Speakers Circuit: Representatives from SouthArk to speak at Rotary

Representatives from South Arkansas Community College will be the guest speakers when the Rotary Club meets at noon Monday at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

They will discuss events surrounding the 25th anniversary and plans for the future. •• •

Ryan Blanton, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will be the guest speaker when the Kiwanis Club meets at noon Wednesday at First Presbyterian Church.

He has served as a special agent for the FBI for eight years. His assignments have led him to work in Detroit for over six years before transferring to the FBI’s Little Rock Division, El Dorado Resident Agency.

Upon accepting his transfer, Ryan, his wife and two children relocated to the El Dorado area in 2016.

Prior to joining the FBI, Ryan worked for the Department of Defense before becoming a police officer for the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ryan earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Tulsa.

•• •

Jim Tucker, superintendent for El Dorado Public Schools and Grace George, food service director for the school district, will be the guest speakers when the Civitan Club meets at noon Thursday at Kozy Kitchen.

Tucker has served in education for over 20 years. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Southern Arkansas University, he earned a master’s degree from Texas A&M.

After several years teaching in Texas, Tucker joined the El Dorado School District in 2006, as assistant principal at Barton Junior High School.

He later served as principal at Retta Brown Elementary before he was selected

as the principal of El Dorado High School in 2011. He was promoted to deputy superintendent in 2013, and assumed the role of superintendent upon the retirement of Bob Watson in the summer of 2014.

He and his wife, Amy, are natives of El Dorado and have one son, Lake. Amy is a teacher at Hugh Goodwin Elementary and Lake is a freshman at Ouachita Baptist University.

Prior to her current position, George taught at El Dorado High School and Barton Junior High in the Family Consumer Science Department, where she taught food and nutrition, nutrition and wellness and food production. She also served as parent involvement coordinator

and class sponsor.

George has a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Ouachita Baptist University. She also holds teaching licenses in elementary education and special education in the state of Missouri, where she taught before returning to El Dorado.

She and her husband, Marvin, have three children Addison (wife Carly), McKenzie (husband Jared), Baylee and one grandson. 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 noon on Thursday for the following Sunday’s newspaper.