RIVER VALLEY NOTEBOOK: Work completed on Hendrix mural | Stuffed-toy drive closes Thursday | Russellville adds parade quiet zone

Work completed on Hendrix mural

Hendrix College Class of 2014 alumna Emily Mente recently completed a three-panel mural at the Conway Human Development Center near the college campus.

Mente, the owner of Studio Mente in Austin, Texas, worked on the mural since October. It was originally scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020, but the covid-19 pandemic put the project on hold.

The center's staff washed and primed the surface, then painted a teal background before Mente arrived. The center also housed the artist.

"We are overjoyed with the end result," center Superintendent Sarah Murphy said. "The mural, which is above CHDC's 'snack shack' and below our chapel, has really brightened things up in the central part of our campus. We have heard so many positive remarks from our staff, and many residents have shown their approval by gazing up and smiling as they pass by."

The 7-foot-tall triptych covers nearly 800 square feet.

"It turned out to be a good thing that the original timing didn't work out, because the project was more ambitious than I had anticipated," Mente said. "I'm really glad to have had Hendrix students involved for that reason."

Three students -- Adaja Cooper, Michaela Thaibinh and Jalache Davis -- joined Mente on the scaffolding.

Volunteer council member Deborah Rainwater said the best part about the mural's completion was seeing the reaction of her son Kirk, a 20-year-old center resident who is non-verbal and autistic.

"Kirk looked up at the mural and smiled so big," Rainwater said. "It was so precious to see that it made him so happy."

Funding for the mural came from the CHDC Volunteer Council.

Stuffed-toy drive closes Thursday

Thursday is the last day to donate teddy bears, stuffed animals or other toys in the Share-A-Bear program, held each year by the Faulkner County sheriff's office and the University of Central Arkansas police and society class.

All bears and toys collected are divided among local police departments serving Faulkner County so officers can give them to children.

The donation boxes are at the University of Central Arkansas campus, Conway Police Department, sheriff's office and the Boys & Girls Club of Faulkner County.

Russellville adds parade quiet zone

The Russellville Christmas parade, set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, will feature a "quiet zone" for families who have special needs, the city's Recreation and Parks Department announced recently.

The last block of the parade -- which begins on West Main Street at South El Paso Avenue and ends at South Glenwood Avenue -- will be designated as the quiet zone to lessen sensory overload.

Participants are asked to turn off music, sirens and strobe lights in this block.

Conway Corp gets national awards

Conway Corp's marketing team was recently honored with four MIDI Innovation Awards at the 2021 Mid-America Cable Show held virtually this year.

The company's video production and local programming department was recognized with three awards.

• Senior Production Coordinator Wayne Bailey and host Ashley Mann were honored for their program, "Breathe Yoga," in the Community Program: Series category.

• Bailey, production coordinator Ashtyn Brown and senior programming coordinator Ryan Tucker were selected as winners in the Community Programming: Single Program category for the Conway High School Virtual Graduation produced for students and families choosing not to attend an in-person graduation.

• The department was also selected the winner in the Cable Advertising: Self Promotion category for its entry in the American Public Power Associations' Virtual Lineman Rodeo. This video was also honored with the 2021 Best of Show MIDI Award.

Conway Corp's marketing and communications department, led by Manager Beth McCullough Jimmerson, was also recognized with a MIDI for its campaign to launch and promote ConwayCorpTV, an internet streaming TV service, in 2021.

The Mid-America Cable Association was formed in 1958 and includes cable telecommunications system operators in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arkansas and Texas. Conway Corp competed with systems of 10,001-50,000 cable subscribers.

Hendrix students get projects funds

The Committee of Engaged Learning at Hendrix College announced recently that $50,367 was awarded from its Odyssey Program to fund 12 student projects.

The study topics range from cowboy culture in the American southwest to cemeteries in New York City.

Since 2005, the Committee on Engaged Learning has awarded $4,616,297.71 in competitive Odyssey grants to support 1,446 projects by Hendrix students and faculty members.

The 12 winning projects are:

• Grace Bryant, The Exploration of Different Cultures and Medicine in Merida, Spain.

• Emilie Cassar and Kyle Bounds, Exploring Cultural and Environmental Differences in Emergency Medicine in Costa Rica.

• Sophie O'Reilly and Ben Blankenship, Writing Under the Mother Tree: Creative Writing, Ecology, and Scotland.

• Elise Ormonde and Rachel McGhee, Ecuador: Buen Vivir.

• Katie Pratt, Tristan Becker Hoerschelmann and Shelby Burrow, Tenderfootin' Out West: Exploring Cowboy Cultures Past and Present in the American Southwest.

• Jayla King, Intern: Campaign Fellow for Dr. Chris Jones, Arkansas Gubernatorial Race.

• Mohannad Al-Hindi and Joseph Lara, Impact of Natural Disasters on Ecotourism in Puerto Rico.

• Ellen Alston, Building Bridges through Service-Learning: A Service to the World Project in Puerto Rico.

• Maxine Payne, Transforming the current art complex garden into a beneficial, native pollinating garden.

• Robin Salinger, An Exploration of the American Cemetery.

• Mark Goadrich, Solving Real-world Problems with Tools from Mathematics and Computer Science: The COMAP International Contest in Mathematical Modeling.

• Ann Wright, 2022 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics.


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