Marna Boltuc is principal of Christ the King School. She graduated from high school in Akron, Ohio, received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky, and received a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Boltuc was named the Outstanding Master’s Student in the Educational Leadership Program at UA Fayetteville in 2008.

Since moving to Fort Smith in 1997, Boltuc has coached youth t-ball, soccer, and basketball teams, and has served as a Cub Scout leader and as a Vacation Bible School teacher. She serves as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector at Christ the King Catholic Church.

Yolanda Carr is the grants and institutional research coordinator for UA Fort Smith. She received a bachelor’s degree in business from Grambling State University and a master’s degree in adult education from North Carolina A & T State University. At UA Fort Smith, she develops and conducts grant proposal writing workshops for faculty and staff and plays a key role in the University’s mission of making higher education affordable to the citizens of our region.

Before locating to Fort Smith two years ago, Carr served as grants management and compliance director at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. She has been awarded for outstanding service as a member of the workshop planning committee for the National Association of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She chaired two United Way campaigns at Bennett College, served seven years in the Big Brother/Big Sister program in Greensboro, planned grant-funded summer programs for youth, and is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Shanita Christian is the senior accountant for Griffin Properties of Fort Smith, LLC – Griffin Construction Company. A native of Spiro, Oklahoma, she graduated from Spiro High School and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UA Fort Smith and a master’s degree in business administration from Webster University.

Christian is secretary of the Fort Smith Southside Rotary Club as well as creator and co-editor of its weekly newsletter and is a member of Young Emerging Leaders. She is a member of Mount Triumph Baptist Church and volunteers for Lincoln Youth Center and United Way.

Debbie Everly is the State Membership Chair of the Arkansas PTA Board of Managers and a substitute teacher with the Fort Smith Public Schools. She has lived in Fort Smith for 14 years. She received a bachelor’s degree in business management from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Everly has served as president of Woods Elementary PTA, as secretary and membership chair of the Fort Smith Council of PTAs, and as Western Region field representative and vice president for the Arkansas PTA. She has received a lifetime membership award from the Woods PTA unit and the Fort Smith City Council of PTAs. She served as state convention chair for the Arkansas PTA Convention held in Fort Smith in 2009. Other community involvement has included serving on the board of Fort Smith Express Soccer Club, as a volunteer and board member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, as a member of St. Paul United United Methodist Church UMW, as a volunteer for Church on the Streets (COTS), and as a Cub Scout den leader.

Shelli Henehan is the director of College of Education’s preschool/early childhood program at UA Fort Smith. A Fort Smith native, Henehan graduated with honors from Southside High School and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from Arkansas Tech University and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, respectively. She is currently earning a doctorate in workforce development at UA Fayetteville.

At UA Fort Smith, Henehan serves on the College of Education’s Dean’s Leadership Council and the Teacher Education Council and is a member and past chair of the Staff Council. She is a member of the board of directors of Bethel Child Care, Inc., of the Fort Smith Public Schools Early Childhood Education Advisory Board, and the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education-Child Development Associate Advisory Council. She is a peer reviewer for the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Matt Keep is vice president and clinic operations officer of St. Edward Mercy Health System. He received a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s of business degree in healthcare from Oklahoma City University. He is board certified by the American College of Medical Practice Executives.

Before moving to Fort Smith in January 2008, Keep worked to establish primary care and specialty care clinics in more than 12 Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas communities that were medically underserved. At St. Edward, Keep supervises the operations support for more than 30 physicians and is committed to serving the community through working to insure the retention and recruitment of physicians to Fort Smith and patient access to medical services for the citizens of Fort Smith. Keep volunteers as a youth sports coach.

Pat Little is a community volunteer and substitute teacher for the Fort Smith Public Schools. A Fort Smith area resident since 1978, Little received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK. She was a teacher in the Arkoma and Jenks, Oklahoma, public schools for 46 years.

Little is active in the First United Methodist Church, where she has served on the administrative board and many other committees and is a member of the choir. She is a member of Junior League of Fort Smith, serving as chair of its Children’s Emergency Shelter committee, and of Habitat for Humanity, serving as chair of its Art in the Park fundraising event. She is a charter member and chaplain for the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, a member of the St. Edward’s Women’s Auxiliary, PEO and lifetime member of the Order of Eastern Star and Kappa Kappa Iota. She served on the board of the Brush Creek Youth Ranch from 1979-1999 and has worked in the ACCESS: DESTINY PROGRAM at UA Fort Smith, a collaboration between education majors and public school professionals.

Jennifer McKinney is Social Studies department chair and civics teacher at Kimmons Junior High. She graduated from Springdale High School and received a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Arkansas Tech University. At Kimmons, McKinney also serves as co-sponsor of the National Junior Honor Society and as a member of the Secondary Social Studies task force.

A member of the Frontier Achievement Awards selection committee, McKinney helps recognize citizens who preserve and promote the region’s heritage. She is a member of Young Emerging Leaders and of St. Boniface Catholic Church, where she serves as a Eucharistic minister and lector.

Dean Pitts, is patrol division commander for the Fort Smith Police Department. A resident of Van Buren, Pitts also is a real estate agent for Assurance Realty. He graduated from Clarksville High School and received law enforcement supervision and administration certificates from the Criminal Justice Institute in Little Rock and the FBI National Academy in Virginia. Upon his magna cum laude graduation from UA Fort Smith in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he was named Outstanding Business Administration Graduate. With the Fort Smith Police Department, he is a major and has served as the assistant SWAT team commander for 10 years.

Pitts represents the police department on the Old Fort Homeless Coalition and is a member of numerous organizations including the Fort Smith Rotary Club, Fort Smith Board of Realtors and Arkansas Municipal Police Association. He serves as an instructor in the Police Academy as well as the Citizen’s Police Academy. As a member of HOG (Harley Owner’s Group), he has participated in many fundraising projects to benefit the community.

Veronica Post is mayor of the city of Altus. A native of the Greater Fort Smith Region, she graduated from high school in Altus and studied finance and accounting at Westark Community College and University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Before beginning service in her elected position in 1999, she worked in banking for 22 years, with positions including assistant vice president of investments at Bank of the Ozarks and vice president of operations at Arkansas State Bank (now Regions Bank).

Post has been a board member of the Altus Chamber of Commerce since 1983 and of the Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce since 1999. She served as an Altus city council member for 12 years, and serves on the advisory/executive committee of the Arkansas Municipal League. She was named Mayor of the Year for the State of Arkansas by the Arkansas Municipal League for 2007-08. As mayor, she has worked to obtain grants to renovate and expand the Altus community park and to provide equipment for the police and fire departments.

Pat Williams is senior vice president and chief operations officer of First National Bank She moved to Fort Smith in 2007 after having worked in the financial industry in the Oklahoma City area for more than 30 years.

Williams was a founding member of the first Oklahoma Auditors Association. She was involved in fundraising for the United Way in Oklahoma City for 12 years. In Fort Smith, Williams has become involved with Heart-to-Heart Pregnancy Center, currently serving as board treasurer; with United Way, serving on the allocation committee; and with the Mollie Wilson Women’s Financial Series committee. She is a member of Grace Community Church.

Megan Raynor is an accountant at Hanna Oil & Gas. A Fort Smith native, Raynor graduated with honors from Northside High School, where her activities included membership in the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society and serving as president of Mu Alpha Theta. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UA Fort Smith.

Raynor has completed the Citizen’s Police Academy, Citizens Academy, and Citizens Fire Academy. Her community involvement also includes membership with Young Emerging Leaders, participating through her employer in the Adopt-a-Highway program and United Way Day of Caring, and serving on her company’s contributions/donations committee. She is a member of Immaculate Conception Church.

Genia Smith is corporate secretary and credit manager of Arkansas Glass & Mirror. A Fort Smith native, Smith graduated from Northside High School and then studied business administration. As a credit professional, Smith has applied her skills to the benefit of high-school students and non-profit organizations. She designed and implemented an interactive credit education presentation in the form of a game for area high schools to use during National Credit Education Week. As board member and treasurer of the Fort Smith Heritage Foundation (Clayton House), Smith established a bookkeeping system and also helped establish policies and procedures for the rental and daily operations of the historic attraction.

Smith has served as president of the Fort Smith and Arkansas Credit Professionals, the District VII Credit Professionals (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri), and the Arkansas Credit Association. She has been named Credit Professional of the Year for both Fort Smith and Arkansas. She serves on the Community Development Advisory Committee, teaches Sunday School at Grand Avenue Baptist Church, and has provided volunteer and fundraising support for the Bass Reeves Monument, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Fort Smith Public Library.

Karen Tyler has served as the administrative director of UAMS/Kids First in Fort Smith since 1996. She is a Child Development Associate and holds a master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has served as president and currently serves as historian of the River Valley Early Childhood Association, board vice president of the Head Start Child and Family Services, Inc., and member of the Association for Childhood Education, Int.

Tyler is a Sunday school teacher for First Christian Disciples of Christ and a board member of Keep Fort Smith Beautiful with Pride. Other community activities include serving as agent for the May-Lecta-Sweet Avenue Neighborhood Association since 1998 and becoming vice president of the newly formed Fort Smith Neighborhood Coalition in 2009. She has helped lead her neighborhood to receive the Neighborhood of the Year award for six years and Historic Place designation and has received the Mayor’s Good Neighbor award. She is a graduate of the Fort Smith Citizens Police Academy and volunteers for the Judge Parker Players Theater Group.

Christy Williams is director of donor relations for UA Fort Smith. For three years starting in June 2006, she served as the executive director of the Single Parent Scholarship Fund (SPSF) of Crawford and Sebastian Counties. A native of the Greater Fort Smith region, Williams graduated from Lavaca High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Oklahoma Baptist University. At SPSF, she has been responsible for working with community volunteers and business leaders in raising more than $100,000 in scholarships for more than 80 single parents annually.

Williams’ community activities include serving as 2009 Holiday Market Merchant Chair for the Junior League of Fort Smith, member of the networking council for Young Emerging Leaders, and volunteer for United Way and Riverfront Blues Festival. She is a Sunday school teacher for the First Baptist Church in Lavaca and serves on the church Missions Committee.