Hot Springs college names center after business leader

HOT SPRINGS — The National Park College board of trustees Wednesday named the Career Services Center in the Student Commons building in honor of the late downtown Hot Springs businessman and public servant Thomas “Tom” Daniel Sr.

“NPC is proud to recognize the legacy of Mr. Daniel and celebrate his lifelong contributions to education and to the city of Hot Springs,” President John Hogan said in a news release. “We hope his efforts will continue to inspire generations of students for years to come.”

Daniel, a city director and longtime member of the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission, died in November 2016 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Hogan said the Career Services Center is critical for connecting students to the workforce through internships and job fairs. Hogan noted that Daniel understood the importance of higher education and said his legacy will forever support this aspect of the college’s mission.

“I’m always bursting with pride when a community member like Mary Daniel [Daniel Sr.’s wife] makes such a generous investment in NPC’s student success mission,” Hogan said. “It’s humbling that individuals give so generously to improve our quality of life.”

Daniel was raised by a teacher but left school early to enlist in the Air Force, where he served for four years, the release said. He never attended college, but his family said he was deeply committed to encouraging higher education and served on numerous local scholarship boards, according to the release.

“He felt it was especially important to support quality educational opportunities within our own community,” his daughter, Janette Bales, said in the release. “Our family felt this would be a fitting and ongoing tribute to our patriarch’s legacy.

“He never missed a chance to welcome tourists, educate them on Spa City history, and thank them for coming. He didn’t just love and brag about his hometown, he spent much of his adult life working hard to improve it.”

Daniel started the annual holiday chili cook-off in downtown Hot Springs, later renamed the Tom Daniel Holiday Chili Cook-Off, which benefits the Downtown Association of Hot Springs and the maintenance of the downtown Christmas lights.

“He loved his career, especially delighting crowds with one of his perfectly timed and over-the-top fireworks displays,” Bales said.