Brent K. Whittington, chief operating officer of Windstream Communications, will receive the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award at UALR’s College of Business annual award ceremony Oct. 15.

The luncheon event at the Peabody Hotel will also honor Shelley Loftin, vice president and marketing officer at Summit Bank in Little Rock, as the college’s Young Alumna. Tickets to the 11:30 a.m. event are $100 per person, or $1,000 for a table of 10. Sponsorship opportunities are available. RSVP by Oct. 11 to cobdean@ualr.edu or 501-569-3356.

Whittington, who graduated from UALR with a B.S. in accounting in 1994, is responsible for Windstream’s operations, customer service, information technology, marketing and sales. He previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Windstream.

Windstream Corp., headquartered in Little Rock, is an S&P 500 company with communications operations in 23 states and about $4 billion in annual revenues. Windstream provides phone, high-speed Internet and high-definition digital TV services. The company also offers a wide range of IP-based voice and data services and advanced phone systems and equipment to businesses and government agencies.

Whittington previously served as senior vice president of operations for Alltel after joining the company in 2002 as vice president of finance and accounting. This followed working at Arthur Andersen LLP for eight years.

Loftin received an MBA in 2006 and a B.B.A. with a major in marketing and minor in information technology in 2004 from UALR. At Summit Bank since 2007, Loftin creates, implements, and evaluates marketing and retail goals, plans, and strategies, as well as manages communication efforts.

She previously served in marketing and coordinator positions at Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock and was a financial service representative at Bank of the Ozarks in Bryant.

Loftin is a Leadership Greater Little Rock graduate, Class XXIV.