SPRINGDALE -- The Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation will celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of four people at its annual Cornerstone gala this week.
The foundation puts on the event each fall to honor one patron, one alumnus and a retiree of the School District. It will be held Thursday at the Arts Center of the Ozarks. Tickets are available online or at the door for $100 per person; drinks and heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Cornerstone
What: Cornerstone honors those individuals whose hard work and dedication have significantly impacted the face of education in Springdale.
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, with special remarks at 7 p.m.
Where: Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main St., Springdale
Cost: $100 per person; tickets are available online at spsef.org/cornersto… or at the door
Source: Staff report
Mike Luttrell, a School Board member, will serve as master of ceremonies.
This year's alumnus is not one person but a couple, Julie and Rick Roblee. Julie Roblee played a key role in organizing community support to close a portion of West Emma Avenue that divided the Springdale High School campus. The City Council approved that move in 2007, clearing the way for a renovation of the high school.
Julie Roblee also pushed for establishing the foundation and was one of its original board members.
"She's done a ton of other things," said Chris Stecklein, the foundation's executive director.
Rick Roblee, an orthodontist, has largely worked behind the scenes supporting his wife in her endeavors to support the district, Stecklein said.
This year's other Cornerstone award winners are Joe Donaldson, owner and president of Sam's Furniture, as the district patron and Linda Childers Knapp as the district retiree.
Knapp worked for the district for 32 years -- two as a teacher and 30 as a principal -- before retiring in 2010. The district's newest elementary school, which opened in 2016, is named after her.
Knapp, who moved to Dallas last year, will return to Springdale for Thursday's event. She said she was "overwhelmed" when she heard she'd been chosen for the Cornerstone award.
She said she's most proud of the district leaders she helped develop. Eleven teachers who worked under her have become principals in Springdale, including Maribel Childress, who was promoted this year from principal to an assistant superintendent position.
"Working with all of those young educators that have just accomplished so much on their own was such a joy," Knapp said. "We all learned together and learned so much from each other."
Donaldson was chosen for his philanthropy and his commitment to helping the district and the community. Mayor Doug Sprouse, in a video interview conducted for the foundation's Cornerstone event, said he's never had to ask Donaldson for anything because Donaldson is always offering his help.
"When Joe sees a need, he's coming to me, or I know he's coming to others in areas of leadership and saying, what can I do, I've got an idea, will this work, will this help," Sprouse said.
The foundation launched in 2011 and has done a Cornerstone celebration each year since then. The event typically raises between $25,000 and $35,000 each year, but fundraising is not the primary reason for the event, Stecklein said.
"We really do it to recognize these people for everything they've done in the community and the schools," he said.
Money raised by the foundation goes toward college scholarships for Springdale graduates and grants to staff members for projects and initiatives intended to serve Springdale students.
The foundation expects to pass the $1 million mark in combined scholarships and grants given out by the end of 2019, Stecklein said. That's far ahead of what he projected the amount would be at this point when he began organizing the foundation in 2010, he said.
The foundation does two grant application cycles per year. One starts on March 1 and ends May 1; the other starts Oct. 1 and ends Dec. 1.
Grants given in the last funding cycle included $1,500 for a disc golf course at Southwest Junior High School; $637 for added technology to the band program at Tyson Middle School; and $1,500 for quarterly schoolwide club days at Lee Elementary, according to district officials.
NW News on 10/15/2019