FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Weaver, Melony Ritter
(501) 760.6410 office
press@np.edu
May 20, 2016
NPC RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING AWARD WINNERS, RETIREES
Hot Springs, Arkansas – National Park College (NPC) hosted the annual Employee Recognition Day last week. Awards were presented to the Outstanding faculty, staff and alumnus for 2016 and employees were recognized for their years of service, community service, and retirement.
The Outstanding Faculty award was presented to Debra Wilson, Radiography Program Director.
Wilson led her program through the reaccreditation process which resulted in an eight-year
accreditation, the maximum a program is able to receive. She was also the first faculty
member to have her course Quality Matters certified, a standard of excellence for
online courses.
The Outstanding Staff award was presented to Nathan Looper, VA Coordinator. Looper
served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years of active duty and four years in the
reserves. He deployed several times and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement
Medal for a one-year deployment with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unity in support of combat operations. He works tirelessly to
support veterans on campus, serves on the Staff Senate as Chair Elect, and is involved
in many other service activities in the community.
The Outstanding Alumni award was presented to Jeff Crow. Crow began his career with
an associate’s degree in criminal justice from National Park College. He obtained
a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from John Brown University and a
master’s degree in public administration from Arkansas State University. After serving
25 years on active duty and as a reservist, he retired from the United States Marine
Corps in 2007 at the rank of Sergeant Major and as a combat veteran of Operation Desert
Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom II. He joined the Arkansas State Police in 1996
with assignments in highway patrol, criminal investigations, training and SWAT. In
2011, after 25 years of service in law enforcement, he retired to accept a law enforcement
instructor position at the University of Arkansas’s Criminal Justice Institute. In
2012, he joined the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) as Colonel of the agency’s
Enforcement Division. He has since served as Deputy Director and Chief of Staff and
will assume the role of director of the AGFC on July 1.
The College presented two awards during Saturday’s Commencement Ceremony. The Academic
All-Star award was presented to Keanna Peck. Peck is a second year student at NPC
and is majoring in Criminal Justice. She is a full time student and balances her studies
and her various on campus activities in order to succeed. She is a student ambassador
and a member of the Student Government Association and the NPC cultural diversity
club. Her goals are to transfer to a university and practice law. She credits the
staff and faculty of NPC for helping her succeed. She said, “I recognized that a person
can be self-disciplined and motivated, and work hard to make good grades-but that
not one of us can realize our dreams without the help of other people. It would be
almost impossible to choose just one experience that has been the most meaningful
to me during my time at National Park College, but I can say without hesitation that
the people here at NPC are what have made my experience so meaningful.”
The Spirt of NPC Award was presented to Brenda Bahena. The award was established by
Dr. Tom and Gloria Spencer in honor of his parents, Rachel Bradham Spencer and Thomas
Morris Spencer who seized upon and promoted education to advance themselves, their
families, and literally thousands of others. The award is given to a student who has
made an impact on the college, the community, and their family. Bahena maintained
a 4.0 GPA during her tenure at National Park College. She works four part-time jobs,
raises two children and is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. One of her
part-time jobs is as a tutor in the National Park College's Academic Success Center
where she tutors accounting and business courses. She plans to pursue a Bachelor's
Degree in Accounting at Henderson State University this fall.
Years of service pins were presented to the following employees:
FIVE YEARS: Stephen Carroll, Matt Elder, Robert Feighl, T.J. Griffith, Debby Hunt, Rodney Ivers, Jennifer Lyons, Lezley Piper, Pete Rognrud, Nathan Sheffield, Tennille Sutton Johnson, Leigh Turner, Amy Watson
TEN YEARS: Larry Benson, Dr. Janet Braley, Vickie Harrison, Gayla Mattoon, Kelly Pickett
FIFTEEN YEARS: Blake Butler, David Hughes, Mary Kelley, Cindy Kirk, John Tucker
TWENTY YEARS: Anzolette Cheatham, Jennifer Evans, Denise Edds, Dana Murphy, Louis Witherspoon
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS: Mark Chapel, Tami Sheffield, Cathy Wells
THIRTY-FIVE YEARS: Susan Holsomback, Linda Reis
FORTY YEARS: Richard Browne
The following retirees were recognized for their service:
Dr. Susan Aldridge, Director of Marketing; Dr. Janet Braley, A&P Faculty; Todd Cragg, Campus Store Manager; Denise Edds, Choral Director; Holly Garrett-Miller, Director of Student Affairs; Gloria Glover, Student Recruitment Specialist; Vickie Harrison, Administrative Specialist III WFT; Susan Holsomback, Controller; Mary Kelley, Administrative Specialist II; Richard Lee, Director of Administrative Computing; Elbert Lewis, Maintenance Assistant; Linda Reis, Business Faculty; Janis Sawyer, Vice President of Financial Affairs; Dr. Gordon Watts, V.P. of Student Services/ V.P. of Instruction; Karla Williams, Math Faculty; and Louis Witherspoon, Maintenance Assistant.
