New inductees announced for Women’s Hall of Fame
The Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame has announced its newest inductees for this year, made up of seven women and one organization.
The organization will honor the inductees on Aug. 29 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. This marks the fifth year the Hall of Fame has named inductees.
The Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization that started as a partnership between the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas Business Publishing Group. The organization is guided by a board of directors, which is made up of people across the state.
The inductees include both living and deceased women who have made an impact on women’s rights in the state.
2019 inductees are:
■ Alice Andrews, a conservationist who has worked to keep lawmakers from damming the Buffalo River. She helped preserve land that later became part of the River Trail, the Big Dam Bridge and the Two Rivers Bridge.
■ Olivia Farrell, who helped the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Business Publishing Group grow. She also helped create the Arkansas Women’s Foundation, an organization that promotes economic development for women.
■ Jo Luck, president and chief executive officer of Heifer Project International, which promotes food availability in the U.S. and more than 50 countries.
■ Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder, a journalist and member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for 14 years. She became the first female president of the National Newspaper Association.
■ Carolyn Witherspoon, director and founder of the firm Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus. She was also the first woman to serve as president of the Arkansas Bar Association.
■ The late Diane Frances Divers Kincaid Blair (19382000). Blair was a professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and served as an adviser on the 1992 and 1996 Clinton-Gore presidential campaigns and also worked as official historian. Blair served on the board of directors of the U.S. Corp. for Public Broadcasting.
■ The late Louise McPhetridge Thaden (1905-1979). Thaden was the first and only pilot to simultaneously hold the women’s records for speed, altitude and solo endurance. She bested Amelia Earhart and others in the first all-women’s transcontinental race.
■ Beta Pi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. The chapter was created in Little Rock in 1937 and its 265 members lead projects to benefit the community and future generations.