Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
People & Places
Bothwell awarded Lutheran scholarship
Nathanial Bothwell, a seminary student from Rogers, has received a Mission Developer Scholarship from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America through the group’s Fund for Leaders. Bothwell attends Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.
The scholarships provide tuition assistance for qualified candidates at Evangelical Lutheran seminaries. This year, the Fund for Leaders will distribute $1.4 million to 224 students at all eight of its seminaries.
Wright marks 90th birthday
John M. “Jimmy” Wright of Bentonville will celebrate his 90th birthday on Sunday. Wright was born Dec. 15, 1923, one of three sons born to C.J. and Dema Wright, who owned the Corner Drug Store on the Bentonville square for many years.
Wright is from a fourth-generation Bentonville family and never wanted to live anywhere else. He was married to Lela Mae Wright for 64 years before she died in 2010.
The couple owned and operated Jimmy’s restaurant on the Bentonville square before opening AIMSCO and Arkansas Ice Machine & Supply Co.
Wright has three sons, Jimmy Jr., Billy and Ralph, and a daughter, Judy; eight grandchildren, six of whom are still living; and seven great-grandchildren, six of whom are still alive.
UA Fort Smith students win
Three University of Arkansas at Fort Smith students earned awards at the South Central Broadcasting Society’s fall competition held at the Texas Association of Broadcasters in Austin.
Ruben Silva of Van Buren won first prize in the public service announcement video category for “Arkansas Human Trafficking.” Silva, Brad Carney of Rogers and James Woodard of Lamar placed second in the long-format video category for “Ralph Irwin Documentary.”
All three are media communications majors at UA Fort Smith. They were the first students from the university to place in the competition since 2011.
The contest includes students from 25 schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
Local students among BEST
Students from the Ambassadors for Christ Academy in Bentonville placed fourth in the robotics competition at the Frontier Trails BEST contest, held in Fort Smith over the weekend. The team also placed third in the Founders Award category.
Students in the Fort Smith Homeschool team placed third in the Most Elegant robot contest, while Christian Schools of Springfield (Mo.) took home second place in the web page competition.
Wichita Homeschool of Wichita, Kan. won this year’s robot competition and the BEST Award, the contest’s top honor.
Bobbitt cited with Eagle
Sandy Bobbitt of Rogers has been named the Golden Eagle Award recipient for November at NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville. Bobbitt was honored on Nov. 11 during a presentation prior to the start of the NWACC Board of Trustees meeting.
Students are nominated for NWACC’s Golden Eagle Award by an instructor, administrative staff person or a student organization adviser. Each candidate must have at least a 3.0 grade point average in a minimum of six credit hours of class and demonstrate social awareness, personal development, a diverse interest and involvement in varied activities, interpersonal communication skills and a commitment to education.
Schimmel named to academic team
Ashley Schimmel of Rogers was named to the Academic Team at Westminister College in Fulton, Mo. Schimmel previously attended Heritage High School and is now majoring in biodiversity at Westminster. The requirements for the Academic All-Conference team are to be a sophomore, junior or senior in academic standing, hold a 3.5 cumulative grade point average and be a member of a varsity team.