People and Places

Gift provides scholarships

Representatives from the Higher Education Research and Scholarship Foundation and the American Public University System recently presented a $20,000 gift from the foundation to Northwest Arkansas Community College. The gift establishes health professions scholarships and an endowment for the scholarships.

Williams named program director

John Brown University in Siloam Springs announced Gabriel Williams, an alumnus, will become the director of JBU’s Walton International Scholarship Program, beginning in the fall. Williams will recruit, advise and support students of the program. Started by Helen and Sam Walton in 1985, the program awards full scholarships to 60 students every year to attend one of three Arkansas institutions: John Brown, University of the Ozarks in Clarksville or Harding University in Searcy. In exchange, students commit to return to their home countries and work for four years after graduation to make a difference in their local communities.

Ann Brown Memorial School

Four local educators are using mentorship, student support, martial arts and fine arts to inspire children in the new Ann Brown Memorial School — Center for Inspired Education, located at 2237 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville.

The school currently enrolls students for kindergarten and first grade.

Information: annbrown memorialschool.org or (512) 788-1835.

Historical Association

The Arkansas Historical Association recognized several historians and historical associations at its 77th annual awards banquet on April 20 in Fort Smith.

Lifetime achievement — Ellen Compton for dedication and passion in collecting, archiving and preserving Arkansas history.

Diamond Award plaques — Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale for 50 years focusing on the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks; and Arkansas Archeological Survey in Fayetteville for 50 years studying and conserving the state’s archeological heritage and communicating the knowledge to the public.

Book-length study in Arkansas history — Mildred Diane Gleason of Dardanelle, J.G. Ragsdale book award, Dardanelle and the Bottoms: Environment, Agriculture and Economy in an Arkansas River Community, 1819-1970, published by University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville.

Best manuscript essay — Brooks Blevins, Violet B. Gingles award, Reconstruction in the Ozarks: Simpson Mason, William Monks and the War that Refused to End, Violet

Hill.

Best local journal, honorable mention — The Journal, published by Fort Smith Historical Society.

Best biography — Taylor Prewitt, He Knew Who He Was: Reflections on the Life of Harry P. McDonald, Fort Smith Historical Society.

Best community history — Erin Langford, The Marielitos at Fort Chaffee in 1980: Misunderstood and Misrepresented, Fort Smith Historical Society.