National Park College (NPC) received a $10,000 grant from the Arvest Foundation to support the launch of the college’s new outdoor recreation program.
The donation will help purchase equipment for NPC’s new Nighthawk Tracks: Trail Building Essentials course. The hands-on program teaches trail maintenance and environmental stewardship, promoting both personal development and workforce readiness.
Franklin Bass, community bank president for Southwest Arkansas at Arvest Bank, emphasized the importance of the college’s role in the region.
“The College is a big driver in our community, and we are happy to support them,” Bass said. “The new outdoor focus is something that we also appreciate and love about Arkansas. Glad National Park College and Arvest can team together to provide the students a better opportunity to make a career.”
Sarah Hutzel, senior vice president of commercial lending at Arvest Bank and NPC Foundation board member, echoed the sentiment.
“I’m happy to serve on the foundation board and to see this money go to good use for this new program that will hopefully expand in the next couple of years,” Hutzel said. “I’m proud of the Arvest Foundation for how they support our community.”
NPC Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Chuck Argo, said, “Thanks to Arvest’s generous donation, this will help us kick-start our outdoor recreation program. It will enable us to revitalize the Hummingbird Trail on this campus, and we can use it as a laboratory for our students. This will absolutely help improve the quality of life for our students, faculty, and staff.”
Vice President of Workforce Development, Community & Corporate Training Bill Ritter, highlighted the economic impact of outdoor recreation in Arkansas.
“We are always very appreciative of Arvest’s support,” Ritter said. “They are such a good partner for us in all of our endeavors. Outdoor recreation in Arkansas is economic development, and the community gets money back on every dollar we invest in it. That will only grow exponentially into the future as Arkansas pushes forward with developing its outdoor recreation opportunities.”