SouthArk Community College

Those who love the outdoors are being summoned to the 12th SouthArk Outdoor Expo, hosted by the South Arkansas Community College Foundation, on Sept. 11.
Demonstrations, games, food, contests and other attractions will be spread across the college’s East Campus at 3696 E. Main in El Dorado.
This year’s headliner is Lucy Mize, a national award-winning Bassmaster angler. The first woman to weigh in on the Bassmaster Classic stage, she has fished professionally for 25 years all across the United States. She is a four-time national champion and a three-time Angler of the Year.
"Lucy's the complete package: she's got charisma, a real talent for knowing where the fish are and what they'll bite, and a hell of a competitive instinct,” tournament angler and friend Jay Yelas said. “I've fished with her in tournaments where she'll just bear down and not miss a cast all day. You don't find that kind of mental toughness in many anglers, man or woman."
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission public-affairs coordinator Steve “Wildman” Wilson will be the Outdoor Expo’s master of ceremonies. Wilson’s nickname originated when he became the Commission’s coordinator of Project WILD—Wildlife in Learning Design—a conservation education program.
He began his career with Game and Fish as a hunting safety training officer in 1978, and later was named chief of the Information and Education Division. Along the way, he received the Game and Fish Employee of the Year Award twice, and was the Arkansas Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Communicator of the Year in 1998 and 2009.
Wilson is the host and co-producer of “Talkin’ Outdoors at the Corner Café,” a 30-minute weekly TV program. He’s also the host and producer of “Outdoor Report,” a weekly statewide radio broadcast.
Both guests will be on hand to present seminars and demonstrations, answer questions about fishing and hunting, sign autographs and meet with Expo visitors.
Outdoor Expo activities and demonstrations will include bladesmithing, rodeo roping, chainsaw wood carving, model aviation, archery, simulated rock climbing, BB-gun shooting and bait casting, face painting, sidewalk chalk art and others.
Exhibits include the El Dorado Police Department’s robot bomb removal system, David Joyner’s Snake Safety Challenge, Arkansas State Parks’ woodland creatures, Fishers of Men’s fish weigh-in and Ducks Unlimited’s wood duck boxes. A Lifeshare Bloodmobile also will be on hand for a blood drive.
South Arkansas Community College students will sell a variety of breakfast foods, desserts and cold drinks and employees will sell brisket plate lunches. Limited space is available for more vendors and exhibitors; contact Cynthia Reyna at (870) 864-7130 , 1-800-955-2289 or creyna@southark.edu for more information.
Back to the Outdoor Expo is the Herring Furniture-Amerigas Propane-Holland Grill Rib Cook-off. Cash prizes and trophies will be awarded to winners, including the top prize of $1,000 to the first-place team. Deadline for team registrations is Aug. 23. For more information, contact Reyna.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is sponsoring a duck-calling contest for youth, adults and adult teams with the top prize of $200 to first place. Registration deadline is Sept. 8. For more information, contact Laura Rogers at (870) 818-6378 or larogers@agfc.state.ar.us.
This year’s SouthArk Outdoor Expo will be dedicated to the nearly 3,000 people who perished in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and in honor of all U.S. armed-service personnel, both past and present.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. Admission is $5 for ages 18 and up, $3 for for ages 12 to 17 and free for anyone under 12. The family rate is $15.
Proceeds from the Outdoor Expo benefit educational opportunities for students and general operations of the SouthArk Foundation.
More information about the SouthArk Outdoor Expo may be found at www.southark.edu/expo.

The Fairytale Tea Party for girls ages 4 and up is from 10 a.m. to noon on Sept. 18 in Room 121 of the Center for Workforce Development on the East Campus of South Arkansas Community College. Party leader Marta Langston will direct a morning of cooking and crafts. Participants are encouraged to dress as princesses.
The cost is $10 total for each participant and her escort—a mother, grandmother, aunt or someone else.  For more information call (870) 864-7192  or e-mail ce@southark.edu.

Learn how to save money and become more environmentally-friendly through Make Your Own Household Cleaners, a one-hour non-credit class at 9 a.m. on Sept. 18 in Room 138 of the Center for Workforce Development on the East Campus of South Arkansas Community College.
The cost is $5, plus supplies. Call (870) 864-7192 for more information.

South Arkansas Community College is seeking input from the community on potential menu items for the El Dorado Conference Center.
The facility will host functions that will require a selection of catering options and will be home to the South Arkansas Community College student center, which will include a cafe. The public will have access to the facility and the cafe will be open to the public.
“We are still in the planning stage of menu design, but didn’t want to move forward until we received some opinions from our student, faculty and staff here at the college, and from the community,” new Conference Center manager Ginny Garner said. “We need to identify some trends on what will be successful.”
The brief survey is available at www.southark.edu/conference.

The South Arkansas Community College STARS (Support Through Alliance, Resources and Spirit) organization has collected recipes from college staff and faculty and compiled them into a keepsake cookbook, now available. The cookbook contains 522 recipes including appetizers, vegetables, main dishes and desserts.
Profits from cookbook sales will be used for charitable donations to community organizations that support families, children, the elderly and those with special needs. The book also features original artwork by SouthArk instructor Dinah VanHook and her art students.
The cookbooks are $15 and may be purchased by contacting Diana Hunt at (870) 864-8475 dhunt@southark.edu.