Our doctors listen with their
tethoscopes earts S H and
Dr. Jarvis
Dr. Schay
Medical Director of Adult Psychiatry
Medical Director Of Substance Use Disorders & Patriot Support Program
Dr. Powell
Dr. Palmer
Staff Psychiatrist, Adult Psychiatry
Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient and Residential Treatment
Dr. Kang
Staff Psychiatrist, Adult and Senior Psychiatry Inpatient and Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Program and Partial Hospitalization
Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas
21 Bridgeway Road North Little Rock, AR 72113 1-800-245-0011 TheBridgeWay.com
Thank you for voting
MICHAEL SPANN, MD Best Plastic Surgeon in Arkansas!
My Passion. Your Results. 501.219.8000 www.littlerockplasticsurgery.com 2200 N Rodney Parham Rd, Ste 200, Little Rock, AR 72212
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M Y L A G O S M Y W AY
C AV I A R C O L L E C T I O N S
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We Keep People All O
Makayla with beautiful No Prep Veneers Before
After
Make 2020 Your Year For A Beautiful...
Over Arkansas Smiling People all over Arkansas trust Dr. Lee Wyant with their smile. As central Arkansas’ only accredited cosmetic dentist and providing over 35 years of excellence you can be sure you’re in good hands. His credentials, experience and caring concern for each individual patient allows him to provide exceptional esthetic results regardless of the challenges presented. To learn how Dr. Wyant can help you have an incredible smile, call today to schedule your complimentary smile consultation.
501.819.3608
ACCREDITED FELLOW
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C. LEE WYANT, DDS 16524 Chenal Pkwy Little Rock, AR 72223 501.819.3608 smilearkansas.com
All photos are of beautiful smiles created by Dr. Lee Wyant.
Dr. Lee Wyant Smile!
WHAT’S INSIDE
10 Publisher’s Letter 12 Connect 14 Top Events 184 Murder Mystery 190 Arkansas Backstories
HOME&GARDEN
NWA Parade of Homes D.I.Y. Directional Sign Post Keeping a Safe Home
18 26 152
FOOD&DRINK
Slice, Slice, Baby Charcuterie Boards
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ARTS&CULTURE
The Wicked Wordsmith Arkansas’ King of the Monsters
156 164
TRAVEL ARKANSAS 88
The Heart of the River Valley
HEALTH 172 A Mama’s Heart 176 Surviving Breast Cancer
ABOUT YOU
49 AY’s Best of 2020
Pizza Bucket List Pg. 34
98 Family Reunion 104 Intriguing Women
ON THE COVER AY’s “movie night” last month was watching James Corden host our Best of awards show. Rendition by Jamison Mosley
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You’re ready to travel. And we’re ready to help you get the most out of your trip. For the latest travel tips, inspiration and safety information, go to Arkansas.com/Arkansas-ready-travel 7
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Trellis Square • 10720 Rodney Parham Road • Little Rock, AR • 501.225.5068 • 800.453.9579 CecilsFineJewelry • cecilsfinejewelry.com • www.facebook.com/cecilsfinejewelry
publisher's letter
fall
to the wall
We are kicking off October in the best way we know possible. And this — to announce our winners of the AY’s Best of 2020 contest that, come pandemic or high water — we were able to secure. James Corden, the affable host of a late night show there on your television, was our host, if you haven’t heard. We are so glad to tell you who won and what retailers, businesses and health care facilities you need to remember when you’re looking for their services. Wanna know what else is inside? Our Travel Editor, Joe David Rice, takes us to another Arkansas location, and this one is a busy spot on I-40 — the town of Russellville. Not just a city with a college and a great place to get a burger, but a city with railroads and a huge nuclear power facility. The mayor there wants you to stop by and get to know the city better. And we celebrate a spooky theme as we cover a murder mystery in a haunted jail, ten top haunted places and an Arkansas Backstory on UFOs. And if you love all things Halloween, you’ll love one of the charcuterie boards we featured. It would be perfect for your Halloween gathering. We loved photographing this because of the leftovers we had! October has always been a month where we did two things: One is recognize the women who make up our annual Intriguing Women list, and the other has been recognizing women who have fought breast cancer. In this issue, we do both. Thanks for your continued support to AY About You. We love telling stories. Do you have one to share? Then send the suggestion my way: hbaker@aymag.com.
Heather Baker, Publisher hbaker@aymag.com
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Thanks for voting Dr. Montgomery Heathman and staff best Dental Practice in Arkansas!
At Montgomery Heathman and Associates, our team is 100% focused on your oral health. We offer our patients the very best that dentistry has to offer through advanced technologies and procedures.
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501-223-3838 heathmanfamilydentistry.com 12501 Cantrell Rd., Little Rock HeathmanFamilyDental 11
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“Taking care of homes and those in them is what we do best – that hasn’t changed. We are using EPA-approved disinfectants to keep your home sanitized and healthy.”
Molly Maid of Greater Little Rock • 501-758-9996 Molly Maid of Northwest Arkansas • 479-372-6204
@MollyMaidAR @MollyMaidofNWA
MollyMaid.com 13
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Your Registry Experts.
EDC0920 AY MAGAZINE OCT AD 1 092220.indd 1
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YOUR BRIDAL REGISTRY IS ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.THEEVERYDAYCHEF.NET *FRIENDS AND FAMILY CAN PURCHASE FROM YOUR REGISTRY AND HAVE IT DELIVERED!
*Free delivery to showers for Jonesboro only!
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REFACING • CUSTOM CABINETS REDOORING • 1 DAY TUNE-UP GARAGE CABINETS • AND MORE!
VIRUTAL OR IN-HOME CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE After Refacing
CHARLIE & SUSAN JOHNSON
501.223.8888
kitchentuneup.com 2016 Kitchen Tune-Up Franchise of the Year Before
Each franchise is locally owned & operated.
30 YEARS doing what I love
Arkansas Symphony Designer House XXV
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I N T E R I O R S The Pointe North Hills
1500 REBSAMEN PARK ROAD, SUITE 200 • LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72202 • 501.376.6600
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At Zin Wine Bar, we offer 60 wines by the glass from around the world along with several beer and cocktail options. Zin’s dinner menu is filled with delicious appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Fresh ingredients are brought in daily to prepare all menu items as ordered. We also open early on Saturdays with an unbeatable brunch menu!
Contact us for your socially distanced group parties and meetings. 501.406.7159 • zinlr.com 11121 North Rodney Parham Road Suite 12-A, Little Rock ZINwinebarwestlr
THREE FOLD ® THANKS FOR VOTING THREE FOLD BEST
IN ASIAN CUISINE IN AY’S BEST OF 2020! WE’RE ALL IN THIS WOK TOGETHER!
611 S MAIN STREET
EAT3FOLD.COM
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LITTLE ROCK AR
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, e c i l S , e c i l S
y b a B
By DWAIN HEBDA
Three Little Rock eateries prove that capturing a taste of the South is deliciously possible.
By Dwain Hebda
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“It’s satisfying, and it’s a meal in your hand.”
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A few years back, I had the great honor of sitting in Anthony Valinoti’s kitchen for two hours doing nothing but watching him Anthony Valinoti, DeLuca’s Pizzeria. (David Yerby) make pizza. This was before he moved into the sleek space that his landmark Hot Springs restaurant DeLuca’s Pizzeria currently occupies, in the old joint, wonderfully delicious. To me, that’s what it is. I love it because where space and patience for fools were at a premium. of that. It’s so comfortable, it really is. It makes you feel good.” Valinoti worked smooth and fast, fashioning one gorThere are few single dishes in life that I love more than pizza. geous pie after another. Sauce swirled on the fresh, stretched In fact, at this writing, I can’t think of one of them. I love it Chidough like paint on a canvas. Toppings landed just so, applied cago deep and New York wide; I love it Midwestern flaky and in time with the Rolling Stones or Allman Brothers tunes brick-oven charred. I’ll take it rustic gourmet and two-for-one pouring out of speakers. The pizza oven lapped up each raw chain pies — and while I know and appreciate the major differpie and spit out perfect pizza with a hiss. ences in the two, I do not care. There are times when only water I remember clearly one server — a big dude with a halfbuffalo mozzarella will do and times when you just want ample sleeve tatt — swooping up an order, glancing at me and sayleftovers for the weekend. This is America; there’s room for all. ing, “You’re brave to come into this kitchen.” Along the way, I have experienced things that speak to my No, man; for a pizza addict like myself, obsession and that can only be classified as a hallmark of the truly that was Valhalla. committed. How many of you even remember the Chef Boyardee “It’s just comfort. There’s somepizza kits, much less eaten something made from them? Back thing about a slice of pizza that before you could place orders online, my wife was asked out when just makes you feel comfortable. phoning in an order — twice — and once during a delivery. Then It makes you smile,” Valinoti there was the time I opened the door to a delivery boy in tears says. “It’s satisfying, and because, as he would tell me, he was graduating college and was it’s a meal in your hand. able to pay for that degree through delivering pizzas, thanking me It’s this beautiful for the support I’d given him. thing that you can So yeah, you may love pizza, but until you have loved it enough pick up and that your accumulated tips to just one joint have literally put a kid eat, and it’s through college, step down. just so I asked John Iriana, owner of Little Rock institution Iriana’s Pizza, why people like me are so obsessed. What does he slip into that sauce, what’s really hidden among those toppings, to make us come back, shaky and twitchy and begging for more? “I don’t know, but thank God though,” he laughs. “I just think it’s just such a simple combination that is so good. If you look at
A slice of cheese from Iriana’s. (Jamison Mosley)
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“Your dough has to be this consistent, beautiful thing. If you make dough well, and you ferment it the right way, and it comes out the right way, now all you have to do is paint really beautiful pictures that are delicious, right?”
The “Clean the Floor” pie from Iriana’s. (Jamison Mosley)
my prep table and all the different ingredients, boom, there’s a thousand different pizzas that I can make out of that combination. Everybody has a different idea of what they like on pizza, and you can pretty much fulfill anybody’s pizza fantasy, you know?” Pizza originated in Naples, Italy, as working-class street food, simple starchy bites that fueled a day’s hard labor. It arrived in America with the waves of early 20th century Italian immigrants, taking root in ethnic neighborhoods of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The dish didn’t catch on outside of these areas until American G.I.s got a taste of the delicacy while liberating Italy. They came home, and the pizza boom began. As pizza spread, it developed significant regional influences, not unlike barbecue, that dramatically impacted the style of pie and gave rise to a fierce war of words over which species is the best. Me? Well, as you can probably tell by now, I’m agnostic in my love for pizza and see no reason to limit myself to any one school of thought. You wanna put your foot down and swear you’ll never eat this style over that? Great, more for the rest of us. Now, obviously, just because I love all colors and creeds of pizza pie doesn’t mean some don’t rise to the top. As my pizza-enabling wife and I often discuss mid-chew, crust is paramount to making one place favored over another. Valinoti agrees. “The dough is what we really make our living on in a lot of ways,” he says. “Tomatoes are tomatoes; you can buy good tomatoes and make them taste good. You can buy good cheese and whatever. But really the foundation, what makes pizza sunshine on a plate, is the dough. “Your dough has to be this consistent, beautiful thing. If you make dough well and you ferment it the right way, and it comes out the right way, now all you have to do is paint really beautiful pictures that are delicious, right?” Iriana says the basics are so important to the finished product, he has a tried-and-true method for separating great pizza from merely average pies. “When I arrive at a new pizza place, I will order a
basic cheese pizza to see what the base of the pie is so I can really check out the crust, the cheese and the sauce,” he says. “If you have all that down, you’re going to make a good pie no matter what you put on there. “People have different comments all the time when they walk into our place. They say, ‘Oh, it’s your crust.’ The next guy will say, ‘Oh, it’s your sauce. I can’t believe it.’ So, you don’t know what somebody is really looking at, you just try to get all the fundamentals right.” When our four children were small, we designated Friday as “Friday Fun Night.” This generally meant watching a VHS movie from our collection and pizza. We were broke, so the fare usually came from a chain up the street, and the movies had all been watched a thousand times, but we didn’t care. Now that they are grown, memories of those nights are among the fondest I have of their tender years. And every time I order a pie, savor that pepperoni or watch that cheese bubble, I hear them laugh, see them sitting next to me on the couch or feel them on my shoulder as I carry them upstairs to bed. That, I suppose, is why I love pizza most of all.
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Pizza
AY’s ARKANSAS
Bucket List
PRESENTED BY DeLuca’s Pizzeria
merican Pie Pizza l A
Maumelle, North Little Rock, Little Rock
rkansas l A
Pottsville
River Pizza Company
ig Banjo Pizza Parlor l B
Pine Bluff
avanaugh Pizza l C
Fort Smith
helsea’s Corner l C
Eureka Springs
amgoode l D
Pies Fayetteville, Little Rock
eLuca’s Pizzeria l D
Hot Springs
rady’s Pizza & Subs l G
Little Rock
usano’s Chicago l G
Style Pizzeria Various Locations
l House of Pizza
Mountain Home
l I riana’s Pizza Little Rock
l J im’s Razorback Pizza
Conway, Maumelle, Little Rock
l Lala’s Gyros and Pizzeria Little Rock
l Larry’s Pizza
Various Locations
l L azzari Italian Oven Jonesboro
ojo’s Hometown Pizza l M
Greenbrier
ojo’s Pints & Pies l M
QZBX l S
y Little Pizzeria l M
teffey’s Pizza l S
ima’s Pizza l N
he Old Bank Sports Grill l T
l Old Mill Pizza
he Pedaler’s Pub l T
l Oven & Tap
l The Pizza Cafe
apa’s Pub & Pizzaria l P
l The Pizza Den
axton’s Pizza l P
he Pizzeria l T
izza Chef l P
l The Rail: A Pizza Company
izza D’Action l P
im’s Pizza East l T
riato Pizzeria l P
l Tommy’s Famous
aduno Brick Oven l R
l U.S. Pizza Co.
Fayetteville Benton
Gassville
North Little Rock Bentonville
Fort Smith Bryant
Jonesboro
Little Rock
Bentonville & Barroom Little Rock
l Rocky’s Corner Hot Springs
od’s Pizza Cellar l R
Hot Springs
l Roper’s Restaurant Beebe, Greenbrier
auced Bar & Oven l S
Little Rock
Hot Springs Lavaca
Russellville Bentonville Little Rock
Hoxie
Little Rock Rogers
Fayetteville
Mountain View
Various Locations
l Upper Crust Pizza Co. Jonesboro
l Vino’s Brewpub Little Rock
l Wood Stone Craft Pizza Fayetteville
l ZAZA
Conway, Little Rock
hotgun Dan’s l S
Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood
3C heck off the Pizza List as you visit a small sample of our favorite pizza places. 34
AY About You
Arkansas Bucket List
Every Wednesday morning on KARK 4.
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Pumpkin spiced everything is the ruler of taste buds.
Like it or not, it’s candy corn season.
When shopping for the sweet board, I wanted cheerfulness and consistency.
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For the sweet board, I thought of the anticipation many people have with the coming holiday season — the glee, the vibrancy. We’re tucking summer away and unpacking autumn.
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The contrast of the sweet and savory are meant to satisfy every eye and appetite.
This time of year isn’t simply about trick-or-treating and pumpkin pie. It’s about fun and indulgence.
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Colonel Glenn Health & Rehab is central Arkansas’ newest premier-skilled nursing and long-term care facility. Our skilled team is focused on serving you and your family with excellence.
LONG-TERM CARE
REHABILITATION
RESPITE CARE
13700 David O Dodd Rd, Little Rock, AR 72210 501.907.8200 • colonelglennhr.com 40
At Good Shepherd Nursing and Rehabilitation we are committed to providing the highest quality of patient care. Our qualified staff is here giving support for the tasks of day-to-day living, allowing for the enjoyment of more pleasant and carefree activities.
NURSING & REHABILITATION CENTER at
GOOD SHEPHERD Bobby Lamb, Administrator 3001 Aldersgate Road, Little Rock AR 72205 • Phone 501-217-9774 • Fax 501-217-9781 www.goodshepherdnr.com 41
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thanks for voting us best swimming pools in arkansas!
Elite Pools
by Aloha
501.758.7665 • 4721 Hillard Road • North Little Rock, Arkansas • alohapools.com
Thank You
To All of our Loyal Customers! Providing linens & elements for table top design for 40 years.
11121 N Rodney Parham, Ste 32B Little Rock ™
BRADFORDMARINE.COM
501-224-3133
partytimerentalandevents.com
Thank you for voting Little Rock Pediatric Clinic the Best Pediatric Clinic in the entire state of Arkansas!
L to R: Dr. Aaron Strong, Jennifer Murphree, APRN, Dr. Natalie Burr, Dr. Chad Rodgers
Doctors Building • 500 South University Avenue, Ste 400 • Little Rock, AR | 501.664.4044 • www.littlerockpediatricclinic.com
L to R: Dr. Josh O’Neill, Dr. Catherine Robben, Dr. Cheryl Ahart, Dr. Fred Levin • Newborn care at Baptist Health-Little Rock • Same day appointments for sick children • Well-care for birth through 18 • Sports and camp physicals • Lab services, including age-appropriate screenings • Care coordination services • Interpreter services on site, including American Sign Language and most languages • Developmental screenings through age 6
Separate waiting rooms for sick and well visits •••••• Pre-visit screening •••••• Telemedicine •••••• Mobile check-in and in-car waiting
• ADD/ADHD evaluations • Full range of immunizations • Flu shots • Phone nurse available during office hours • Patient portal • Online check-in and bill pay • Accept most insurance • Payment plans available • On-site billing and call center
J
2019, Jon Underhill Real Estate sold over $159,000,000 in residential sales. “While the company is known for selling high-end luxury homes, we want to be the real estate solution for every client in central Arkansas,” Harp says. The company’s mission is to employ a unique, specialized strategy to help each
on Underhill Real Estate is a full-service real estate company recognized as AY’s Best Real Estate Company for 2020. The company received the nod for Best Real Estate company as well as principal broker Brandy Harp being named AY’s Best Real Estate Agent. In 2018 and
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client succeed with their real estate investment, while always maintaining the highest level of professionalism, integrity and respect. “We set ourselves apart from the competition by being experts in every aspect of the process to help each client succeed with their real estate investment,� Harp says.
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Welcome to the team!
Y
Jesse D. Abeler, D.O.
Paul Edwards, M.D.
Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery
Hip & Knee Reconstructive Surgery
We’re pleased to announce the addition of Jesse Abeler, D.O. and Paul Edwards, M.D. Dr. Abeler is fellowship trained in orthopedic hand surgery, and specializes in treatments of the upper extremities (shoulder to fingertips), particularly in cases of degenerative changes and trauma. He has studied and researched a wide range of treatments for traumatic injuries to the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip and knee. Dr. Edwards specializes in the treatment of arthritis of the hip and knee. He performs hip and knee replacement surgery, including revisions for failed replacements. Dr. Edwards has received numerous awards, grants and accolades and participates in research studies to further improve the design and function of total joint replacement.
501.663.6455 or 501.771.1600 | bowenhefleyortho.com L I T T L E R O C K | N O R T H L I T T L E R O C K | J AC KS O N V I L L E | C A B OT | R U SS E L LV I L L E W H I T E H A L L | H OT S P R I N G S V I L L AG E
Following ADH guidelines with temp checks and masks required 46
In keeping with our tradition of providing First Class service in managing sanitation issues related to health concerns, we have created a subsidiary company to help fight the pandemic. Introducing:
Delta is honored to have been voted AY Magazine's Best Pest Control Company for 2020!! We want to thank our wonderful customers and employees for their outstanding support! We will continue to strive to deliver the very best termite and pest control services available to our customers.
Who can you trust to help you protect your loved ones and your assets from termites, roaches, mosquitoes, fire ants, bed bugs, wildlife and other pests? Over the past 44 years, Delta Pest Control has grown into one of the largest family-owned termite and pest control companies throughout Arkansas. We are accredited and licensed by the state of Arkansas. We also have a repair and remodeling division, with over 40 years of experience. So, whether it is a minor repair, termite damage repair, or an entire renovation, Delta can meet the construction needs of any client. AR license #024238052 For your FREE ESTIMATE call 1-888-894-8177 Email us from our website: https://deltapestcontrol.net or Message us on Facebook
The disinfectant we use is safe for use in your home, business, food service, office, restaurants, schools and virtually any other venue where sanitation might be required to keep the people in those places safe. For your FREE ESTIMATE call: 1-877-643-6960 Visit our website: www.deltapestcontrol.net Message us on Facebook
H AY N E S
Always Essential, Forever Helpful. Thank you AY magazine readers for voting our large gift shop the BEST GIFT SHOP IN ARKANSAS! 1085 Morningside Dr. • Conway AR
501-327-2400 • haynesace.com 47
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Thank you to the thousands of readers who chose Conway Regional as the best hospital in a field of worthy nominees. We are incredibly honored to be named the 2020 Best Hospital in Arkansas by readers of AY Magazine. Additionally, many others in the Conway Regional family were recognized as the best in their respective category. Best Hospital: Conway Regional Health System Best Overall Company: Conway Regional Health System Person of the Year: Matt Troup Best Nurse Practitioner: Meghan Mallett, APRN Best Place to Have a Baby: Conway Regional Health System Best Sports Medicine Clinic: Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center Best Fitness Center/Gym: Conway Regional Health & Fitness Center Conway Regional is committed to bringing you innovative services, new clinics, more specialists, and expanded access to care. We’re not just growing—we’re growing together.
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HEALTH Allergy Clinic Arkansas Allergy & Asthma Clinic Assisted Living Facility Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Audiology Clinic Miracle-Ear Best Spa Ava Bella Day Spa Cardiology Arkansas Heart Hospital Chiropractic Clinic Blackmon Chiropractic Cosmetic Dentist Dr. D.J. Dailey, Smile Dailey
Suzanne Yee.
Cosmetic Surgeon Suzanne Yee, M.D., Cosmetic & Laser Surgery Dental Practice Heathman Family and Cosmetic Dentistry
Family Practice Little Rock Family Practice Clinic
In-Home Care Elder Independence Home Care
Gastroenterology Clinic Premier Gastroenterology
Massage Therapist Rejuvenation Clinic & Day Spa
Hair Salon OOH La La Salon
Dermatology Clinic Arkansas Dermatology
Hospital Conway Regional Health System
Best Doctor-Owned Hospital Arkansas Surgical Hospital
Medical Spa/Nonsurgical Cosmetic Clinic Sei Bella Med Spa Memory Care Facility Salem Place Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
The OOH La La Salon team.
Mental Health Facility The BridgeWay Neurosurgery CHI St. Vincent, Arkansas Neuroscience Institute Shelly York, Miracle-Ear.
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Nurse Practitioner Meghan Mallett, APRN, Conway Regional Nursing Home Superior Health and Rehab
OB/GYN Cornerstone Clinic for Women Oncologist Lawrence Mendelsohn, M.D., CARTI Cancer Center Ophthalmology Clinic McFarland Eye Care The Bowen Hefley Orthopedics team.
Optometrist McFarland Eye Care Orthodontist Phelan Orthodontics Orthopedic Group Bowen Hefley Orthopedics Orthopedist William F. Hefley Jr., M.D., FAAOS Pain Center Advanced Spine and Pain Centers Pediatric Clinic Little Rock Pediatric Clinic
Pediatric Dentist Kitchens’ Pediatric Dentistry Physical Therapist Debbie Williamson, MSPT, Bowen Hefley Orthopedics Place to Have a Baby Conway Regional Health System Plastic Surgeon Michael Spann, M.D., Little Rock Plastic Surgery Prosthetics/Ocularist Snell Prosthetics & Orthotics
Three Fold Noodles + Dumpling Co.
William F. Hefley Jr.
Radiology Company Radiology Associates, P.A. (RAPA)
Local Women’s Clothing Indigo
Retirement Community Presbyterian Village
DINING
Sports Medicine Clinic Conway Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center Surgeon Ali Krisht, M.D., FACS Urology Clinic Arkansas Urology
Asian Fusion Three Fold Noodles + Dumpling Co. Bakery Community Bakery BBQ Whole Hog Café Breakfast The Buttered Biscuit
CLOTHING Local Men’s Clothing Gearhead Outfitters
The Buttered Biscuit.
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BEST G.I. Clinic In Arkansas
PREMIER GASTROENTEROLOGY Thank you to our patients, staff and everyone who played a part in our selection this year as the “Best G.I. Clinic in Arkansas!” At Premier, our patients are more than just “a name on a chart.” Medical expertise should go hand in hand with compassionate care, and we take great pride in providing our patients and their families with the personal attention they deserve. Premier is known for treating patients with kindness, empathy and attentiveness — attributes that go a long way in putting you at ease and making your experience at Premier Gastroenterology a great one.
You are going to love being a part of the Premier family.
10915 N Rodney Parham Road, | Little Rock, AR 72212 501.747.2828 | www.pgalr.com
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THANK YOU ARKANSAS!
501-327-2255 | MOIXRV.COM
Simmons Bank is proud to help make dream homes come true. Thank you to AY for naming us “Best Mortgage Lender.” For more than 100 years, we’ve been committed to helping our customers make their financial dreams come true.
Subject to credit approval. 54
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AY Readers for voting us the Best Nursing Home in Arkansas!
When considering a facility for short-term rehabilitation services, families want the best they can get for their loved ones, and they have to look no further than Superior Health and Rehab in Conway.
Our rehabilitation gym offers state-of-the art rehab designed to get our residents back to their prior functional level, regain their self-reliance and facilitate a return to home as quickly as possible.
625 Tommy Lewis Drive • Conway, AR• 501-585-6800 • superiorhrc.com 55
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Thank you for making Arkansas Urology the Best in 2020!
ARKANSAS HEART HOSPITAL WAS NAMED AMONG THE TOP SIX HOSPITALS FOR CARDIOLOGY IN THE COUNTRY – AND ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD – BY NEWSWEEK. BUT WE ARE ESPECIALLY PROUD TO BE VOTED BEST CARDIOLOGY HERE AT HOME. THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING US WITH YOUR CARDIOLOGY CARE!
We’re proud to provide world-class health care across the state of Arkansas.
ARHeart.com
ArkansasUrology.com
Thank you for letting us help protect you. We are honored to be voted the best insurance firm in Arkansas by AY Readers!
BROOKE BROLO
(501) 945-0899
3 Locations 1 Agency
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iq L st e d B e t Vo
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16900 Chenal Pkwy Suite 130 Little Rock, AR 72223 (501) 821-3700 LegacyLR.com
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Thank you for voting Little Rock Family Practice Clinic Best Family Practice in Arkansas!
LITTLE ROCK FAMILY PRACTICE provides patients with comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical services in a family-oriented environment. Our offerings blend personal care with the latest technology to provide the highest quality of patient care and preventative services to enhance well-being for your entire family.
PERSONAL CARE FOR A
BETTER WELL BEING
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Central Clinic
701 N. University, Suite 100 (501)664-4810
West Clinic
4208 N. Rodney Parham (501)228-7200
Visit our website!
www.lrfpc.com
1 Pleasant Valley Dr. Little Rock, AR pleasantvalleycountryclub.net 501-225-5622
P
leasant Valley Country Club, a sprawling sanctuary located in the heart of West Little Rock, offers members and guests memorable experiences and top quality golf play.
Thank you AY readers for choosing PVCC as winner in Best Golf Course category!
We are so proud to be awarded wedding venue in Arkansas.
best
Thanks and love from all of us at Rusty Tractor Vineyards
10 Rusty Tractor Ln. | Little Rock | 501.916.2294
OOH La La Salon This is our Style.
Thank You for voting us the Best Hair Salon in Arkansas! 14710 Cantrell Road, Little Rock (501) 868-4111 • oohlalasalonsite.net 61
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THANK YOU
Rise & Shine Litlle R
AY Magazine readers for choosing Lost Forty Brewing as BEST BREWPUB and BEST BRUNCH in the state!
ock!
Join us for A rkansas's fav orite All-Day Brew hous e Be er B reakfast e v e r y Su n
day 10am - 9p
m
ARKANSAS’S AWARD WINNING BREWERY
LOST FORTY IS MADE & SOLD ONLY IN ARKANSAS @Lost40Beer • Lost40Brewing.com Join us for dine-in, patio, take-away, or curbside brunch every Sunday!
Thank You
FOR VOTING FOR US!
BLACKMON CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC
Best Chiropractic Clinic in Arkansas
CHIROPRACTIC CARE • CORRECTIVE EXERCISES LIFESTYLE ADVICE • NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING • SPINAL & POSTURAL SCREENINGS • PHYSIOTHERAPY • MASSAGE THERAPY
7000 CANTRELL RD., LITTLE ROCK, AR 72207 501-663-4101 • WWW.BLACKMONCHIROPRACTIC.COM 62
Thousands of gowns sizes 0-34 | Special Plus Size Boutique Area Personal Consultant for Each Bride SEMI-ANNUAL ½ PRICE SALE 2020 Winter Sale Starting December 1, 2020 2021 Summer Sale Starting June 8, 2021 TM
TM
BRINKLEY, ARKANSAS Appointment Required // Visit lowsbridal.com
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Thank you for voting Richard Harp Homes the #1 home builder in Arkansas!
RICHARD HARP HOMES
richardharphomes.com | 501.690.4277 RichardHarpHomes
I’m so honored by your votes. Thank you so much! - Jackie
e used as a background element in the tone-on-tone style. This can be used in headline eas of solid colors but should be light and not distracting. A good rule of thumb is to have he swirl at 30%. Do not skew or rotate the swirl.
Best Nurse Practitioner Jaclyn Piasta
Board Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with over 10 years experience in OB/GYN care. Specializing in holistic gynecology with a focus on hormone and menopausal management.
9500 Baptist Health Dr Suite 100 • Little Rock, AR 72205 www.cornerstoneclinicforwomen.com • 501.224.5500
THANK
YOU
AY Magazine Readers Vote Gary Houston Electric Company
Best Electrical Company in Arkansas!
ents
501-375-8330 garyhoustonelectric.com 66
Shelly C. York, BC-HIS
HEARING A BETTER DAY CAN START TODAY.
THANK YOU! Voted Best Audiology Clinic in Arkansas
501-227-4327 miracle-ear.com
One pass
LASER TREATMENT FOR SCARS, STRETCH MARKS AND PHOTOREJUVENATION
is all it takes!
The Resurfx non-ablative fractional laser emits precise columns of heat energy into the skin to stimulate new collagen growth and retexture the skin. The controlled heat laser delivery has been used for decades in dermatology to trigger the body to “repair” the skin, leading to collagen production. Stimulating new collagen production is the key to more radiant, youthful looking skin.
THANK YOU FOR VOTING FOR US! Schedule your ResurFX treatment today! Anne R. Trussell MD • 10310 West Markham, Suite 202 • Little Rock
501.228.6237 • seibellamedspa.net
Even in the midst of uncertainty, Presbyterian Village offers a healthy, safe and joyful environment for our residents. aymag.com
• Meal delivery and snack cart to residents’ rooms • Online shopping, pickup and delivery • Short term rehab with private room available • Small group and individual activities daily 510 N. Brookside Drive Little Rock, AR
(501) 225-1615 INDEPENDENT LIVING UNITS NOW AVAILABLE
Take a virtual tour online today at presbyvillage.org! 67
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Hot Springs
CHI St. Vincent offers the highest level of care and compassion integrated with comprehensive specialty programs in trauma, heart care, orthopedics, neurosurgery, oncology, colorectal surgery, urogynecology and more to the people of central Arkansas.
Thanks to the community for recognizing us as an AY Best of 2020! Best Neurosurgery | Best Oncologist, Dr. Brad Baltz | Best Pain Center | Best Surgeon, Dr. Ali Krisht
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WE ARE CELEBRATING 100 YEARS IN BUSINESS STOREWIDE DISCOUNTS!
Canyon Timbers
Hargrove’s Radiant Heat series vented log sets allow you to have the most realistic looking log set with all of the heat you want.
Come by and speak with our experts about your fireplace needs.
Thank You for Voting Congo Fireplace & Patio the Best in Outdoor Living in Arkansas! Family Owned and Operated Since 1920
19650 I-30, Benton •
congofp.com •
501.316.4328
Seen here: Gingerbread Brûlée, A sophisticated gourmand fragrance with notes of Ginger, Marshmallow, Cinnamon, Clove and Vanilla
We appreciate you voting Aromatique as the Best Arkansas Handmade Products! www.aromatique.com 501.362.7511 71
aromatiqueinc aymag.com
CLASSIC LOG CABINS • Luxury, Group and Family Cabins Available • Charming Interiors • Modern Amenities
CLASSIC BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER ADVENTURES • One Day & Multi Day Float Trips • Canoe and Kayak Rentals • Raft Rentals • Hiking and Biking Excursions • Shuttle Services and More
BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION
buffaloriveroutfitters@gmail.com
(870) 439-2200
9664 Highway 65 N. | St. Joe, Arkansas
BuffaloRiverOutfitters.com 72
We are here for you and your loved ones even in these unexpected times. We understand COVID-19 has drastically impacted our community in many different ways. It's times like these that we must look after one another.
Thank You
AY Readers for the honor to be the Best Senior Care Provider in Arkansas!
With our senior population at higher risk, we want to provide quality support and peace of mind for families to ensure good health and safety for all. Contact us for safe and reliable home care services. • Provide one-on-one care while in a skilled nursing, assisted living or in-home setting. • Offer transitional care from hospital or rehab to home. • Give comfort to family members knowing their loved one is safe and their necessities are being met.
(501) 847-6102
www.ElderIndependence.com 74
Thank you for voting Gina’s Catering Best Caterer in Arkansas!
Gina Simpson Chef and Owner
Gina’s Catering ranges in services from take home family meals and corporate events to large social gatherings.
501-943-7800
5550 Village Drive • Benton ginacaters.com 75
aymag.com
YOU’LL FIND THE BEST AT
OUR HOSPITAL AY Magazine’s Best of 2020! Thank you, Arkansas, for voting Dr. William Hefley, Jr. as Best Orthopedist and Arkansas Surgical Hospital as Best Doctor-Owned Hospital! For 15 years, Arkansas Surgical Hospital has been a trusted resource for patients and their families as they seek safe, high-quality treatments for orthopedic and spine issues. Thank you for recognizing our hospital and its physician owners as among the best Arkansas has to offer—year after year.
Physician Owned. Patient Focused. 866-260-0542
| w w w.arksurgicalhospital.com
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Advanced Alarm Technologies (501) 316-0173
Experience the Wilson’s Difference
Thank you for voting us AY ’s Best Siding and Windows of 2020!
Thanks for voting Capitol Glass
BEST AUTO GLASS REPAIR in Arkansas!
Established in 1950, Capitol Glass Company Inc is the oldest locally-owned and operated glass company in the Little Rock area.
501-350-7430
9325 Ferndale Cut Off Rd • Little Rock 77
501.374.6422
capitolglassinc.com
801 S Broadway, Little Rock
aymag.com
NURSING & REHABILITATION LIVING PROFILE
Briarwood Nursing and Rehab is a 120-bed skilled facility located in an urban setting within the heart of Little Rock, in the neighborhood of Briarwood. We are located just minutes from downtown Little Rock and are only one block off interstate 630. We provide long-term care and short-term rehab care. All residents are monitored throughout the day with assistance in providing daily care as is needed: bathing, dressing, feeding and providing medications. Briarwood staff also work at ensuring the best care for residents through individual care plans of residents' needs, as well as daily activities, which allow for a variety of interests and abilities. Nearly all - 98 percent - of our rehab residents return to the community as a result of positive, caring therapists. Briarwood's approach has provided healing to many people in the community. At Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, we are committed to ensuring that the best possible care is given to you or your loved one in an atmosphere that is calm, quiet and focused on healing. We endeavor to ensure that all aspects of your well-being — mental, physical and spiritual — are cared for in a peaceful and safe environment. Our staff strive to promote dignity, respect, and independence as much as possible, in a beautiful, soothing enviornment that was designed with our residents' comfort in mind. Briarwood's service-rich environment is made possible by its dedicated staff, from our nursing staff and therapists, to our operations and administrative employees. At Briarwood, our residents enjoy three generations of staff and families. That is over 30 years of service to the community!
501.224.9000 • 516 S. Rodney Parham Rd., Little Rock • briarwoodnursingandrehab.com 78
Thank you for voting YGFBFKitchen Mobile Food & Catering as the winner of AY’s Best of 2020 - Food Truck! Even though we are not in our Food Truck and we have upgraded to our new restaurant, we will continue to provide the freshest and quality food you have come to love! Come visit us at our downtown Conway location - 812 Chestnut St.
Thank you AY readers for voting us BEST ARCHITECT! We are proud to have served our community and state for over 45 years.
A R C H I T E C T S 600 Main Street, Suite 300 North Little Rock, AR www.taggarch.com (501) 758-7443
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Shadow s
AT
T. Sixth S
AN ELEVATED
DRIVE
Drive Through Thrills! Halloween Chills! Join us for a family-friendly, haunted drive-thru event in Downtown Little Rock. Watch from the comfort of your car
HALLOWEEN
THRU
October 9 - 31, 2020 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sunday - Thursday 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Friday and Saturday For more information visit DowntownLR.com or LittleRockZoo.com
as you experience multiple floors of thrilling Arkansas folklore unfold in the shadows at 6th and Scott St.
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THANK YOU ARKANSAS! You voted Roots the best new restaurant in Arkansas of 2020!
RO OT S
KITCHEN CULTURE COMMUNITY 303 S Main Street, Downtown Jonesboro, AR 72401
870-336-1212 | www.rootsrestaurant303.com
We are
wild PRIDE WITH
Thank you
for voting us
best attraction!
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Specializing In
Window Tint • Paint Protection Film
Custom Vinyl Stripes • Full Vehicle Detail Other Accessories and Services are available.
501-225-9494 12601 W Markham St Little Rock. AR
Located on West Markham Street in Little Rock, Parker Auto Accessories is one of central Arkansas’ favorite shops for car customization.
Our readers are hungry. 152,775 AY print readers plan to dine out or look for entertainment per month.
you Little Rock and Tallhaournkfriends, including AY, for your continued support and loyalty that has made our success possible!
arthursprimesteakhouse.com | oceanslittlerock.com
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SHORT-TERM REHAB, LONG TERM CARE & RESPITE SERVICES We specialize in Short-Term Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care services. From the moment you enter our facility, we want you to experience the difference our facility has to offer. From our light-filled common area to our beautiful outdoor patios, we want you and your loved one to feel comfortable and safe when staying with us.
#3 CHENAL HEIGHTS DRIVE, LITTLE ROCK, AR n 501.830.2273 84
n
HICKORYHEIGHTSHR.COM
Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• SHORT-TERM REHABILITATION • LONG-TERM CARE • RESPITE SERVICES
Russellville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is nestled in the heart of the River Valley in Russellville, Arkansas. Our staff provides skilled professional care in a compassionate and supportive atmosphere. Russellville Nursing & Rehabilitation Center not only provides long-term care services, we also offer a wide range of rehabilitative services. Our physicians, nurses and staff all believe strong relationships with residents and their families is essential to the healing process. The entire staff is devoted to providing quality care, which celebrates the dignity and grace of every single resident.
Winner of the
GOVERNOR’S QUALITY AWARD FOR 2019
215 S. PORTLAND AVE. RUSSELLVILLE, AR 85
479-968-5256 • russellvillenr.com aymag.com
Salem Place NURSING & REHABILITATION, INC
You must approve this artwork before production will begin. Send approval with order number to service@moxyox.com
479.419.5879 moxyox.com
Salem Place offers Memory Care for your loved one with cognitive decline, dementia or Alzheimer’s, including dedicated male and female units. Version 2.1 | 1.16.20
Our facility fe residents, as w 42-inch flat sc and friend conv with 23 priv • Dedicated Male and Female Memory Care Observation Units • Proactive approach • Person-centered
• Focus on strengths vs. individual decits
2600 Park Ave
2401 Christina Lane | Conway, Arkansas 72034 | Phone: 501.327.4421 | Fax: 501.329.8997 www.salemplacerehab.com | We accept: Medicaid, Medicare, Private Pay. 86
Hot Springs’ newest, premier skilled nursing and long term care facility.
features all private rooms for o well as, private short term reha screen televisions and telephon onvenience. We have Our facility features all private rooms fora ourdedicate long term residents, as well as, private short term rehab rooms with 42-inch flat screen televisions telephones for family private rooms andandan enclosed c
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and friend convenience. We have a dedicated secure unit with 23 private rooms and an enclosed courtyard.
Ave | Hot Springs, AR 71901 | 5 2600 Park Ave | Hot Springs, AR 71901 | 501.321.4276
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A FIRST-CLASS TIME ... EVERY TIME ... FOR 60 YEARS.
TH
ANNIVERSA
RY
Thank you, AY readers, for voting us BestYRSResort ! 65
For the past 60 years, there’s been one name in trout fishing, and that’s Gaston’s. We’ve got everything you need for a family vacation, romantic getaway or group gathering, year-round. From world-class trout fishing to fine dining and drinks to just watching the river roll by, Gaston’s gets it right, every time.
TH
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Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa on Lake Ouachita 870-867-2191 • 800-832-2276 • MountainHarborResort.com Premier Lodging • Full Service Marina • Lake View Dining • Turtle Cove Spa
1777 River Road Lakeview, AR 72642 870-431-5202 Email gastons@gastons.com Lat 36 20’ 55” N Long 92 33’ 25” W Follow us on
www.gastons.com
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THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING When you buy a hunting and
ARKANSAS GAME
AND
FISH COMMISSION
Licenses and Permits
fishing license, you are giving the gift of the great outdoors. Hunting and fishing licenses fund conservation, so that Bo Archer
wildlife and wild places are
CID: #000-000-001 HE Verified DOB: 05/24/1972
available for everyone to enjoy.
BUY A GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR A HUNTING OR FISHING LICENSE AT AGFC.COM
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CABOT HEALTH & REHAB, LLC
is a skilled nursing facility offering resident-centered care in a convenient and quiet location. Cabot Health & Rehab, LLC is located in beautiful Cabot, AR near the city center, medical offices and hospitals. Our team consists of licensed nurses, physicians, therapists and other medical specialists who believe in building strong relationships with our residents and their families. We believe this is essential to the healing process.
ACCOMMODATIONS & SERVICES
Cabot Health & Rehab, LLC offers both semi-private and private rooms (when available). Our staff is dedicated to ensuring that our residents are provided a robust activity calendar, a superior dining experience in a warm, family-like setting. When recuperation and convalescence is needed, our staff works as a multi-disciplinary team to develop a comprehensive rehabilitation program to facilitate a return to home.
health &
C si n
ce
ab reh
cabo t
REHABILITATION
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CABOT HEALTH & REHAB, LLC 200 North Port Drive Cabot, AR 72023 Phone 501-843-6181 Fax 501-843-6736
When indicated, our team of therapists work with residents to customize a rehabilitation program which can include physical, occupational and speech therapy with a focus on improving mobility, endurance, safety and facilitating a return to home. A tailored treatment plan will allow residents to recapture health and an independent lifestyle when possible. The enrichment of daily physical function can significantly improve a resident’s self-reliance and overall happiness.
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Best of
2018
When you you walk walk into into the the Robinson Robinson Nursing Nursing && Rehabilitation Rehabilitation Center Center you you will will feel feel aa comfortable comfortable atmosphere atmosphere different different When from any other facility you have visited. We feature tall ceilings and an open floor plan. We have a lovely dining room and from any other facility you have visited. We feature tall ceilings and an open floor plan. We have a lovely dining room and a covered outdoor patio area. a covered outdoor patio area. We specialize specialize in in short-term short-term rehabilitation rehabilitation and and long-term long-term care care services. services. The The short-term short-term rehabilitation rehabilitation area area has has its its own own We diningarea areaand andday dayroom. room.From Fromthe themoment momentyou youenter enterour ourfacility, facility,we wewant wantyou youto toexperience experiencethe thedifference differenceour ourfacility facilityhas has dining to offer. offer. From From our our light-filled light-filled day day areas areas to to our our beautiful beautiful outdoor outdoor areas, areas, we we want want you you and and your your loved loved one one to to feel feel comfortable comfortable to and safe safe when when staying staying with with us. us. You You will will also also notice notice the the pride pride we we take take in in our our facility facility by by keeping keeping our our building building sparkling sparkling clean clean and from the the inside inside out. out. from Our team team isis dedicated dedicated to to providing providing aa safe safe and and comfortable comfortable environment. environment. Robinson Robinson Nursing Nursing and and Rehab Rehab offers offers modern modern Our conveniencesin inaagracious gracioussetting. setting.We Weprovide providedaily dailyplanned plannedactivities activitiesled ledbybyCertified certifiedActivity activityDirectors, directors, like like social social events events conveniences and outings outings and and pastoral pastoral services services with with spiritual spiritual care care for for all all religions. religions. We We strongly strongly encourage encourage family family participation participation in in group group and activities, meals meals and and celebrating celebrating family family birthdays birthdays and and special special days. days. activities, To help help you you plan plan your your visits, visits, we we provide provide aa monthly monthly event event calendar calendar and and aa monthly monthly meal meal planner. planner. Robinson Robinson Nursing Nursing and and To Rehab does does not not have have set set visiting visiting hours. hours. We We view view this this facility facility as as the the “home” “home” of of each each resident. resident. Rehab We try try our our best best to to communicate communicate with with patients patients and and families families to to help help alleviate alleviate the the anxiety anxiety that that accompanies accompanies this this journey. journey. We Our team of nurses, therapists and support staff work closely together to develop a plan based on the individual needs of Our team of nurses, therapists and support staff work closely together to develop a plan based on the individual needs of each person. We recognize that rehabilitation involves not only the patient but the entire family. each person. We recognize that rehabilitation involves not only the patient,
501.753.9003 •• 519 519 Donovan Donovan Briley Briley Boulevard, Boulevard, NLR NLR •• www.robinsonnr.com www.robinsonnr.com 501.753.9003
Family
REUNION
Photo from the 2019 festival.
By Dwain Hebda Photos by Paul Henry (RMHC)
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE LOOMS BRIGHT AND CHEERY, OUTLINED AGAINST THE ROBIN’S EGG SKY OF AN ARKANSAS AUTUMN.
T
he house stands sentinel over Arkansas Children’s Hospital right across the street and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) a couple of miles up the road, offering solace and shelter to parents of sick children. Meals and lodging are offered free or at a pittance; the love is always on the house. “This is a special place, unlike any other place,” says Shelbie Hart, who’s been here a total of 63 days with her husband,
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Spencer, as their 7-month-old daughter, Reese, receives treatment across the street. There’s a playfulness at Ronald McDonald House, given the underlying focus is children. Primary colors, squeaky-clean rooms and sparkling windows are everywhere you look, anchored by those things that make a home — a large fireplace, a warm dining room. There’s even a family dog, Mac the Doodle, officially on payroll as Director of Smiles.
Shelbie and Spencer Hart.
“
The thing that’s been the greatest blessing of Ronald McDonald House is it’s taken away everything else that would have been a worry or a fear.
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“[The staff have] come to feel like family to us, because we haven’t had our family here,” Hart says. “We’ll stand down in the lobby and talk with them every morning. That’s been nice. They check in on us; they ask how Reese is doing.” But there’s something else here these days, a yawning emptiness that’s foreign to this happy place. Normally buzzing with activity and people, the house is eerily quiet. Here and there, a parent makes his or her way to the coffee machine, and you can hear the liquid hit the cup from across the dining room. Hart talks softly, but her voice is amplified in the near-empty common area. “Pre-COVID, in February and March, this place was full of people, full of life,” she says, looking around. “There were [volunteers] coming in, cooking meals, just making you feel like you were at home. And now, because of COVID, they can’t do that.” Janell Mason, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Arkansas, describes herself as the staff ’s “cheerleader,” but she’s not fooling anybody. Even with a mask on, the emptynest syndrome brought on by operating the home in the era of COVID-19 is spelled out in her eyes. “March 11, the whole staff and I were at an awards banquet, laughing and hugging each other,” she says. “Then, literally, all the blocks tumbled the next day. And that Friday, we closed our house to volunteers. The next week, we received guidelines from RMHC Global that asked every house to pause admitting new families. At that point, we were full with 32 families here. So as those families checked out, our numbers dwindled.
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“
If I got overwhelmed at the hospital, this was somewhere I could come and kind of revamp and take some time for myself and just breathe. Away from alarms going off and pumps beeping.
Ella.
“On March 21, we were told to temporarily suspend our Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, which is our free mobile dental program. Our Ronald McDonald Family Room, that we had just opened six weeks prior at UAMS in the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit], was paused. We had to close it; we didn’t get to let people cycle out because UAMS had gone into serious lockdown.” Mason’s tenure dates back to before the five-story, 32,000-squarefoot home opened four years ago. Moving here was cause for celebration, but even on day one, the house never felt as big and empty as today. “We ended up without families here for two weeks. Completely empty at the end of May,” she says. “It was so sad for our staff; we never envisioned this house empty. It was difficult.” Of course, childhood illness hasn’t taken a breather for the coronavirus. As the place reopened on a limited basis, getting into Ronald McDonald House was still a godsend for parents, albeit fewer of them. Currently just five of the house’s 32 suites are occupied, one by Marissa Perryman and her daughters, Kami, 4, and Ella, 3. Ella is a living teddy bear, all round cheeks, sparkling eyes and giggles. She was born with half a heart, so much of her life has been spent in doctor’s offices and hospitals, undergoing two heart surgeries in the first two weeks of life and another at about six months. When those failed, her doctors in Oklahoma City started calling for help, with only Arkansas Children’s Hospital saying, “Bring her in.” On April 1, she got a new heart, after 201 days on the transplant waiting list. “September 5 was a year that we were here,” Perryman says as the girls play in a nearby toy room. “So, almost 13 months being in Little
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Rock and about 14 months total being in the hospital and away from home. I’m hoping we don’t have to do this anymore.” When Perryman arrived in town, conditions were such that parents weren’t allowed to leave the hospital — for fear of what they might bring back with them — so she literally lived in the ward for two months before being allowed to move into Ronald McDonald House. Siblings are currently not allowed, but the staff gained her a waiver letting Kami to join her mother after months of living with her grandparents in Oklahoma. The sisters’ happy voices echo as their mother tries to put the house into words. “Over here, they have extremely comfortable beds and a bath so you can relax,” she says. “If I got overwhelmed at the hospital, this was somewhere I could come and kind of revamp and take some time for myself and just breathe. Away from alarms going off and pumps beeping and all those nurses running in and out of the room constantly and medical stuff 24/7. This was the only place I had to take a break, so it was very nice to have.” Talking about the organization and the medical ordeal, which was finally to end in September when they could go home, Marissa folds and unfolds her hands such that the muscles of her forearm make a black-and-gray anatomical heart tattoo appear to pump. Just like Ella’s. “Families in situations like mine ...” she says, looking off through the bright windows. “I’m a single mom. Their dad isn’t around for anything. I wasn’t working. I was staying in the hospital five hours away from home. I had no support system whatsoever. This house was my
only place to take a break. To have food and beds and water and electricity. To have somewhere to go.” People mistakenly assume the name over the door of any Ronald McDonald House is also where it gets its funding. In fact, the vast majority of annual operating funds for each house is raised independently of corporate or franchisee contributions. Like most nonprofits, Ronald McDonald House was forced to cancel its fundraising events or convert them to a digital format. The notable exception was the group’s annual charity golf outing, which broke records for attendance, a reminder of how much the community values the organization. Still, the matter of funding hangs thick and heavy in every planning session among Mason, her team and her board. “Within two weeks, we had about $35,000 worth of events cancel,” Mason says. “That was a real eye-opener, and that was [in the] middle of April. We really didn’t grasp what that was going to look like moving forward. Right away, we saw donations drop off. Everybody’s scrambling and focusing on their own families and their companies and their livelihoods.” The group got busy rethinking their approach to fundraising, in a way that showed empathy to what many donor families were going through in the pandemic. “We looked at how one person out there can help one person here,” she says. “We asked supporters, ‘Would you donate $5 to sponsor a meal for a parent waiting in the hospital?’ Or, ‘Could you donate $10 to sponsor a family to stay here for one night?’ We didn’t ask people to fix the whole scenario.” By such dribs and drabs, the funding situation began to levelize, but it’s hardly righted itself or begun to move forward. Yet the need persists, and so the team forges ahead, serving people like the Harts of Fort Smith. “It’s extremely overwhelming. No parent wants to see their child hooked up to 20 different machines making sure they stay alive. The emotions are high,” Spencer Hart says. “The thing that’s been the greatest blessing of Ronald McDonald House is it’s taken away everything else that would have been a worry or a fear. “We don’t have to worry about where we’re sleeping tonight. We don’t have to worry about what we’re eating tonight. We don’t have to worry if we’re going to have clean clothes. We’re able to focus solely on our daughter and making sure she gets our full attention, our full love, and she gets the care she needs.” The Harts hope to be back home by Halloween, home to loved ones, some of whom have never seen Reese in person. But there’s no guarantee that will happen. In the meantime, Ronald McDonald House allows the young family to focus on what matters most, including the lighter moments where the walls fall away, the medical instruments hush and they are like any other couple, marveling at their first child. “We miss our family. We miss our friends. Our hearts ache,” Shelbie says. “This go around, we were not able to hold her for many, many weeks because she was intubated. Not hearing her cry or any typical baby things was really, really hard. You’re just sitting there looking at her.
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Marissa and Ella.
“Then yesterday was the first day she’s laughed and smiled in 42 days. It was amazing! You forget what it’s like because she’s been trapped in a little bed for so long, just medicated. I have it on video, and we sent a mass text to everyone. It was the best thing ever. We all needed that.”
1501 W. 10th St. Little Rock, AR 72202 (501) 374-1956 www.rmhcarkansas.org
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2020 DIAMOND JOURNALISM AWARDS
AY Media Group is proud of those staff members recognized in the 2020 SPJ Diamond Journalism Awards, which honor the state’s top journalists.
Dustin Jayroe, AY Editor WINNER - HEALTH (Magazine)
Mark Carter, AMP Editor WINNER – SPORTS (Magazine)
AY Nurturing Change
AMP Business is Booming: Trey Biddy and Hawgsports
FINALIST - COLUMNS (Magazine)
FINALIST - POLITICS (Magazine)
AMP Civility Now
Tyler Hale, Online Editor WINNER – STEM (Magazine) AMP Augmenting Her Reality
FINALIST - NEWS (Magazine)
AMP Bypassing Purple
Rebecca Robertson, Production Manager FINALIST DESIGN (Magazine)
AMP Arkansas Farmers Bracing for Flood’s Economic Aftermath
Dwain Hebda, Contributor FINALIST FEATURE (Magazine) AY Y’all Pray Well AY Surviving A Stroke: A Love Story
@cokerhampton 218 South Main Street Stuttgart
Lisa Fischer, Editor-At-Large FINALIST HEALTH (Magazine) AY Decoding Dyslexia: A Mother’s Perseverance
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AY About You is proud to present the list of 2020 Intriguing Women, which features some of Arkansas’ brightest minds, boldest visionaries and most passionate leaders from all four corners of the Natural State. Every year, our Intriguing Women section serves as a celebration of all things women. As a woman-led organization, we understand and appreciate first-hand the value of women in and out of the workplace. This list is a compilation of what intriguing women exhibit: brains, brawn, tenacity and tenderness. From physicians to philanthropists and bankers to wildlife experts, this diverse landscape of glass-ceiling-shattering ladies is proof that women can do anything they set their minds to.
Here is your 2020 Class of Intriguing Women. Some Q&As have been edited for length and clarity. Photos by JAMISON MOSLEY // Makeup and Hair by KAKKI JONES
2020
TRACIE J. KELLEY
President & CEO, KellCo Custom Homes Inc., Energy Air Inc., KellCo Real Estate Inc. From a successful national competitive fitness professional to her current occupation of CEO for three companies, Tracie Kelley has set the bar high for herself and for her businesses. This determination and fire has rewarded her as becoming one of Central Arkansas’ most recognized custom home builders and real estate professionals. Both personally and professionally, Kelley prides herself on positivity and an attitude of altruism.
Best Part of Your Day
I absolutely treasure my passions in all aspects of what I am able to accomplish and the many opportunities that it affords me to share my heart. I dive into the overall desires of my clients’ needs, and best of all, maintain a clear focus of exactly why it is that I am able to do what I do.
Surprising Fact
Chocolate is not my go-to, and diamonds aren’t my best friend.
Favorite Part of Your Job
I help empower other people in many aspects of their lives, daily.
Remember Me For
Being real! I am fiercely faithful, a brave and bold soul, and I am adamant that family comes before business. I love a good challenge and hope never to be underestimated.
Most Admirable Quality in Women
I admire a strong woman who carries a positive attitude. A woman who has balance in her life and is able to overcome obstacles. Someone who is strong-minded, independent and driven by a cause, while maintaining a soft-hearted and compassionate approach to reach beyond our cookie-cutter lives and make a difference in the lives of others. Strong women build other women and rejoice in their successes, as opposed to seeing others as a threat.
Personal Motto
It does not occur to me that I can’t do it!
Advice to Others
Finding a balance between nurturing a healthy, loving family and maintaining a powerful career is possible. Lean in and focus on the decisions that cultivate a life that makes you happy with courage, dedication and perseverance. Share your happiness with everyone but be quick to protect it from those who choose to do it wrong or try to uproot it. Strive-not for perfection, but to be the best version of yourself you can possibly be. Be your own. It will be well worth it.
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AMY LANGSTON Regional Director, BelFlex Staffing Network WARREN BOUDREAUX’S GRILL & BAR As a leader, Amy Langston does more than just help people find a job. She encourages people to find their path and often helps them change their life for the better. Langston is also a mom to three daughters, a wife of 20 years and a traveler who loves to explore the outdoors.
First Big Break
I interviewed for a temporary position at Premier Staffing in 2008 and was asked if I’d ever thought of being a recruiter. I was immediately intrigued and later hired. I fell in love and knew I’d found my place.
Best Part of Your Day
Knowing that I just changed someone’s life with a new career opportunity never gets old. Seeing those placements exceed the expectations of the role and growth within the company with the company is even better.
Favorite Part of Your Job
I love encouraging others to find their path. To me, recruiting is more than finding a person to do a job. It is about getting someone out of a bad situation, offering hope in new financial resources, putting food on the table, or funding someone’s higher education. That is what recruiting means to me — we change lives every day.
Remember Me For
I hope I’m remembered for encouraging my teams to push harder each day and unlock their full potential. I hope I’ve been a positive influence to someone and made them smile.
Most Admirable Quality in Women
Inclusion. I think women who include others show their ability to adapt because if we only partner with people who are just like us, our surroundings become boring.
Person You Admire Most
My mom, because she encouraged me to be the woman I am today. My dad passed from cancer when I was six, so she worked two to three jobs at times to put food on the table and ensure I had life necessities.
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CAROLYN COBB Executive Broker, Coldwell Banker RPM Group; 2020 President of the Arkansas REALTORS Association ENGLAND HOPE FLOATS Carolyn Cobb became a real estate broker to control her own destiny. She loves the independence that comes with real estate, and Cobb is now a managing broker with Coldwell Banker. Cobb is also the 2020 President of the Arkansas Realtors Association, where she’s been leading nearly 10,000 members through the pandemic.
Attraction to Career
Owning my own business as an independent contractor and being responsible for my own destiny.
Best Part of Your Day
Resolving issues or obstacles for clients and fellow REALTORS.
Proudest Accomplishment
Having the opportunity to be 2020 President of the Arkansas REALTORS Association (especially during the pandemic). It has been exciting to serve almost 10,000 members and find new ways to lead and serve our members.
Surprising Fact
I love to go to Alaska and fish for Halibut! (I caught a 50 lb Halibut the last time I went).
Person You Admire Most
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Without a moment’s hesitation, my mom, Rubye Holland Spann. She was an amazing example to her students and her children. She was the kindest person I have ever known and was loved by all who knew her. I miss her every day.
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SARAH BETH OWEN Board Member, Walk for Wheezy; Board Member, Cabot Public Schools CABOT Sarah Beth Owen has three jobs that don’t pay a dime. A mother of four, Owen serves as a board member and community liaison for Walk for Wheezy, a nonprofit formed to honor her daughter who passed away at 9-years old. Walk for Wheezy has raised more than $250,000 for Arkansas Children’s Hospital in just five years. On top of everything else, Owen also serves as a board member for Cabot Public Schools.
Attraction to Career
People have always said I’m a bit bossy. So if I’m bossy, I might as well be in charge. Put it to good use!
Best Part of Your Day
The moment, sometimes brief, that we have as an entire family. It’s not always a meal or long quality time, we are busy. But every day, there’s a moment, and they’re my favorite.
Proudest Accomplishment
Other than birthing my four beautiful (but big) children, it would be that I’ve been able to turn something tragic into something beautiful: A nonprofit formed after the death of my daughter that has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for the Arkansas Children’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit; raising awareness for children with congenital heart defects just like she had.
Surprising Fact
I was born deaf in my right ear — birth defect. (That’s why I talk so loud.)
Remember Me For
Being a woman who feared the Lord; a woman who deeply loved her husband and family; a woman who served others well.
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TAREN ROBINSON Founder, Blueprint Event Solutions, LLC Forrest City Cheese Dip Taren Robinson studied education at UCA, but deep down she always felt a calling to events, leading her to found her own boutique event planning firm. Over the years, she has accrued a body of work that includes working for the former president, Bill Clinton for more than a decade, Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Law Enforcement Executives and Administrators, and has heavy ties to the entertainment industry. She is also an avid volunteer for the Timmons Arts Foundation and oversees the creative direction and production for the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.
Attraction to Career
I always had a love for entertaining, which started when I was a young girl helping my mom set the table. I wanted to make sure every table was perfect — especially if we had guests — so I would go behind my mom and put my own little touch on how I thought things should look, and I became an instant hit.
Surprising Fact
I am a true introvert. If I could achieve all my dreams without ever leaving my house, I would definitely be inside most of the time.
Favorite Part of Your Job
I can’t even put into words how much joy I get just by seeing the excitement on my clients’ faces during event day. To know that my clients are pleased with my work and that I have captured the very essence of their vision inspires me beyond measure.
Person You Most Admire
Nelson Mandela because he is the ultimate overcomer. To endure 27 years of imprisonment and return as the greatest influencer of a major crisis that impacted a whole country leaves me in awe. His philanthropic creed backed by his fight for social justice and democracy is unmatched.
Favorite Hobbies
My current favorite hobby is working with my bestie on organizing and decorating small rooms, and we are obsessed with the founders of The Home Edit — especially their series on Netflix.
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As an Edward Jones financial advisor, I get to unite my two passions; serving others and education. Being a financial advisor allows me to serve others and my community by helping people meet financial goals. Part of being a financial advisor let’s me educate my clients on investments, the market and building personalized financial goals. I strive to understand what’s important to you. I enjoy developing long-term relationships with my clients, and value the opportunity to build wealth strategies and create a legacy that can be passed on to future generations. What’s important to you, is important to me. Whether you’re planning for retirement, paying for education, planning your estate or trying to save on taxes, we can partner together to develop specific strategies to help you achieve your goals. You are not alone. My branch team includes myself and branch office administrator, Kim Floyd, and thousands of dedicated team members with advanced technology ready to support you and provide you with care and comprehensive service. Additionally, we partner together with your attorney, CPA and other trusted professionals to deliver your comprehensive strategy. If you are looking for a financial advisor who truly cares about you and values a life-long partnership together, I’m the girl for you. Call my office today and we will start building your tomorrow.
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Bill Tsutsui.
arkansas’ of the g Kin
Monsters By Dustin Jayroe // Photography by Jamison Mosley
“Americans never realized how serious Godzilla could be and how it really offered meaningful political commentary on some of the biggest issues of the post-war world.”
A tranquil night in Tokyo has been disturbed by panic. As October’s full moon began to rise above the skyline at dusk, climbing high above the stories-tall buildings, something below the surface of the sea also began its ascent. A creature far more nefarious than a Halloween’s gloom; more shuddering than the 13th on a Friday, towering at a rivaling height of the skyscrapers. With each lumbering step, a seismic vibration. With each swing of its reptilian tail, a domicile decimation. Shrieks of terror and a stampeding crowd in flee ripple chaos and pandemonium through the streets. Some saw firsthand what emerged from the depths — its scales the size of trucks, feet the size of city wblocks — others merely reacted to the screams. But all have heard enough stories to know that when this monster’s name is uttered, flight is the only choice worth considering.
. a l l i dz
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onway resident William “Bill” Tsutsui has been many Americans. an educator for nearly all of his adult life. The But everything changed when Godzilla emerged. Harvard- and Princeton-educated product spent Tsutsui can still picture vividly the memories of his first experience almost two decades in the history department at with the kaiju, lying on the shag carpeting of his parents’ bedroom Kansas University before becoming a dean at Southern Methodist one Saturday afternoon. He was glued to a television screen that University (SMU) and, ultimately, president of Hendrix College. lacked the crispness and clarity of today’s standards, but he had no But beneath the surface of the many letters that succeed his name trouble making out the larger-than-life figure featured in the program — A.B., M.A., M.Litt., Ph.D. — lies something perplexing and — a monster, powerful and strong, walking through Tokyo, making curious. The historian is infatuated with a particular lizard of lore. chemical plants explode and knocking over skyscrapers. He was just a boy when he first laid eyes on who would become “On the one hand, I was a kid, right. I wanted to be the monster. his lifelong love. An outsider in his time and setting, he was born in I wanted to be big and mean and angry and destructive,” Tsutsui says. New York City in 1963, but spent most of his adolescence growing “But I also saw an opportunity to have a more powerful understanding up in Bryan, Texas. He recollects that his family was one of only of Japan and my Japanese-American identity. Godzilla was something two Japanese-American families in the city at the time. that my friends recognized was ‘sort of cool.’ And so I embraced that “Folks really didn’t know what a Japanese-American was,” he and, in the process, became a little bit more confident about where I says. “In the sort of imaginary of Bryan back then, you were either came from and who I was.” white, Black or Mexican. So, when my father, who was from Japan, would walk down the street, people often spoke to him in Spanish — because he wasn’t white, he wasn’t Black, so he “WHEN I STARTED TEACHING JAPANESE must be Mexican.” As some of the townsfolk began to slowly learn that the HISTORY, I THOUGHT ONE DAY, ‘YOU Tsutsui family was of Japanese descent, there was a little less racial confusion, but plenty of problems still. In elementary KNOW, THERE’S A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT school, Tsutsui was an outcast — bullied and mocked. He looked much different than the other children and had a JAPANESE HISTORY AND CULTURE FROM “funny name.” Tsutsui recalls being derided and teased THESE OLD MOVIES, I’M GOING TO TRY often about Pearl Harbor, although the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base had occurred 30 years prior, those USING THEM IN CLASS.’” memories still begat misunderstanding and prejudice from
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An unprecedented threat has befallen New York City. Calls have been overwhelming emergency hotlines for more than an hour, reporting sights of something unfathomably large swimming toward the harbor, with its fin-like spines protruding from the sea’s surface like a shark’s dorsal fin. But this is no fish; it’s a monster. By the time it arrives in New York, the U.S. Army is waiting. Godzilla is a well-known figure in Japan; in America, he’s an immigrant, foreign, alien. Infantry fire on this prehistoric force of nature, but no damage is done to the beast. Peculiarly, Godzilla does not retaliate, instead setting his sights on the real threat — looming above, shrouded by the clouds. A bellowing screech precedes the downward swoop of a pterodactyl-looking creature with a 900-foot wingspan, just as menacing and cretaceous in appearance as Godzilla. For what seems like hours, the two spar across the city, fighting for the rights to the planet; Rodan a destroyer, Godzilla a protector. The humans can only helplessly watch, hoping that the victor will be more an ally than a foe. At long last, Rodan concedes to his opponent, head bowed in an unspoken yet understood agreement. With a flap of its wings, Rodan retreats to hibernation at Isla de Mara, off the eastern coast of Mexico. Godzilla silently returns to the depths of the ocean, a toppled city in his wake, but a utilitarian service provided. His status challenged but unchanged: King.
Rodan.
As Tsutsui’s adoration of Godzilla grew, so too did the common interest between him and his peers at Davey Crockett Elementary School. On the playground, the imaginative comrades would role-play scenes from the Japanese monster movies. Their steps exaggerated as building crushing stomps, arms flapping like wings. They would wrestle with all their might, clashing like the titans each was embodying. “The beauty of Godzilla is the series created all these monsters — Mothra and King Ghidorah and Rodan and so forth,” he says. “And, of course, the movies are very physical. It’s like pro wrestling in monster suits. So, if you’re a kid, you just want to copy that and do it.” And just as Tsutsui began to find himself with the help of a monster, he found acceptance and friendship – two things that any child who is chronically on the outside looking in yearns for. But of course, Tsutsui always called dibs on playing as Godzilla. Which worked out perfectly, because his best friend loved King Kong. “We were a match made in heaven,” Tsutsui jokes. Tsutsui dressed as As time would go on, his life would continue to be a Godzilla for Halloween similar juxtaposition of the very monster he adores. As an at the age of 9. adolescent, Tsutsui was misunderstood on the basis of racial ignorance, as has Godzilla been in many plotlines (not a get many dates from loving Godzilla. So, my affection for the monster villain, an anti-hero). And just as the young Tsutsui loved to mimic went underground for a number of years.” Godzilla in elementary school, as he got older and the schools absent Ironically, it was after Tsutsui joined the workforce that Godzilla of playgrounds, he took another card out of the monster’s playbook: would resurface in his public-facing persona. hibernation. “When I started teaching Japanese history, I thought one day, ‘You “I discovered when I went to high school and college that loving know, there’s a lot to learn about Japanese history and culture from Godzilla wasn’t actually that cool,” he says behind a laugh. “You don’t
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these old movies, I’m going to try using them in class,’” he recalls. “My students absolutely loved them. And I found it was the ultimate sucker punch in teaching because absolutely no one watches a giant monster movie thinking they are going to learn something meaningful. And yet my students could have fun watching the monsters fight and also learn about the economy, the politics and the culture of post-war Japan at the same time.” *** Godzilla’s first appearance in any medium was in the 1954 Japanese film, Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda. In the film, it is believed that Godzilla was awoken from H-bomb testing and is virtually unkillable. He terrorizes, destroys and kills his way around Japan, using both his atomic breath and sheer might. But this version of Godzilla was not written as a mindless menace, rather, a metaphor for the detriments that humanity is capable of unearthing. And, of course, in post-war Japan, this monster capable of destroying on the scale of the same atomic bombs that had been dropped on the country was the most terrifying yet realityinspired story imaginable. In the modern day, many academics have found agreement about the social and political undertones that lie within the movie, which allowed Japanese audiences to connect to and even relate to the monster. Many viewers could easily view Godzilla as a victim in the film, with a backstory that was not dissimilar to the experiences felt post-Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It is also looked back on now as a potential cultural coping mechanism that created a parallel to taking
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responsibility for man-made destruction, and how to move on from that. In America, Honda’s film would not be made widely available until 2004. A very edited version of the film was released in the United States in 1956, which included new footage from a different director, and had trimmed out nearly all of the motifs and metaphors. It was essentially just a monster movie, having lost the depth originally intended. This altered version was the one released on the broadest scale; the one that introduced Godzilla to most of the world. “Americans never realized how serious Godzilla could be and how it really offered meaningful political commentary on some of the biggest issues of the post-war world,” Tsutsui says. The radioactive lizard quickly became an icon of popular culture everywhere but was often misinterpreted and redeveloped outside of the original film’s essence. *** As soon as Tsutsui identified a path of instruction through popculture, he fully embraced the idea — and his favorite monster — again. At the time, Tsutsui was also an author, having written multiple books, mostly on the topic of economics. But Godzilla is a much more fun subject to write about, especially for an obsessive such as he. In 2004, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the original film, Tsutsui wrote “Godzilla on My Mind: 50 Years of the King of the Monsters,” which was regarded as a “cult classic” by the New York Times. After the success of that book, Tsutsui became a bit of an icon himself, even developing his own nickname, which would have made his 7-year-old self very proud: Professor Godzilla. Although, he does relent that at least part of why he was bestowed that moniker is simply because his students had difficulty pronouncing his last name. (Tsutsui: suit-sooie. “Suit of clothing and calling the Hogs … perfect for Arkansas.”) The Godzilla part of him remained when he was named the new president of Hendrix in 2013, all the more ironic yet endearing as ever. Tsutsui graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, received his Ph.D. in history at Princeton, and was dean of the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at SMU. He served as president of the Kansas Historical Society and was on the Kansas Humanities
Tsutsui playing with monsters at work. (Photo courtesy of Hendrix College, 2014)
Council’s board of directors. After moving to Arkansas to helm Hendrix, he occupied board spots at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. This year, he was named to the Japan-United States Friendship Commission. The list of his accolades is sprawling, and the number of organizations who covet his presence even more so. All the while, his office is littered with Godzilla memorabilia. When he retired from his podium at Hendrix at the end of 2019, he estimates that artifacts of the monster accounted for 10 boxes worth when he cleaned out his office. “My wife, of course, won’t let me display any Godzillas in the house. She’s a very sensible woman,” he jokes. “So I’m just waiting until after the pandemic’s over, and I have an office again. Then I can break out the monsters.” But his retirement isn’t an ushering in of the end of Professor Godzilla — far from it. After leaving Hendrix, but still from his home in Conway, Tsutsui became the Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard, teaching in the departments of Japanese studies and East Asian languages and civilizations. In the spring, he is teaching a course on Japanese monsters, which will include talk of cryptozoology, comparisons between the monsters of the east and west, monsters in religion and literature, and, of course, Godzilla. “I don’t think I would be so comfortable in my skin as a JapaneseAmerican without Godzilla, and definitely I would not have had the success I’ve had as a scholar without the big guy to help me along,” he says. “When my obituary is written, I guarantee it will use the word ‘Godzilla’ more than ‘Tsutsui.’”
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Mama’s
HEART “Is he dead?” The words came out of Emma DonnAnn Crumbly’s mouth thick and heavy, muscling their way past the heart beating in her throat. A moment ago, the 39-year-old nurse had been on the phone with her mother who’d handed it over to the sheriff to confirm there’d been an incident. “Not yet,” said the voice on the other end. “He’s still breathing. He still has a pulse.” Crumbly, of Cabot, wouldn't have had reason to call had a neighbor not sent her a text after seeing the emergency personnel arrive. Something in her said it was Jalyn, said it was bad, even before her mother picked up. Now, at the threshold of knowing for sure, she took a deep breath and spoke again. “Did he shoot himself?” she said, her voice strange and foreign in her own ears. A pause. “Ma’am, do you really want to know?” “That’s my boy. I want to know,” she said, steel in her voice.
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By Dwain Hebda | Photos by Jordan Knight
Another pause. “That’s what it appears to be.” Telling the story almost a year later, Crumbly looks a person in the eye, but her gaze is somewhere far away. “It was like I just knew,” she says. “When the sheriff answered the phone and said, ‘I need to speak to Michael [Jalyn] Crumbly's mother,’ I immediately knew.” A single tear rolls down her cheek, bringing her back from wherever she’d drifted to. She gives a shy smile and shores up her voice. “I’m OK to talk about this. I really am,” she says, wiping her eyes. “Sometimes I do OK talking about this, and sometimes I don’t. But it’s OK. Let’s talk about it.” ****************************
On Aug. 29, 2019, Michael Jalyn Crumbly climbed into his favorite truck and drove to his grandparent’s house, parking in the yard. It was lunchtime. He picked up a .357
pistol, paused long enough to send a photo to his recently-ex-girlfriend’s mother to show his intentions, then pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger. He never made it to the hospital. The incident came on the heels of a tortuous summer for the 19-year-old. Crumbly says her son had “made a dumb boy mistake” during his first year of college, clarifying it only as the kind of trouble “we had to get a lawyer for.” The issue weighed heavily on Jalyn, who’d never been in trouble before, as did the aforementioned breakup. “You could tell that was really weighing on him. You could tell he didn’t want to go to jail, and he didn’t want to be in trouble,” his mother says. “He just kept living in that moment.” Coming home was good for Jalyn, but even being around his mother, his grandparents and CrossRoads Cowboy Church, in El Paso, where he’d grown up, he couldn’t shake the cloud that hung over his head. “He always had a good personality; he was witty and funny. He was a happy kid. He really did have a happy life,” Crumbly says. “But it just got worse for him, and you could tell that he was anxious and upset. He was physically sick, throwing up. The day before he passed away, I had taken him to the ER because he hurt so much. He would cry; he was broken, you know? Just so broken. He just couldn’t see the way out.” The day Jalyn died, his mother told him goodbye and tousled his head on her way out the door to work. All through high school she never had to worry about him, but now it was different. Since he’d been home, they’d spent more time talking about the unthinkable than they ever had. And still she couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t enough. “I would have never thought he’d do that. But, it’s just in your ‘mama heart.’ You just kind of know when things aren’t clicking, and they’re not right,” she says. “We would get in the truck, or my car, and we would ride around and just talk. I would let him talk, and he never said he was going to do anything like that. “I just told him, ‘I’m just letting you know that [suicide] would be the worst thing you could ever do. You come to me. Let’s talk about it. ‘That’ is not an option.’”
“I feel like breathing gets a little lighter, not easier, but lighter, as time passes. It doesn’t get any easier.”
Crumbly shrugs as if trying to dislodge a new card from the deck she’s been shuffling nonstop in her head for a year. Something she missed, something she forgot, something — anything — that makes things make sense. “People say there’s no way you can think about something every minute of the day, but there is,” she says of coming to terms with Jalyn’s death. “It’s the first thing you think about when you wake up, and the last thing you think of when you go to sleep. All day long. “It doesn’t even have to be something that was related to him that he did or said; it can just bubble up. It’s very heavy. It doesn’t seem real. It does seem numb. You go through life, and most of the time, I think he’s at college. You’re in a different place in a grief moment like that.” **************************** Jalyn arrived early in his mother’s life; she was just 19 when she had him. And even though his father would make some effort to be involved, from the start there was little doubt she was going to be both mom and dad, to him. But between his uncles and Crumbly’s father George, associate pastor of the Cowboy Church, the boy, didn’t lack for positive male role models. “My dad was really influential for him, as were my brothers,” Crumbly says. “He played baseball. He played football. He played flag football. He played basketball. He started playing T-ball at 3, and he last played baseball his junior year. He was on the state championship team the year they won at Cabot.” His mother relates these happy memories with a warmth Jalyn's Cabot High School state championship ring and letter jacket.
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that belies the cold, unanswered question that still claws are her insides: Why? “He had a happy home. He did,” she says, as if retracing her steps for the millionth time. “Though I was a single mom raising him, he didn’t want for anything. It wasn’t like we had a bad relationship. We were close. I mean, very, very close. “But, in the end, I think sometimes in situations where people can’t get out of their head or that there’s no end to Crumbly stares into the infield while holding a photo of Jalyn.
come out of my mouth.’” The ministry has had an immediate impact. Crumbly tells of teenagers coming up to her privately at events wanting to talk about their struggles with suicidal thoughts. A grandmother picked Emma DonnAnn Crumbly. up a Bible for her granddaughter. (Photo by Dwain Hebda) People send messages or call all the time, looking for help or direction. Crumbly has time for them all. something, they’re going to find a way out. It doesn’t matter. “I want people to be able to see Jesus in me,” she says. “I They’re going to find a way. How to help them get out of that don’t have to know you to love you. Jesus loves you, so I love is what I don’t understand. How do you help someone that you. You’re important. People are more important than they lives there?” give themselves credit for. You have a purpose, a God-given Crumbly knew she’d reached a crossroads in her grief when purpose. We all do. It may be to minister to your friend or to it became hard to pray. She insists she was never mad at God get that person who’s on drugs some help. We’re supposed to for Jalyn’s death, but when a preacher’s daughter can’t fold her love each other. That’s what God wants. I know that’s what hands for what she’s carrying, it’s time to do something with he’s called me to do.” it. She didn’t have to look too far for the answer: a ministry to It would be poetic if the ministry and time had erased her reach other families, founded in Jalyn’s name. pain, but that’s not how the real world works. Crumbly said “My dad and I had gone out to see him after they buried if anything, her grief got more intense as she approached the him that day. We just talked about how cool it would be to first anniversary of Jalyn’s death. But she knows she’s headed be able to keep his memory alive,” she says. “A friend of ours in the right direction. made a post, and he wrote, ‘Swing away J.’ The seed was “I can honestly say that I’m mad at Jalyn just because planted, even though knowing what to do with that really he’s my kid, and he knew better,” she says. “But I don’t want didn’t come about until later months. everyone to judge my boy for the last thing that he did. Yes, “We started out wanting to hand out Bibles and at our last it was bad. But, look at all of the possibilities that he could rodeo Bible camp, a woman came here, and taught us how to help. He was a tissue donor. He really was a good kid. He was ‘Bible doodle,’ which is drawing in your Bible if you read a just a dumb, 19-year-old boy — and I would tell him that, verse or whatever strikes you. So basically, we’re just getting too. He knew it. doodling Bibles into anyone’s hand that wants it. We give “I don’t feel like I’ve ended a chapter. I feel like breathing them away.” gets a little lighter, not easier, but lighter, as time passes. It Crumbly said the ministry tackles the subject of suicide by doesn’t get any easier. So how cool would it be to, maybe, help sharing her family’s story and by providing an ear for young somebody else who didn’t have to feel that pain? I can carry people who are struggling or families trying to cope with a this pain if another mom doesn’t have to. I can handle it. I loss. SwingawayJ shows up at youth rodeo events to spread its can deal with it if another mom or their child can be saved. message, and Crumbly has even addressed women’s groups Because you know what? I know where my boy is. God let me to talk directly to other mothers, the first time just months know where he is. I don’t have to worry about that.” after Jalyn’s death. “My ‘mama heart’ doesn’t want another ‘mama heart’ to hurt,” she says. “I really prayed about it. I didn’t write SwingawayJ Ministries anything down the first time I spoke, and I didn’t know what I was going to say. I was like, ‘God, I just want you to speak. Facebook.com/SwingAwayJ I’m going to get up there and just let it be your words that instagram.com/swingawayj_ministries
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Physicians Keeping Pulmonology
in the Family
Reena Bansal
Alok Surana
For Reena Bansal, MD, medicine is in her DNA. Becoming a physician really wasn’t a question,” recalled Bansal, the daughter of two physicians. “I always knew becoming a doctor was what I wanted to do.” Bansal is a pulmonologist who recently joined the Conway Regional Multispecialty Clinic in July. Bansal joins her husband, Alok Surana, MD, who is also a pulmonologist. Rachana Yendala, MD, a hematologist/oncologist, and Swetha Boddeda, MD, a rheumatologist, complete the physician team at the clinic. Pulmonology physicians specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases involving the respiratory tract. While working side-by-side could be challenging for some couples, that is not the case for Bansal and Surana. The two met in medical school and worked together during their residency at Crozer Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa. They continued working together during fellowship training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “This is probably the only way either one of us knows how to work,” Bansal says. She adds that they try to avoid talking about patient care during family time. “We have a great working relationship,” Surana says. “It’s valuable to have someone in the same clinic who knows the same specialty. It gives you a second opinion in
Doctor’s Advice
diagnosing difficult cases.” Surana joined the clinic in 2019. “As we continue to grow and meet the needs of the community, the expansion of pulmonology and critical care services has been a priority area for Conway Regional to serve patients both in the inpatient and outpatient setting, and we are excited to welcome Dr. Bansal to our medical staff,” says Rebekah Fincher, Chief Administrative Officer for Conway Regional. “The addition of Dr. Bansal’s practice will allow the Multispecialty Clinic to offer an expanded, integrated and multidisciplinary approach to specialty care and increase collaboration among providers, all the while providing comprehensive patient care in one location.” Bansal credits Conway Regional’s emphasis on work-life balance for helping convince her to come to Conway. When they have the time, Bansal and Surana share a love of outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, jet skiing, paragliding and even sky diving. Surana also went cliff jumping along the Ganges River. Surana says, “It was a great adventure. We checked a few of those things off the bucket list before the baby arrived.”
COVID-19 has affected Bansal and Surana’s pulmonary medicine practices. Noting that the respiratory system is a main target of the virus, Bansal said, “When patients become sick enough to be in the hospital, they tend to have extensive stays.” Bansal advises her patients to “wear a mask and practice appropriate social distancing. It’s a simple step that you can take to limit the spread of the virus.” Additionally, she also has concerns about lung conditions caused by smoking and vaping. Bansal notes that vaping is currently unregulated and targets adolescents and teenagers with marketing. That combination, she says, “makes it dangerous.” Bansal’s primary focus is improving a patient’s quality of life. “It’s a good day in clinic when I can help a patient by finding a difficult-to-diagnose condition,” she says. She adds that patients who are experiencing shortness of breath tend to be ‘labeled’ with cardiopulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma when 40 to 50 percent are not officially diagnosed with either condition. In general, Bansal advises patients to ask their primary care provider about seeing a pulmonologist if they have difficulty breathing or a persistent cough for many weeks. “Don’t wait on serious symptoms before reaching out. It’s important to let your doctor know what is going on,” she said. For more information about the Conway Regional Multispecialty Clinic or for an appointment with Dr. Bansal, call 501-358-6145.
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