University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Everyone is talking about energy efficiency, and a new company is making upgrading their houses even easier for homeowners.

Scott Brownmiller is the owner of the recently opened Little Rock franchise of Pro Energy Consultants, a national energy audit company. He said it was important for people to know what was going on in their homes.

“The cost of energy is not getting cheaper,” he said. “We educate the homeowner on all aspects of their home and what effect it has on energy use.”

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The Design Group Deepens Reach Into Hispanic Markets

Announces Vianca Cruz as New Hire for Hispanic Outreach

Focused on increasing its reach into the Hispanic community, The Design Group today announced the hiring of Vianca Cruz as Associate Account Executive of Hispanic Markets. Cruz will assist in the development and implementation of marketing strategies to increase brand awareness and usage on behalf of the company’s clients.

Myron Jackson, CEO of The Design Group, said Cruz is already adding value to the company.

“While many in Arkansas claim to have intimate knowledge of the Latino market, there are few who actually do,” Jackson said.

“Vianca lives in the Hispanic community, has studied what it takes to market to her community and is in tune with the needs and desires of the community. The Hispanic growth over the last decade has been extraordinary and while The Design Group already has a great Hispanic marketing team in place, the addition of Vianca positions us firmly as a leader in understanding the growing Hispanic consumer segment.”

Born in Hidalgo, Mexico, Cruz moved to Arkansas in 2001. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, having obtained a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in International Business and a Bachelor’s of Arts in International and Second Language Studies with a concentration on Spanish. To broaden her skills as a marketer, she was proactive in gaining entry into and completing a six-month exchange program in Madrid, Spain where classes deepened her knowledge of the Spanish economy and its marketing and advertising strategies.

Data from the 2010 United States Census shows the Hispanic population grew by 43% in the last decade, surpassing 50 million and accounting for about 1 out of 6 Americans. In Arkansas, the Hispanic population more than doubled, with Hispanics driving 41 percent of the overall growth in the state. Among those under 18, Hispanics represented 83 percent of the minority growth.

These facts illustrate the need for exceptional thinking and action to target this sector of the market which, in many cases, has been ignored. The expanded and diverse team of marketers at The Design Group amounts to increased insight about the Hispanic consumer market and the know-how to grow business.

About The Design Group

The Design Group is a full-service, multicultural communications firm that offers companies expertise in sourcing the wealth of opportunities available within African American, Latino, Urban and Youth consumer segments. The Design Group was built on the ideology that to achieve positive market momentum and to experience sustainable growth, brands must exist in and outside of traditional communication channels. To learn more about The Design Group or to speak with Stephanie Jackson, call 501.492.4900. You can also visit http://www.designgroupmarketing.com.

Judge Joyce Williams Warren, Pulaski County CASA, Little Rock, Arkansas

Length of service: First appointed as a juvenile court judge in 1983

“It is a pleasure to work with someone with the knowledge, wisdom and servant’s heart Judge Warren displays. She is a hero in my eyes.” ~ Julian Holloway, director, Arkansas State CASA Association
Judge Joyce Williams Warren is an avid and passionate supporter of CASA in her courtroom and in the community. She holds each and every CASA volunteer in highest regard and visibly places great value on their testimony and the court reports they submit. Beyond the courthouse, Judge Warren helps to recognize the contributions of CASA volunteers and encourages them in their efforts at the annual CASA Volunteer Recognition Banquet.

Passionate about furthering the quality of advocacy for children, Judge Warren always makes court improvement a priority. She participates in the training of not only CASA volunteers, but of attorneys ad litem, parent counsel, new judges and other court personnel. Most recently, the judge spearheaded the Zero to Three pilot court team project, a systems-change initiative to improve how the courts, child welfare agencies and related child-serving organizations work together. Arkansas is now one of 10 Safe Babies Court Teams across the country.

Beyond the courthouse, Judge Warren never misses an opportunity to promote the CASA program and is quick to encourage other judges who have not taken full advantage of their local CASA programs to do so. Judge Warren participates in local CASA activities and recruiting, appears in local videos used for recruiting new volunteers, attends all conferences, and encourages all stakeholders to take advantage of any training opportunity promoting children’s best interest. She has worked diligently to build bridges between CASA and other agencies and has helped ensure all agencies are collaborating to represent best interest for all foster children.

Pine Bluff native Harold Steelman, who with his teammates ran the first football “T” formation in the South, has been named recipient of UALR’s President’s Award for 2012.

Steelman began his collegiate career in 1952, turning in outstanding performances as a football center for the Little Rock Junior College Trojans coached by Woody Johnson.

The experience he gained playing for the Trojans helped him earn recognition as one of the legendary “25 Little Pigs,” a classic underdog team that brought Arkansas football into the modern era.

After graduation, Steelman coached high school football before signing on with the University of Arkansas at Monticello – then Arkansas A&M – as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach. His career later took him to the Citadel, Clemson University, University of Louisiana at Monroe – then Northeast Louisiana – and Arkansas Tech University.

After coaching, he poured his heart and soul into War Memorial Stadium as its longtime stadium manager from 1986 to 1999.

Since retirement, Steelman created AETN’s “In Their Words” World War II oral history project. He interviewed more than 100 Arkansas World War II veterans.

In 2011, he was inducted into the University of Arkansas at Monticello Sports Hall of Fame. He is an inaugural member in the Trojan Letterman’s Association, a partnership between the UALR Department of Athletics and the Alumni Association.

He can be seen during the legislative session aiding citizens and legislators by navigating the thoroughfares of the state Capitol.

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UALR will present its top alumni honors of 2012 at this awards program celebrating recipients of the Distinguished Alumni, the President’s Award, and the Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award.

This year’s honorees:

Brenda Donald, director of the District of Columbia’s Child and Family Services, Distinguished Alumni Award winner, the highest honor bestowed by the UALR Alumni Association.

Harold Steelman, former player for the Little Rock Junior College Trojans, President’s Award. Steelman played center and, with with his teammates, holds the distinction of having run the first “T” formation in the south.

Ryne Ramaker of Bentonville, Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award, UALR’s top academic prize.

Ryne Ramaker of Bentonville has been named the 2012 winner of the Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award, UALR’s top academic prize.

The senior who graduates this month with a B.S. degree in biology will wear the silver robe and medallion at the May 19 commencement ceremony. His regalia will signify his selection for the Whitbeck, the greatest distinction UALR bestows on a graduating student. The award is based on citizenship, scholarship, and leadership.

Later this year, he will enroll at the University of Alabama Birmingham on a National Institute of Health Medical Scientist Training Program Fellowship.

Ramaker arrived at UALR in the fall 2008 and was selected for UALR’s Donaghey Scholars Program and the Science Scholars Program – the first student accepted to both programs. He will graduate with a 4.0 grade point average.

“He is one of the best, one of the very best,” said Dr. C. Earl Ramsey, professor of English and director of the Donaghey Scholars Program. “I rank him in the upper 1 to 2 percent of all the students – including doctoral students – I have encountered in a half century of teaching at Yale, at Bryn Mawr, and here at UALR.”

In chemistry, Ramaker was named the top freshman chemistry student and the top organic chemistry student. The biology department named him the Thomas Hogue Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher and the Martha Couch Givens Outstanding Graduate Senior.

As a sophomore, he received an internship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to conduct biomedical research under the director of oncology and chair of the research, which led to Ramaker co-authoring a widely read research paper in the British Journal of Cancer.

As a junior, Ramaker worked with UALR’s Dr. Stephen Grace on his project aimed at developing a method for measuring and identifying potentially nutritious compounds in tomatoes.

He has presented his research at numerous conferences, including the Phytochemical Society of North America and the fifth annual BioNanoTox Conference. He was nominated for the national Goldwater Scholarship for undergraduate students with research potential, the first UALR student nominated since the early 1990s.

His volunteer activities include working with elementary school students, sharing his knowledge and passion for science with fourth and fifth graders at Bale Elementary School, and participating in the school’s science fair.

“I have put a large amount of work into my undergraduate studies, but it has been an honor to represent UALR, and I look forward to continuing to do so as I take advantage of the future opportunities it has provided me,” Ramaker said.

Alpha Epsilon Lambda, the Academic Excellence and Leadership Honor Society of Graduate and Professional Students, inducted 16 UALR students at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony on Tuesday, May 1, in Ledbetter Hall A, B, and C in the Donaghey Student Center.

The inductees are…

Vicki Malpass is a program officer for Innovate Arkansas and Winrock International’s U.S. Programs. She provides program-budget oversight and program implementation for economic development projects. In addition, she acts as a liaison between subcontractors and the program office. Vicki also works with Arkansas Business Publishing Group and FLEX360 to develop and publish a user-friendly Web site for Innovate Arkansas. Before receiving bachelor’s degrees in English and professional technical writing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, she worked as a registered sales assistant at Morgan Stanley offices in Washington, D.C., and Little Rock

Slaton Fry is the founder and managing director of ee Partners of Arkansas, LLC, a technology-oriented consulting company. He also serves as a member of Lighthouse Advisors, which provides business consulting services to Innovate Arkansas clients. Slaton has more than 20 years of direct experience in the areas of operations management, research and development, business development and technology assessment in the agricultural, fine chemical and biotechnology industries. Over the last seven years, he has provided strategy development, business planning and grant writing services to many small companies in Arkansas, including DCV Technologies, Stage I Diagnostics, Orlumet, LLC, Coriba Oil and Bar F Cattle Company. Slaton contributes extensive experience in the application of business principles to technology-oriented companies, operations management and commercialization planning and execution.

Beginning May 7 Chad Stover will be the Deputy Public Information Officer in Public Affairs for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. He is currently the Deputy Branch Manager for Homeland Security and State Citizen Corps Program Coordinator for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. He will continue in his role as State CCP Coordinator. Chad will work with media relations, community engagement and public outreach for the agency. An important new public campaign – “Ready Arkansas” (www.Ready.Arkansas.gov) will be a part of his outreach efforts. During disasters or emergencies in the state, he will work out of the State Emergency Operations Center and manage the media response in coordination with other state and federal partners like Arkansas State Police, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.

You can follow Chad Stover on Twitter - @ChadStoverAR or @AR_Emergencies
Visit him on Facebook, too: www.facebook.com/AREmergencies