On Monday, the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches (ASYR) celebrated a groundbreaking for a new home at the Batesville ranch named in honor of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (pictured above at the ceremony).
Beebe Hall is named for the former governor because of his nearly 30 years of service as an ASYR volunteer and advocate.
“The Ranch has been a force for good in the lives of Arkansas children for nearly 50 years,” said Beebe. “Many children have come from homes broken by abuse and neglect, and the Ranch gives them an opportunity to thrive in a safe and stable home with houseparents who treat them like family. I am honored to be a part of creating a new home where many more children will find a place to call home in the years to come.”
Capital Campaign committee members Micah Beard (Citizens Bank), Boris Dover (First Community Bank), Larry Stone (Stone Ward), and Sheriff Phillip Miller (White County), among others, were recognized at the groundbreaking. The project’s $1 million goal was achieved through donations and includes a $200,000 challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation.
At the ceremony, Beebe noted the support of Batesville.
“This community adopted me, embraced me, and endorsed me many years ago,” he told the crowd. “It’s one of the best, most progressive communities in the whole state of Arkansas. Your support for the Ranch and the symbiotic relationship between the Ranch and Batesville is superlative.” He continued by thanking the sheriffs for picking up the torch and commended them for carrying on the legacy of the Ranch.
According to a release from the chamber, “Shovel Holders” included Bebee, Ray Dillon (President of the ASYR Board of Trustees), Stone (ASYR Board, Stone Ward), Beard (ASYR Board, Citizens Bank), Dover (First Community Bank), Greg Hartz (Foundation Resource Management), Patrick Schueck (Lexicon), Judge Kevin Jeffrey (Independence County), Miller (ASYR Board, White County), Sheriff Shawn Stephens (ASYR Board, Independence County), Sheriff Phil Reynolds (ASYR Board, Woodruff County), Josh Stewart (StewArch Architecture), Nancy Fulton (ASYR CEO), Philip Ives (ASYR), Matthew Cleveland (ASYR) and Courteney Muse (BACC).
Other major donors to the project and ASYR staff attended the ceremony along with Batesville Area Chamber Ambassadors, including Aaron Moody (Independence County Sheriff’s Department), Amy Finster (White River Health), Andrea Bruner (Network of Community Options), Brenda Rivera (First Community Bank), Ashley Engles (Citizens Bank), Cassidy Mitchell (Lyon College), Christina Watts (LaCroix Precision Optics), Eva Henriksen (Merchants & Planters Bank), Kendra Collier-McMahan (Approve Home Health and Caring Hands), Kirsten Harvey (Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches), Lori Tacker (Batesville Eye Care Center), Mary Duvall (Bad Boy, Inc), Michael Kelley (Peco Foods), Rickie Westbrook (Centennial Bank), Roxanne Rananudo (United Way of North Central AR), Sarah Perkins (Mossy Oak Properties), Seanna Horn (Lyon College), Seanna Horn (Lyon College), Tammy Jeffrey (First Community Bank), and Julie Hinkle (Bank of Cave City).
Founded by the Sheriffs of Arkansas in 1976, the privately funded ASYR provides hope and healing for children who, through no fault of their own, need a place to call home. ASYR’s mission is to address, remedy, and prevent child abuse and neglect by creating safe, healthy homes for children.
Images provided by the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
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