Lyon College Convocation speaker to discuss ‘My Life as the Cemetery Angel’
BATESVILLE, Arkansas – The Lyon College Convocation speaker series will continue Thursday, April 11, with a presentation by best-selling author Ruth Coker Burks, who will share “My Life as the Cemetery Angel” at 4 p.m. in the Nucor Auditorium of the Lyon Business and Economics Building on the Lyon College campus, 2300 Highland Rd., Batesville.
The free event is open to the public.
When the AIDS epidemic hit Arkansas in the early 1980s, Burks was a young mother in her early 20s. She didn’t have any medical training, but she took it upon herself to care for hundreds of AIDS patients who were abandoned by their families and the medical professionals who feared the disease.
Over the past 40 years, she’s cared for more than 1,000 people – often burying them herself in her family cemetery.
In 2017, she was awarded the Thom Weyand Unsung Hero Award by the National AIDS Memorial for her work in the darkest days of the epidemic. “The Book of Ruth,” a full-length feature film about Burks’ life and work, is currently in production.
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.