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A Night of Honor

11th Annual SPSEF Cornerstone

A Night ofHonor11th Annual SPSEF Cornerstone

SPRINGDALE, Ark. (Nov. 8, 2022) – The Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation on Oct. 19 honored its latest Cornerstone recipients at the 11th Annual Cornerstone event.


The event was featured at The Apollo on Emma and brought together over 150 guests.


This year’s event honored four outstanding community members. Beverly Charleton received the Retiree award, Earlene Henry received the Patron award, Mike Lutrell received the Alumni award and Thurman G. Smith received the Legacy award.

The SPSEF Cornerstone Society honors those whose hard work and dedication have impacted the face of education in Springdale. Each year, the foundation chooses three people to honor with Retiree, Patron, and Alumni awards. For the first time this year, the foundation also presented a Legacy award to honor those who’ve left a legacy within the Springdale School District.


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This year’s honorable Retiree is Beverly Charleton. Charleton worked for Springdale Public Schools for 35 years. She graduated from Springdale High School in 1964. Charleton started working as a special education classroom aide at Lee Elementary School and the following year moved to T.G. Smith Elementary School. She then served as the library aide at T. G. Smith Elementary School for three years. In 1990, Charleton transferred to the nursing department and was instrumental in the creation of the Social Services program. One of the most special things about Charleton was her generosity and being a truly dependable, trustworthy friend. She had a servant's heart and was a shining example of integrity and class.

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Dr. Jim Rollins

Dr. Rollins was the 2019 Retiree recipient.

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Brooke Lindsey

Brooke is Beverly Charleton's daughter and was there to receive the award in honor of her mother.

The Patron award went to Earlene Henry. Henry was born and raised in Springdale and has helped the community grow for over 90 years. She worked alongside her husband to raise four daughters in Springdale while remaining an active community member. Henry was a homemaker, but she also spent time teaching elocution and expression to teenagers for talent shows and speeches. She has worked alongside some of Springdale’s notable community members. Her father was Jeff Brown, of Brown Hatchery, and her husband was Pat Henry, of Pat Henry Chevrolet. Henry has started two scholarships with the education foundation. The Pat R. Henry Scholarship and Earlene B. Henry Workforce Scholarship are available to any Springdale senior looking at post-secondary schooling.

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Adrian Lutrell

Adrian was the 2019 Patron recipient.

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Earlene Henry

Earlene had all four of her daughters and other family members present for the event.

Representing the Springdale alum was Mike Lutrell. Lutrell attended Springdale Public Schools throughout his childhood and graduated in 1986 from Springdale High School. He is a fierce advocate for public education, serving for 18 years as a member of the Springdale School Board. His civic work runs prominently throughout the community. Lutrell has served as Chairman of the United Way of Washington County Board. He has also been a board member for the Arts Center of the Ozarks, Rodeo of the Ozarks, Arvest Bank, the Benton County Sunshine School, Springdale Chamber of Commerce and the Washington County Heart Association.
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Don & Carol Lynn Gibson

Don & Caroly Lynn were the 2019 Alumni recipients.

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Mike Lutrell

Mike was joined by his parents, wife, and two of his children for the event.

For the first time ever, a Legacy award was given in honor of Thurman G. Smith. Legacy awards were started this year to honor those who left a positive impact in Springdale and have since passed on. Thurman worked in Springdale Schools for multiple years and was superintendent for the district from 1963 until 1982. Thurman helped open two elementary schools while serving the district.


The Smith family donated $2,000 in honor of Thurman for a one-time award for the Thurman G. Smith Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded in 2023 through the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation. This scholarship will be available on the SPSEF website for any Springdale senior who attended T.G. Smith Elementary.
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Charlie Smith

Charlie Smith was joined by Chris Stecklein to accept the first-ever legacy award in honor of his father, Thurman G. Smith.

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Smith Family

Thurman's brother, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren attended the event in his honor.

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T.G. Smith Elementary

Charlie Smith was also joined by T.G. Smith Elementary principal, Kim Simko, and Linda Childers-Knapp, who was a previous principal of the school.

SPSEF is proud of its 2022 honorees and believes this year’s reception was the best one yet.


The Cornerstone event and awards are made possible through the support of amazing partners, including Ozark Film & Video, The Apollo on Emma, Springdale Liquor Association, Elite Catering and The Odd Soul. The foundation would also like to thank the Springdale School District, which supports and works with the SPSEF Board of Directors.
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Chris Stecklein

Executive Director of the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation
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Brian Horne

Board President of the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation
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Dr. Jared Cleveland

Superintendant of Springdale Public Schools

Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation:

The mission of the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation is to promote the highest-quality education in Springdale Public Schools by supporting the teaching process, providing additional educational resources, and engaging a broad base of community support. The Springdale Public Schools Foundation has been in operation for over 11 years and has awarded over $2 million back into the Springdale School District.

SPSEF
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Every Child Deserves a Strong Foundation

Email: faith@spsef.org
Website: spsef.org
Location: 409 North Thompson Street, Springdale, AR, USA
Phone: 479-330-1856
Facebook: facebook.com/spsef

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