Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel recently visited with children at the Batesville campus of the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches. McDaniel, who is serving as Chairman of the Ranches’ 18th Annual Arkansas Children’s Award Dinner on November 14th, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock, spent the morning meeting with Ranch children and staff and even did a little horseback riding with some of the Ranchers.
Ranch house parents and staff prepared lunch for the entire campus, and McDaniel spoke to the Ranchers during the meal about what it means to be the Attorney General and how he was supporting the Ranch by serving as this year’s Arkansas Children’s Award Dinner Chairman.
Governor Mike Beebe will serve as the Dinner’s Master of Ceremonies for the 18th year in a row. This year’s dinner will honor Arkansas’s County Sheriffsand their outstanding service to the state’s children. The sheriffs led the efforts in founding the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches nearly forty years ago as a place for Arkansas’s abandoned, abused, and neglected children to call home.
“The staff and children welcomed me warmly to the Ranch, and I had a wonderful time getting to know them,” said McDaniel. “I was so impressed with the children and the outstanding services and support provided there. I’m honored to play a role in advancing the Ranch’s important mission.”
WHAT:
18th Annual Arkansas Children’s Award Dinner
Honoring the Sheriffs of Arkansas and the Arkansas Sheriffs Association
Benefitting the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches
WHO:
Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe – Master of Ceremonies for last 17 years,
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel – Arkansas Children’s Award Dinner Chairman,
Arkansas’s County Sheriffs, and Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches Board of Directors and supporters
WHEN:
Thursday, November 14, 2013
6 p.m. Reception / 7 p.m. Dinner
WHERE:
Ambassador Ballroom, Embassy Suites Hotel, Little Rock (Business Attire)
TICKETS:
$200 per person. To purchase tickets contact the Ranch at (870) 793-6841.
BACKGROUND:
The Arkansas Children’s Award Dinner is an annual event recognizing an individual or organization who personifies in word and deed the ideals of the Ranch and has made outstanding contributions to create better opportunities for Arkansas’s youth.
Previous recipients of the award include:
· 2012 Gus Malzahn
· 2011 Steve Landers
· 2010 Charles Nabholz
· 2009 Wallace Fowler
· 2008 Stanley Reed
· 2007 Tommy May
· 2006 John White
· 2005 Pat Walker
· 2004 Jerry Davis
· 2003 Blanche Lincoln
· 2002 Doyle Rogers
· 2001 Tyson Family
· 2000 Bill Clark
· 1999 Buddy Sutton
· 1998 Jerry Maulden
· 1997 Red Hudson
· 1996 Mike Beebe
About the Honoree, the Arkansas Sheriffs Association
Arkansas’s county sheriffs have played an important role throughout the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches’ history, and they continue to support the organization’s mission to serve and protect the state’s abused, abandoned, and neglected children. The idea to begin the Ranch started with a couple of concerned and disappointed sheriffs who had helped place boys in residential homes that weren’t providing satisfactory care. Their idea grew and was soon presented to members of the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association, asking for their support to develop a home for children that would rely solely on the generosity of Arkansans.
After much research, the ASA decided in 1974 that a separate, freestanding non-profit organization should be established as long as it had the full support of all Arkansas’s 75 county sheriffs. Supporters traveled to every county and met with each sheriff, earning their approval. In late 1975, an incorporation document with the signatures of all 75 sheriffs was presented to the ASA – the first and only document of its kind – and the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches was born.
The same enthusiasm and passion that helped create the Ranch 37 years ago continues with today’s sheriffs. Whether it’s hosting a golf tournament, recording a Public Service Announcement, or speaking to local civic or church groups, Arkansas’s county sheriffs are committed to supporting the Ranch and making this state a better place four our youth to call home.
It is for the nearly 40 years of effort and dedication to the children of Arkansas and especially the sheriffs’ willingness to work together to become the key driving force in founding the Ranch that we honor the ASA with the 18th Annual Arkansas Children’s Award.
About the Ranch
The Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches is a private, non-profit organization that provides healthy homes and programs for Arkansas’s neglected, abandoned and abused children. Founded in 1976 by a group of concerned sheriffs and individuals, the Ranch has provided a place to call home for more than 1,100 children and has campuses in Independence, Clark and Crawford Counties. The Ranch is more than 90% privately funded and provides all necessities associated with raising a child including housing, medical care, transportation, food, clothing, and educational expenses. For more information on the Ranch, visit www.YouthRanches.com.
