition of honoring one of its own as Spouse of the Year. The honors went to Barnes, widow of the late Bose Barnes Jr., for whom she’d cared during his lengthy illness. The Gardners presented the award.
— Story and photos by
Helaine R. Williams