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Time to Spring Forward
March 8, 2023
Set your clocks forward an hour this Sunday, March 12th, from 2AM to 3AM
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Gary Vernon to be speaker for annual Chamber banquet
INSIDE:
Submitted
J.D. Vaught Inducted
Wendy’s Earns Honor
Page 4
by
Melanie
Wade
Gary Vernon has been selected as the guest speaker for the 2023 Membership Appreciation Banquet hosted by the Mena/Polk County Chamber of Commerce. This year’s theme, Tour de Ouachitas, will focus on the possibilities of outdoor recreation in the area, including the proposed mountain bike trail system on Rich Mountain. Born in Joplin, Missouri, Vernon is a lifelong cycling enthusiast whose hobbies include mountain biking, motocross, and motorcycle trials. Chamber Director Melanie Wade said, “I believe that Gary’s love, en-
thusiasm, and vast knowledge base for outdoor recreation will get our audience fired up about the possibilities we
have here in Polk County.” Vernon began working at his local Walmart in 1984, building bicycles for the Christmas season. This began a 30-year career with Walmart Operations, working his way through college, and in 2003 he moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, for an opportunity at the Walmart Corporate Office. While at Walmart Corp., he was a director in the environmental division working on recycling and sustainability programs. Vernon moved over to the Walton Family Foundation in 2015, where he supported Steuart and Tom Walton, leading their work that focused on cycling advocacy, events, mountain
See BANQUET continued on page 8 Page 2
Photographer Tim Ernst coming to UARM
Submitted by Ilana Burk
Mena Quiz Bowl Winners
Page 21
Using a grant from the Department of Arkansas Heritage, Polk County’s Quality of Life (http:// qoloutreach.org/) will host a free event with Arkansas’ wilderness photographer and author Tim Ernst at 1 p.m. in the Ouachita Center on the UARM campus at 1100 College Drive on Saturday, March 11. Ernst has been hiking and driv-
ing around the wonderful Ozark Mountains for most of his life, preserving the images he sees on film for everyone to enjoy. His photographs have appeared in hundreds of national, regional, and local publications. Some of his credits include “National Geographic,” “Audubon,” “Backpacker,” “Outside,” “Outdoor Photographer,” “American Hiker,” “Natural History,” “Country,”
See ERNST continued on page 12