Bond trader and businessman Rush Harding added his name to a distinguished and eclectic list of Natural State notables May 9 inside the Wally Allen Ballroom of the Statehouse Convention Center. The Easter Seals' Arkansan of the Year celebration was attended by fewer than 700, who helped raise more than $600,000.
Past honorees include four couples (Johnelle and J.B. Hunt, Janet and Mike Huckabee, Raye and Doyle Rogers and Cindy and Chip Murphy), three former U.S. senators (David Pryor, Dale Bumpers and Blanche Lincoln), two footballers (Houston Nutt and Jerry Jones), and one hospital chief executive officer, Russell Harrington, among many other politicians and entrepreneurs. It goes back to Walter Smiley in 1986.
"Sharon, the joy that is brought to so many people, to so many families, is truly worthy of this crowd tonight," said Gov. Mike Beebe, himself a past honoree, to departing Easter Seals director Sharon Moone-Jochums. "There are innumerable opportunities for folks in this audience to recount stories where, anonymously, unknowingly to most people, Rush has given money, given time, given assistance, given advice, and provided people who needed the help that bit of help when he didn't want a thing for it."
University of Central Arkansas president Tom Courtway and immediate past honoree George Gleason also took a turn trumpeting Harding's philanthropy and leadership.
The live auction, which featured diamond jewelry sets from Sissy's Log Cabin and a Kia Forte from Frank Fletcher Kia, as well as several trips, generated $83,000. Almost half that total came from a single trip to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to see Texas A&M face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sept. 27 that sparked a bidding war between Gleason and Harding, ultimately won by the former for $36,000.
Guests began dinner with a spinach salad with candied walnuts, goat cheese and strawberries beneath a berry vinaigrette. They cleansed their palates on raspberry and champagne sorbet. The entree was a pan-seared beef filet topped with a jumbo shrimp and potato souffle. Dessert was a lemon tart garnished with blueberries and a dark chocolate bar in the shape of Arkansas.
High Profile on 05/18/2014