Wanted: South Arkansas County’s Best

Who makes South Arkansas County the best it can be? The DeWitt Chamber of Commerce and the DeWitt Era-Enterprise would like to know from you! This year, we are putting a new spin on the title and changing it to include all of south Arkansas County. In the past, it has been called “The Best of DeWitt” and questions have been asked about who can and cannot be nominated, and to rid that confusion, the new name is now “The Best of South Arkansas County.” Any person/persons residing in south Arkansas County can be nominated and may vote this year.

We are now seeking entries for the 21st annual “Best of South Arkansas County” awards. The awards celebrate everyone who helps make DeWitt a little bit better. Categories change from year to year, but one in general always stays the same and that is Citizen of the Year. The following are the past winners of Citizen of the Year: Peggy Bullock 1999, Jim Lynch 2000, Diana Graves 2001, Sue Berry 2002, Christina Boyd 2003, Gary Hudson 2004, Betty Archer 2005, Robert Franks 2006, Jon Hornbeck 2007, Laura Essex 2008, Kathy Radomski 2009, Gary Vansandt 2010, Darleen Frizzell 2011, Sherry Criswell 2012, Ralph Relyea 2013, Warren Jennings Sr. 2014, Daniel Kirkpatrick 2015, and Carolyn Turner 2016. Entries for the 2017 awards are sought in the following categories: • Citizen of the Year- This is the highest award achievable. The entrant should be actively involved in community work and should have positively impacted the community by going “above and beyond the call of duty” to benefit the city and its residents. • Employee of the Year: This award is for the employee of a private firm who gives his or her best 24 hours a day; only because there aren’t 25. • Local Business of the Year: This award recognizes the business that goes above and beyond for their employees and provides the best overall place to work. The company values employee development and retention on the same level that it values productivity and business growth.  It places high levels of importance on corporate culture and a happy and healthy work environment for their staff. • Volunteer/ Volunteer Group of the Year: This award recognizes a person or group for their outstanding participation and contribution to the community. • Educator of the Year: This award recognizes a person who inspires students of all backgrounds and gives each one the ability to learn, in addition to, having the respect and admiration of students, parents, and colleagues, and they should also play an active role in the community as well as in the school. • Entrepreneur of the Year: This award recognizes a person/persons who have shown their dedication to DeWitt by investing time, money and effort into their business and local economy. Persons nominated for the awards must live in the DeWitt School District. Previous winners are not eligible. Nominations are made by the public and voted on by members of the Chamber of Commerce and South Arkansas County community members. The awards will be presented at the end of January at the Chamber’s annual banquet. To nominate someone, fill out the form in the DeWitt Era-Enterprise and bring it to the DeWitt Era-Enterprise office or mail it to P.O Box 678, DeWitt, AR 72042. Please include your phone number so that we can call you for more information, if needed. The deadline is December November 14th at 12 p.m.