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Sertoma Arkansas District Honors Sicard For Service To Mankind
On Friday
February 29, 2008, Bob Carl, the Arkansas District Governor will be
in Fort Smith to award Samuel M. Sicard, the District level Service
to Mankind Award for his outstanding service to our community.
See story below for more information on Mr. Sicard and his service to the Fort Smith area.
Sertoma Honors Sicard For Service To Mankind
by Pam Cloud - Times Record - pcloud@swtimes.com
A Fort Smith native was honored Thursday (December 6, 2007) with the highest award the Downtown Fort Smith Sertoma Club bestows on an individual.
Samuel M. Sicard, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of First Bank Corp., receive the Service to Mankind Award during the club's annual Christmas party, according to Bill Crowder, Sertoma chairman of the board.
more »"Our Sertoma Club gives (this award) every year to an individual in the community who goes above and beyond to make Fort Smith a good community", said Crowder, who has served as the club's past president.
Sicard was selected because of his leadership in the community, through serving on boards, raising funds and chairing campaigns.
"There are so many things he has been involved in that people don't know about", said Crowder. "He's been in the background, yet in the foreground, of all the things that happened in Fort Smith."
A graduate of St. Anne's High School and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Sicard, 67, has been with First National Bank since he worked summers there during high school. He became president and chief executive officer in 1977, and became chairman of the board in 1979.
Sicard has served multiple terms on the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce's board of directors since 1970, serving as board president from 1973-75.
He has been a longtime support of the Fort Smith Boys Club, serving on its board of directors since 1973. He was board president in 1986-87, and co-chaired the capital campaign for the new Evans Boys Club, raising $2.5 million. Having served on several major committees and sponsored teams for more than 20 years, Sicard was inducted into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame in 2002.
Sicard has served as chairman of the board of the Central Business Improvement District since it inception in 1977, and currently serves on the Sparks Foundation Board, the Council of Regional Advisors for Arkansas Children's Hospital, the United Way of Fort Smith Area Endowment board of directors, and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith foundation Board.
He formerly served on the Westark Board of Trustees for 24 years, serving in the capacity of chairman from 1985-86, and co-chaired the first major gift campaign for the college in 1988-89, which raised $5.2 million. He was chairman of the board for the UAFS Foundation from 1995-96.
The annual United Way fund drive in 1985 was under Sicard's chairmanship, and he is a former member of its board of directors.
"He is an unsung hero", Crowder said of Sicard. "And the things he has done has made Fort Smith a better place."
Bulletins
This week was our business meeting. We had a visit by Coach Crowder. Reports on Pete Hatley seem to be that hs is doing fairly well considering the seriousness of his condition.
Finances are in good shape, our big concern is the golf tournament. it is our big fund raiser and we need everyone to step forward and sell a few holes.
The Speakers are lined up for the next several weeks. We need to try to get as many members and guests to the meetings as possible, the speakers like bigger crowds.
Future Meetings and Events:
April 17, 2009 - Mary Hask
April 24, 2009 - Louis Horton
May 1, 2009 - Special Olympics event in Greenwood - No meeting
May 8, 2009 - Lavaca Serteen Officers
May 15, 2009 - Fort Smith Girl's Incorporated
Good crowd of about 21 last Friday. President Jerry Eubanks welcomed new members Sean and Trudi McGinis, into the club, it was their final reading. Jerry also brought up that International is offering the '2nd Chance GEM Award' and he encourages all members to work towards that goal. We also had an invitation from the Salvation Army to ring the bell for them and we had enough members volunteer to do it at least one day. We will also be setting the date for the Christmas Party shortly. Details to follow.
more »
We will not hold a meeting on Friday, November 28, 2008, the day after Thanksgiving.
Our program was Mike Alsup, Director of Parks for Fort Smith. Mike was here one year ago and mentioned that he has been director for five years now. The official lighting of the Christmas lights will be December 8, 2008 although some may go on earlier. The have problems with getting the grass growing at Carol Ann Cross Park, but everything else is working well there. Mike is hopeful they will be able to work on a couple of neighborhood parks. They are also trying to find additional funding for the parks possibly from the Street and Drainage Tax or part of a restaurant tax.
Next meeting - Cliff Shields - new Director of the Fort Smith National Cemetery.
Bring a guest! We can't get them to join if they don't know about us!
Future Meetings and Events:
November 14, 2008 - Cliff Shields - Director of Fort Smith National Cemetery
November 21, 2008 - TBA
November 28, 2008 - No Meeting (day after Thanksgiving)
December 5, 2008 - Claude Legris - Fort Smith A&P Director
December 12, 2008 - Linda Seubolt - Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine
Good crowd last Friday. Harold Blaylock and Coach Crowder were both in attendance and it was good to see them back in their seats. Bill Montgomery was also looking good and Jeff Barrows was there for a short while before he and Velvet had to take off early.
more »
The Sebastian County Fair starts this week. Brian Vick has the sign up sheet and we appeared to be in good shape, but if you can help let Brian know. This fund raiser helps keep our dues down.
Our program was Baridi Nikokheli, Fort Smith's Sanitation Department Head. Baridi was worried that he might not have much to talk about, but the members found it very interesting, especially about converting the trash to energy and the automated pick up program.
This Friday Jeff Hanson from the Arkansas Gas and Oil commission will be in to talk about the Fayetteville shale deposits adn answer any other questions you have about the gas and oil business.
Bring a guest! We can't get them to join if they don't know us!
Future Meetings and Events:
Week of August 15 - Sebastian County Fair
August 29, 2008 - Jeff Hanson - Arkansas Gas and Oil
September 5, 2008 - Business Meeting
September 12, 2008 - Benny Westphal (tenitive)
If someone would like to take the last two Friday's in September it would be appreciated. Let Bill Know.
Small crowd Friday due to the George Foster Memphis golf tournament. We need a good crowd for the Indoctrination of new members this Friday. We especially need the new members. Brian will be conducting the ceremony.
more » The Golf Tournament needs your help; make sure to help out getting sponsorships again this year. It is our main fund raiser of the year and allows us to continue to support the local organizations as well as individuals in need.
Bring a guest! We can't get them to join if they don't know us!
Future Meetings and Events:
June 27, 2008 - Indoctrination of new members by Brian Vick and check presentation to Girl's Incorporated.
July 4, 2008 - Independence Day - No meeting
July 11, 2008 - Business Meeting
July 17 - 19, 2008 - International Convention in Denver Colorado
July 26, 2008 - 12th Annual Jim Griffith Golf Tournament
Good news, we have another new member! Sherry Muck's husband Jerry has decided to join. Jerry helped out at the Air Show with us.
Charles Looper was also in attendance, first time in a while. His wife is doing fairly well but he just doesn't get up to Fort Smith much. Carl's grandson, Nathan Stovall, was in therapy again, tough road for the little guy. Paul Pope also needs our ongoing prayers.
more » This was our business meeting. The club is up to 33 members and our finances are still in good shape. The club voted to keep the $10,000 CD at First National Bank. We made about $1,242 at the Air Show which beat the last one by a couple hundred dollars. Our last donation for the club year will be June 27, 2008 when we present Girl's Incorporated their check. Reminder that National Heritage programs are moving to October so we need to make preparations for that. The Greenwood fair is also coming up about then.
The Golf Tournament needs your help; make sure you help out getting sponsorships again this year. It is our main fund raiser of the year and allows us to continue to support local organizations as well as individuals in need.
Bring a guest! We can't get them to join if they don't know us!
You have not missed your bulletin; I, Bill Black, just did not get one out in May. We had some nice programs but we need a little bigger crowd to make it worthwhile for our speakers. Please try to make the meetings.
Future Meetings and Events:
June 13, 2008 - Nathan Williams Exercise Physiologist
June 20, 2008 - Bennie Westphal (Lyndell's checking on him for us)
June 27, 2008 - Indoctrination of new members by Brian Vick and check presentation to Girl's Incorporated.
July 4, 2008 - Independence Day - May or May not meet
Bill Montgomery will be getting speakers for July! Thanks Bill
July 26, 2008 - Jim Griffith Memorial Golf Tournament
Good news, we have a new member! Carolyn Plank's daughter Sherry Muck has joined the club.
President Eubanks read a very nice card from Brian (gentleman from Randall Ford) whose hearing aide we bought a month or so ago. It has apparently made a major improvement in his life and work, which is what we all hoped for.
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Special Olympics - Wednesday April 30, 2008 at Mansfield - be there at 8:45 AM. If you need a ride call Jerry and he can help you out.
Our speaker was Jerry Glidewell, the director of the Fort Smith Boys and Girls clubs. Jerry was a former member and well known by the club. He had some good stories on coaches Crowder and Callahan. As most members know, we have supported their organization for many years and our donation sponsors a Football, Basketball and Baseball team, all with Sertoma's name on them. President Jerry Eubanks presented our annual check to Jerry today.
There is a reception for former City Administrator Randy Reed and City Directors Velvet Barrows and Ken Pyle at the home of City Director Rick and Shivaun Parrish this Saturday between 3 and 6 in the afternoon. Rick's house is located at 10809 Barrington Lane, on the NE corner of Fianna Way and Barrington in Fianna Hills. It is my understanding that Randy Reed may be moving from the area and this might be the last time to wish him the best.
Bring a guest! We can't get them to join if they don't know us!
Special Olympics: We are suppose to be at Mansfield at 8:45 Wednesday April 30. They are expecting 500 athletes from the four counties. This will be the last year at Mansfield, next year they will move to Greenwood.
Future Meetings and Events:
April 30, 2008 - Special Olympics at Mansfield
May 2, 2008 - Business Meeting
May 5 - 10, 2008 - Cabin on the lake - fishing weekend
May 7, 2008 - No Speaker
May 14, 2008 - Arkansas State Police Officer
May 17-18, 2008 - Fort Smith Air Show
July 26, 2008 - Jim Griffith Memorial Golf Tournament
We need speakers for May 23, 30 and June 14, 21, 28 - Any volunteers?
Good news, we have a new member! Carolyn Plank has joined the club due to the efforts of Velvet Barrows.
We did not have a speaker since so many members were at the convention. The socializing was rather subdued due to the funeral of Jim Sargent Friday afternoon following his death on Tuesday.
more » The business meeting was held April 4th. We have a total of 30 members (Carolyn makes 31) and our finances are doing well. We had 8 members planning to attend the convention in Tulsa. We did purchase the hearing aide for the fellow who works at the Randall Ford and presented a check for $1,500 to the Special Olympics for the field and track medals which we will be presenting on April 30, 2008. We did receive the grant for the Kistler Center for Children and a check from Sertoma International in the amount of $443.42 and a check from our club in the amount of $1,457.20 will be presented to them on Friday. The officers are going to try to come up with sponsorship guidelines for the club, if you have input let someone know.
Bring a Guest! We can't get them to join if they don't know us!
Special Olympics: We are to be at Mansfield High School at 8:45, Wednesday, April 30, 2008 They are expecting about 500 athletes from the four counties. This will be the last year the event is to be held at Mansfield. Next year, it will be in Greenwood.
Future Meetings and Events:
April 18, 2008 - Kathy Smith with Kistler Center for Children
April 25, 2008 - Jerry Glidewell with the Boy's Club
April 30, 2008 - Special Olympics at Mansfield
May 2, 2008 - Business Meeting
May 5 - 10, 2008 - Cabin on the lake - fishing weekend
May 17-18, 2008 - Fort Smith Air Show
July 26, 2008 - Jim Griffith Memorial Golf Tournament
Bring a Guest!
Bill Montgomery returned and said his grandson was doing very well and appreciated everyone's prayers and support. Carl's Grandson is also doing real well so we had too happy grandfathers in attendance. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
more » Brian Vick rejoined the club which made everyone happy. Welcome back Brian! Betty joined us for the meeting and it was good to see her also.
We had a fairly nice crowd of members, about 19. Our speaker was Glee Costner (Williams) who brought one of the coaches and a couple of parents. She let a couple of the athletes talk and it was plain to see how much the Special Olympics meant the them. The club presented a check to Glee for the medals and she filled us in on the details. We are supposed to be at Mansfield at 8:45, Wednesday, April 30. They are expecting 500 athletes from the four counties. This will be the last year at Mansfield, next year they move to Greenwood.
We are working on a Pizza Party for the Lavaca Serteen Club.
Future Meetings and Events:
March 28, 2008 - Social Meeting, no speaker
April 5, 2008 - Business Meeting
April 10-12, 2008 - Sertoma Regional Convention in Tulsa
April 12, 2008 - No speaker, too many members at convention
April 30, 2008 - Special Olympics at Mansfield
May 2, 2008 - Business Meeting
May 5 - 10, 2008 - Cabin on the lake - fishing weekend
May 17-18, 2008 - Fort Smith Air Show
July 26, 2008 - Jim Griffith Memorial Golf Tournament
Plan to attend this Friday for the District award presentation of:
Service to Mankind Award
Sertoman of the Year Award
Our District Governor will be in attendance to make the presentations as well as this years winners. Please invite your spouse, a guest or a potential new member so we can have a nice crowd this Friday.
We had a nice meeting last week, only about 19 members present. We had a nice card from the Wadsworth family that thanked us for helping them at Christmas. She said she was able to give one of her kids a birthday present. Seems like we picked a good family to help.
more » Bill Montgomery's grandson was in intensive care and will need another heart operation soon. Please keep them in your prayers.
Our Program was presented by Joe Shipman, District Engineer for the Highway Department in our area. Joe was promoted into the job in June 2004. Joe gave a fine program although he had more to offer than we had time for; probably need to get him back next year for a refresher.
Thanks to George Foster and all his helpers working on the National Heritage Week events at the schools. It appears that we may need to move this to October which would match the time 9th graders are learning about the Declaration in their civic classes.
Future Meetings and Events:
February 29, 2008 - District Governor presenting Service to Mankind award
March 7, 2008 - Business Meeting
March 14, 2008 - Chuck Girard - Bonneville Collection
March 21, 2008 - Glee Cosner (Williams) - Special Olympics
April 30, 2008 - Special Olympics - Mansfield
May 17 - 18, 2008 - Fort Smith Air Show
Bring a Guest
This week was our monthly business meeting with about 21 of our 30 members present plus Alice Yarbrough as Don's guest. President Eubanks reports that he did sign us up for the Air Show on May 17th and 18th to staff the booth; we will need everyone's help. Whatever we raise at the Air Show goes toward keeping our dues low!
more » President Eubanks read a nice thank you from Mary Woods, the lady in Menu who received a hearing aide from the club for her left ear. We had another request from a 20 year old young man who needs assistance with an $1,100 hearing aide. He attended trade school and is working, so we are going to check on him and his finances before we commit.
Operating Budget $1,298
Sponsorship 20,646
Event Account 500
Bill Montgomery and Car's grandson need our prayers. Rob's mother was involved in a car accident this week with no other information available.
George Foster is working on the National Heritage Week events at the schools. Velvet is looking into the YEL (Young Emerging Leaders) program for a member. Not to early to start thinking about the Golf Tournament!
Future Meetings and Events:
February 8, 2008 - Bill Montgomery has a humorist coming.
February 15, 2008 - We will be rolling scrolls
February 22, 2008 - Bill Shipman, AR Highway Department
February 29, 2008 - District Governor presenting Service to Mankind District Award
March 7, 2008 - Board/Business meeting
March 21, 2008 - Glee Cosner (Williams) on Special Olympics
April 10 - 12, 2008 - Regional convention in Tulsa, OK
April 30, 2008 - Special Olympics at Mansfield
May 17/18, 2008 - Air Show
Bring A Guest!!
Very nice meeting last Friday with about 20 or so in attendance. President Eubanks expressed disappointment that we were not mentioned in the coverage of the Policeman of the Year ceremony, but it was pointed out that two officers who saved lives last year were also not mentioned. In other words, they could have done better.
more » The Air Show is coming in May and we voted to man a 12 person booth. With our members down we will need some commitment from everyone who can. What ever we raise at the Air Show goes toward keeping our dues low!
President Eubanks read a nice thank you from the lady in Greenwood who received the $600 hearing aide from the club.
Kari, our waitress since we moved to the Golden Coral has received a promotion and we will be getting someone else to take care of us. We hate to see her go, but I think we all are happy for her promotion.
Our program was Superintendent Ron Gossage from Lake Fort Smith and Assistant Superintendent Brad Hyman. They had a very nice slide show of the new facilities, it appears that it will be as nice as Mount Magazine but on a smaller scale. they hope to be open this spring although they did not have a firm date. It is going to be a very nice asset for the region.
Future Meetings..
January 25, 2008 - Fort Smith Deputy City Administrator Dean Kruitof
February 1, 2008 - Board/Business Meeting
February 8, 2008 - Bill Montgomery has a Humorist coming.
Bring A Guest!
January 4, 2008
No meeting at the Golden Corral this week, as we are
invited to attend the Police Officer of the Year ceremony at the
Pavilion Building on B Street. It is a very nice ceremony and
you are encouraged to attend and eat lunch there.
more »
Business Meeting today and we had a nice turnout with 20+ of our 29 current members.
We had a potential new member, but I did not take any notes and I
have now forgotten his name. He seems to be interested and
would be a great way to start the New Year off with a new member.
Our budget seems in order and we dismissed the reading of last month's
minutes. We had a nice report on our $500 Christmas help for
the single mother from Barling. Harold Callahan gave a little
pep talk on the GEM (Good Enthusiastic Member) award and how by
encouraging all the new members to meet it, we could eliminate our
spiral in members fairly quickly.
Randy has our new web site up and running. You can reach it at: www.FortSmithSertoma.com.
Future Meetings:
January 11, 2008 - Police Office of the Year
awards
January 18, 2008 - Lake Fort Smith State Park
update - Superintendent Ron Gossage or his assistant will be here.
I told him a bunch of you were very interested in the status of the
park.
January 25, 2008 - Fort Smith Deputy City Administrator Dean
Kruitof
The Lake Fort Smith program and Dean's updates are very nice
programs. It would be a good time to bring a guest!
I will be skipping the bulletin next week; you can read and see the
coverage of the Police Office of the Year ceremony Friday evening on
the local news. Will return after the January 18th meeting.
I have attached our most recent mailing list. Please check your name and
send any corrections to Randy. It is in Adobe format, so I
hope you can access it.