State VFW Winner
Zoie Stapleton of Calico Rock was honored with 3rd Place in the State VFW Art Show. She won $200. Zoie entered the competition with the encouragement of local VFW representative Pat Foster and her art teacher, Mr. Jonathan Baker. Congratulations, Zoie.
Community Suicide Prevention Program
Anyone over the age of 15 is invited to attend a community-wide suicide prevention program hosted by the Arkansas Department of Health on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. It will be held at the Calico Rock United Methodist Church fellowship hall on Highway 56. Soup will be provided.
There were 571 suicides in Arkansas last year, twice the number of homicides. It is a leading cause of death for every age group. We hope you will attend this program.
Kairos Weekend
This spring, our community hosted its first Kairos Weekend. This program involves a ministry team going into the North Central Unit (prison) and ministering to about 30 men over a weekend. One of the hallmarks of Kairos Weekend is cookies. The men attending the program are given sacks of cookies throughout the weekend, but every man in the unit receives bags of cookies throughout the weekend. Kairos typically distributes about 24,000 cookies over a weekend. But, not all of the cookies have to come from the local community. Area churches, businesses, and individuals came together the help support this great ministry.
Even for the men not attending the event, they are blessed by seeing the outpouring of love from the community. It’s our way of showing them our appreciation for the work the field crews do in our community. It’s also our way to show the love of our community and that we support their rehabilitation.
Typically, Kairos is held twice per year. The next Kairos Weekend is September 26-29. Please mark your calendars and help us collect cookies. The Calico Rock United Methodist Church is the local drop-off point for collecting cookies, but the entire community is needed to make this effort successful.
The week of Kairos, volunteers are appreciated to help bag the cookies.
Independence Day Celebration
The Calico Rock Lions Club’s annual fireworks display will be on Wednesday, July 3 at dusk in Earl King City Park. The community is planning fun activities throughout the afternoon in the park. It’s a great time to come out, enjoy time with friends and family, and celebrate the birth of our nation.
Visit http://www.calicorockmuseum.com/ or email calicorockcommunityfoundation@gmail.com for more information.
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.