Valued members of the community, local business leaders and guests gathered at the historic building once known as the public library in Helena to outline the needed restoration to preserve the 110-year-old building.

The Trumann Chamber of Commerce normally chooses an active person in the community to receive the “Volunteer of the Year” award. This was the year they had to add an “s.”

Southern Bancorp employees receive volunteer of the year award from Trumann Chamber of Commerce.Employees at Southern Bancorp were recognized as a group for the many contributions they have made to the Trumann community.

The Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp will be honored at Henderson State University’s annual President’s Concert on Tuesday, Feb. 8, for their generosity in establishing and funding the Arkadelphia Promise scholarship program.

The annual concert features the talents of Henderson students and faculty, and pays tribute to individuals or groups who have been instrumental in advancing the university and its academic programs.

An opportunity for students to use business resources and the business setting to foster professional growth and development is available through internships in the Business Division at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA).

A partnership between the PCCUA Division Business & Information Systems and Southern Bancorp has resulted in a win-win for a PCCUA business graduate. Brandon Knowlton, of West Helena, who recently graduated with an A.A.S. degree in Information Systems Technology, was recently hired at Southern Bancorp after serving an internship there while at PCCUA. Now working at the bank, Knowlton is also pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree through the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Linda Killion, PCCUA Dean of Business & Information Systems, says by partnering with PCCUA, Southern Bancorp is playing an active role in giving college students the opportunity to gain valuable work experience in the banking industry.

“A work internship is a great way to integrate students into the daily operations of the business world and can open them to many opportunities for employment. At the same time, it gives the employer a chance to become familiar with our students, their skills, and work ethics and gives them a pool from which they can hire new employees.”

It’s been more than three weeks since the announcement that the Arkadelphia Promise had been established to guarantee aspiring Clark County college hopefuls the funding to attend a university.

Now, Arkadelphia Superintendent Donnie Whitten says he and the rest of the faculty and staff with the school system are working hard to make sure the high standards set by the new program are met.

Spurred by the Clark County Strategic Plan, the school has worked over recent years to improve Advance Placement classes and to begin a college predatory program.

According to Whitten, these programs prompted a desire to go a step farther. Planning for the Arkadelphia Promise began 18 months ago, and it took the sponsorship of the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp to make it all come together.

Southern Bancorp recently presented Henderson State University’s Small Business and Technology Development Center with a $10,000 contribution to provide FastTrac Training to entrepreneurs. FastTrac Growth Venture is a series of 10, three-hour seminars designed to provide strategic planning for existing business owners to maximize the growth potential of their business.

Southern Bancorp presents the Junior Auxiliary of Arkadelphia with a $3,000 check to be used for the Angel Tree Project.

“This year, 540 angels have applied,” said Lori Ross, Junior Auxiliary President. “This is a record number of requests and all have been verified through DHS. We are appealing to the entire community, individuals, organizations, Sunday School classes, businesses, etc. to adopt our angels.”

In El Dorado and Arkadelphia, the dreams of Charles Murphy Jr. and Jane Ross live on. The El Dorado Promise and the Arkadelphia Promise will help make those two cities shining stars for the southern half of our state. Interestingly, the initiatives have their roots in a pair of great Arkansans who both were born in 1920.

In the previous post, I wrote about the Arkadelphia Promise scholarship program, which was unveiled last week.

The Arkadelphia Promise is being funded by the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp.

Arkadelphia-based Southern Bancorp has now become the largest and most profitable rural development banking organization in the country. The first bank it purchased was Arkadelphia’s Elk Horn Bank & Trust Co. in 1988. Since then, other banks have been purchased across Arkansas and in the Mississippi Delta. Southern Bancorp has grown stronger than ever under the leadership of Phil Baldwin.

ARKADELPHIA ? Tuesday’s announcement of the Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship, which will allow qualifying students in the Clark County seat to attend college free of charge, was big news for the community.

The new scholarship program was introduced during an Education Pep Rally held Tuesday at Badger Stadium with special guest Gov. Mike Beebe.

“All of you should now have no excuses not to go to college and not to finish college,” Beebe said to the students in the crowd Tuesday night. “There is a direct correlation between a college degree and the economic vitality of a community. You all are on your way. You should be very proud of one another, you should be very proud of Arkadelphia, and you should be very proud of these students. All of you deserve the recognition that everybody can give you. I’m proud of Arkadelphia, and I’m proud of Clark County.”

The program was developed by the Clark County Strategic Plan, a planning initiative designed to address the future development of the area in the next 10 years, and is sponsored by the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp, both based in Arkadelphia.