Colbie Jones of Stuttgart has been hired as director of the state's Keep Arkansas Beautiful program after working in advertising and promotion, the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism announced Wednesday.
She will begin work Monday with a starting salary of $56,680 a year. She replaces Mark Camp, who retired from the post at the end of February after a nearly five-year term.
"Colbie has forged positive relationships with our Keep Arkansas Beautiful commissioners across the state and has extensive knowledge of the goals and principles of the Keep America Beautiful program," department secretary Stacy Hurst said in the news release.
She said Jones understands that litter prevention goes beyond aesthetics and impacts Arkansas' economy.
"A clean and beautiful Arkansas welcomes people to enjoy our outdoor recreation offerings and enhances the lives of Arkansans and those visiting our state," Hurst said.
According to Jones' Linked-In page, she is a senior account executive at MHP/Team SI, where she has worked since July 2018, and previously was a media specialist at the Arkansas Minority Health Commission from December 2016 to June 2018. She also worked stints as a reporter at The Sentinel-Record and in jobs in the circulation department at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
"My initial goals are to increase KAB's reach and impact throughout the state by reducing the amount of litter in Arkansas, increasing the number of volunteers working with us, improving our beautification and recycling efforts, and developing more programming and partnerships," Jones said in the news release issued by the department.
The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission was established by Act 1278 of 1997 and is a program of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. It is one of four state agencies that share proceeds from the state's 0.125-cent sales tax for conservation authorized under Amendment 75 to the Arkansas Constitution. One percent of that tax provides an annual budget of about $700,000, according to the department's news release.
The commission consists of nine governor's appointees, the director and staff.