El Dorado News-Times

Speakerʼs Circuit

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Matt Cleveland, chief developmen­t officer for the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches, will be the guest speaker when the Kiwanis Club meets at noon on Wednesday at First Presbyteri­an Church.

The ranch is a non-profit organizati­on founded by all 75 sheriffs of Arkansas so that children who have been abandoned, abused, or neglected will have a place to call home.

Cleveland has worked with nonprofits for more than a decade, beginning with a statewide social services organizati­on that serves children and families. Since then, he has worked in developmen­t and marketing with the Arkansas Arts Center and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra before joining the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches in 2012.

Mark Smith, general manager of El Dorado Water Utilities since 2013, will be the guest speaker when the Civitan Club meets at

noon on Thursday at Kozy Kitchen.

He was born and raised in Dallas, and graduated from Southern Methodist University. In 1982, he was the youngest district manager ever promoted at Tandy Corp., where he managed a two-state territory.

Smith and his wife, Monica, relocated to El Dorado in 1988, when he was named the new general manager for South Arkansas Oil Co. In 1998, he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representa­tives and was elected by his peers as Party Whip.

He founded Mark Smith Communicat­ions in 1999, a chain of Authorized Retail Stores for AT&T that he sold to Apex Communicat­ions in 2012.

In the local community, Smith has served as a board member for the Golden Triangle Developmen­t Council, Arkansas Higher Education Coordinati­ng Board, executive board of the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce, founding member of the Daisy Bates Holiday Committee, Salvation Army El Dorado board, Boy Scouts of America De Soto Council executive board, co-chair of the Jodie Mahony Scholarshi­p Fund at South Arkansas Community College and the Arkansas Literacy Council state board.

In 2000, Smith was awarded the Small Business of the Year by the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce and in 2001, he received the Citizen of the Year Award by the El Dorado Civitan Club.

(Organizati­ons interested in listing a speaker in Speakers Circuit should send informatio­n about the speaker to editorial@eldoradone­ws.com. A club member should provide background informatio­n on their speakers in writing or by e-mail to the News-Times. The deadline for submitting background informatio­n is 5 p.m. on Thursday for the following Sunday’s newspaper).

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