Joel E. Anderson, chancellor emeritus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievement and contributions to 4-H. He was one of sixteen inducted during a ceremony at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., where honorees were presented with a National 4-H Hall of Fame medallion, plaque and memory book. Anderson was involved in 4-H as a schoolboy, eventually becoming Arkansas State 4-H Club President. Later, he served more than a decade as a member, then chairman, of the Arkansas 4-H Foundation Board, which owns and oversees the C. A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center and raises support for 4-H awards. He and his wife Ann helped to establish and provide financial support for the Arkansas 4-H Governor’s Award, a scholarship that recognizes Arkansas 4-H’ers who have fulfilled an extensive list of 4-H accomplishments as well as interviews before a board of judges.
Those of us who are members of the Historic Arkansas Museum Commission tend to occupy the same seats for monthly meetings. When I sit down at the museum in downtown Little Rock, I look across the conference room at a painting of Ed Cromwell, whose work helped change the face of Arkansas. I like to think that having him watch over us keeps the board focused.
We have been fielding queries on what will replace the recently demolished Shorty Small’s at 11100 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock. Now we have an answer: Little Rock’s first outlet of 7 Brew, a drive-thru coffee establishment whose public relations personnel hyperbolize it as “[a] concept revolutionizing the coffee industry through its speed, quality products, genuine connection and kindness.”