Lea Metcalf-McDonald, director of Federal Programs at the Texarkana School District, has been named the 2025 Howard Wallace Federal Coordinator of the Year by the Arkansas Association of Federal Coordinators. The award was presented at the Arkansas Association of Federal Coordinators' Spring Conference on May 8. The award recognizes one individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and service, leaving a lasting impact on students, schools and communities across the state.
Cabot High School seniors Kaitlyn Spencer and Paxton Crum have received the Cabot Police Department Foundation's annual scholarship. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of their community and civic involvement, academic achievement, leadership and commitment to future success.
Two University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media students will spend the summer as data journalism interns, part of the Dow Jones News Fund program. Cooper Gant and Sophia Nabours were among 81 students chosen out of more than 1,000 applicants for the program, which includes training and paid internships. Gant, of Fort Worth, Texas, is a journalism-political science major and is the incoming editor-in-chief of The Arkansas Traveler. Nabours is a junior from Searcy studying multimedia journalism-criminal justice. She is the multimedia editor of The Arkansas Traveler and part of the Honors College.
Wade Williams, Kings River Title Company, received the Arkansas Land Title Association's 2025 Arkansas Title Person of the Year. Williams serves as President of Kings River Title and has co-owned Kings River Title since 2006. Clayton Rowe of City Title and Closing in Rogers received the Arkansas Young Title Person of the Year award.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation will honor several people at the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet, a fundraising event that celebrates champions of conservation and reflecting on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's accomplishments. The banquet will take place on August 23 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The 2025 Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame Honorees are: Steve Arrison, who runs the Visit Hot Springs tourism agency; Sherrel Johnson for leadership in forming and collaborating with the Union County Water Conservation Board that enabled Johnson and a coalition of state and local leaders to address the critical groundwater decline in the Sparta Aquifer; Tom Kennon, who is credited with shaping Arkansas' paddling community with influential guidebooks, safety training initiatives with the Arkansas Canoe Club, support for river clean-up efforts and stunning landscape photography. The Arkansas Master Naturalists, a dedicated statewide network of volunteers who actively contribute to the preservation and appreciation of Arkansas' natural environment, will also be honored.
Arkansas Achievers is an opportunity to give recognition to Arkansans for their achievements. Civilian and military achievements are accepted.
Please follow these guidelines: Achiever(s):
1) Must be an Arkansan or have graduated from a school in Arkansas.
2) Received an award, scholarship, medal or promotion.
Pageants, deans' lists, graduations or military enlistments are not accepted.
No photographs please.
To submit an Achiever, email us at [email protected] or [email protected] with the words "Arkansas Achievers" in the subject line.