The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will honor eight special people at the Chancellor's Scholarship Gala during Founders Week. The gala will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Pine Bluff Country Club.
The gala is part of UAPB's year-long sesquicentennial celebration during Founders Week April 17-23. The theme for the 150th anniversary, Mission Milestones Memories, will be featured throughout campus activities, according to a news release.
Calvin Booker '79 and Janetta Booker '83 will host the gala where eight individuals will be recognized for their exemplary record of service to the community.
The black-tie event begins with a reception and silent auction at 6 p.m. Saturday followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Tickets for the gala are $250 per person and may be purchased by calling (870) 575-8701 or (870) 575-8703.
Themed "A Night in 'Nawlins," the annual gala returns after a three-year pause due to covid-19. Proceeds from the event will fund scholarships for UAPB students and is sponsored by West Fraser, Calvin and Janetta Booker, Waste Management, Perry and Vivian Stuckey, and The Design Group.
Calvin Booker, a Hamburg native who earned a bachelor's degree in education from UAPB and a master's in secondary education from Prairie View A&M University, is a retired corporate vice president of public affairs for the Southern Group of Waste Management Inc.
In that role, he was responsible for the organizational development and strategic implementation of governmental affairs, community relations and communications programs across 12 Southeastern states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Janetta Booker from Pine Bluff holds dual degrees from UAPB in institutional dietetics and nursing and has more than 40 years of health care delivery experience as a practitioner and as the former owner of Quality First Home Health Services Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. She now serves as a health insurance specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medical Services. She also holds licenses as a registered dietitian, registered nurse, a Realtor®, and a certified federal surveyor.
HONOREES
"I commend our honorees for their dedication to our community and university and look forward to celebrating each of them as we also use this opportunity to collectively lift the financial burden from deserving students," UAPB Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander said. "I am also extremely grateful to our sponsors and host for their continued support of UAPB. As we commemorate our sesquicentennial, I am heartened by the coming together of both corporations and individuals who continue raising the bar in demonstrating their love for Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff."
The eight honorees include:
PAT ANDERSON -- A retired Simmons Bank executive, Anderson will be honored for his stellar record of community involvement and volunteerism, service to mankind, and philanthropic work on behalf of Simmons Bank;
THE BOBBITTS -- President Donald Bobbitt of the University of Arkansas System and Susan Bobbitt, long-time educator, for their outstanding careers in the field of education, support of the arts, and advancement of opportunities for others.
THE BROUGHTONS -- Dr. Stephen Broughton, graduate of 1979, and practicing psychiatrist at Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare Systems and trustee emeritus of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees, and D. Cheryl Broughton, retired pharmacist manager at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, for their exemplary careers promoting healthy lifestyles, service to the community and UAPB, and for advancing the cause of the underserved.
DARRYL DANIELS -- Darryl Daniels, co-founded of Jacobsen Daniels, an airport consulting firm he launched in 2001 with a work colleague, Brad Jacobsen. The firm, Jacobsen Daniels Associates, grew from the two of them to approximately 200 employees to become one of the leading airport consulting companies in the country.
THE STUCKEYS -- Perry Stuckey, 1988 graduate, senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Eastman Chemical Co., for his stellar career in the corporate sector and advancing UAPB; and Vivian Stuckey '79, retired Social Security Administration claims representative, together for their extraordinary dedication and service to UAPB.
Visit UAPB.edu for a full list of Founders Week activities.