Scott receives Chamber of Commerce’s highest honor

Farmers Bank and Trust president Randy Scott received the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s most prestigious honor – the Lifetime Community Achievement Award – Thursday night.

Chamber past president Billy Curl presented the award to Scott during the annual banquet, which was held in the elegantly-decorated ART hangar at the Arkansas Aeroplex.

“I’m too young for a lifetime achievement award; I’ve got a lot of life left in me,” Scott quipped.

Curl noted Scott has achieved much in a short period of time and has done so with a unique personality, showing photos of the fun-loving family man dressing up in a variety of characters.

“So, the question is, What is a lifetime?” Curl said. “For some of us, it takes 60 years to accomplish a lot. But for others, 30 or 40 may be enough. Our winner tonight is what we might call action-packed. It hasn’t taken very long for him to leave big footprints in the sands of community. He got his competitive spirit when he was born as the last of the babies to his mom and dad, Glenda and Harold. That was back in 1968. He has spent a lifetime making sure he was his mother’s favorite child, and while many of us in the room know better, she still thinks her little Randy is an angel.”

Curl said Scott, a native of Hornersville, has always had a strong work ethic, was an Eagle Scout, “and well, truthfully, he was a bit of a nerd in school.”

“He got really lucky in high school when Susie McClain, a sultry and lovely brunette, asked him to the Junior prom,” Curl continued. “That was the beginning of a long friendship that turned into a lifetime of love, family and good fortune.”

Scott graduated from Southeast Missouri State College, working through college and paying his own way.

“After their 1991 marriage, Susie and Randy spent nine years in Sikeston before making their way to Blytheville, and Farmers Bank would never be the same again,” Curl said. “And Blytheville has felt the Randy Scott touch. He made a huge name for himself in the early 2000s as chair of Relay for Life, raising record money and kicking off momentum for a program that still today brings the city national acclaim. As the youngest president of the Chamber of Commerce, it was Randy who started this awards format for the annual banquet, an idea he got from visiting other chambers to learn how to be a good president.”

“Randy’s contributions at the Chamber were pivotal, just as they have been in other organizations. Blytheville Unlimited, Blytheville Rotary Club, Blytheville Crime Stoppers, Great River Economic Development Foundation, are just some organizations that have counted Randy as a board leader,” Curl continued.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has appointed Scott to the Arkansas State Banking Board and the board at Arkansas Northeastern College.

Scott has been heavily involved in the community since moving to Blytheville two decades ago.

“With endless contributions to the community—far too many to list—perhaps one of Randy’s finest is the long-standing work he did in forming the Blytheville Baseball Softball organization,” Curl said. “Thousands of children have learned life lessons, benefitted from strong role models and played competitive sports because of the efforts of a group of volunteers led by Randy Scott. The impact of this program alone is worth many awards.”

“To Randy, of course, none of this matters as much as his family, his dogs and….well….his chickens. Oh—and those dang St. Louis Cardinals,” Curl quipped. “He is the proud father of Lauren, the daughter known as the Queen, who according to friends and family, is really just like Randy. And Andrew, ambitious and successful--so maybe just like his father too! For Susie and Randy, life has centered around their children.”

Curl lightheartedly mentioned one other accomplishment.

“Most recently, Randy has become the Mayor of Sandy Ridge, Arkansas. Self-elected mayor, I should add,” he said. “His father was a farmer, and Randy had no interest in farming when he was young. But his father would no doubt be proud today to see that farming brings great pleasure to his youngest son.”

“Randy embraces the best of his upbringing and he shares it all through his special gifts of keen intelligence and good humor,” Curl added.

Scott told the NEA Town Courier, “I am so honored to receive this award and join a very distinguished group of past recipients. I sure don’t think I am old enough to receive the award, I still have another lifetime left to serve this community.”

Previous recipients include Bo Huffman, Mason Day, Dale Briggs, Mary Gay Shipley, J.M. “Mac” Williams, Jr., David King, Jerry Sims, Mike Huffman, Emmanuel Lofton, John Ed Regenold, George Hubbard, Neil Burge, Steve Southard, Bill Kenner, Don Houseworth, and Dr. Anes Abraham.

Meanwhile, the Chamber handed out its other annual awards, with nominations based on quarterly award winners.

Mississippi County Library System received the Pride in Property award; other nominees included city of Blytheville, Grass Roots Salon, and Main Street Massage.

Rose Pharmacy took home the Small Business/Industry Award. Other nominees included AAA Plumbing, Dawson Employment and Hopper’s Exxon.

Hays Supermarkets was selected as the Large Business/Industry award winner, with Atlas Tube, Bronco and Mississippi County Hospital System also being nominated.

Blytheville special education teacher Catherine Adell was named Educator of the Year. Other nominees were Gosnell’s Kimberly Hendrix, Armorel’s Jonathan Carmack, and KIPP’s Lynnette Lewis.

Dawson Employment won the Community Impact award.

Meanwhile, the 2020-21 Blytheville Leadership Institute culminated with participates receiving their certificates for graduating from the program.

Those completing the program included Shayla Adelowo, Reggie Amerson, Michael Bugos, Tachmonite Butler, Ronald Cooper, Holly Jo Engle, Sheila Gale, Jacob Gatlin, Josh Hardin, Dontavius Ingram, Daniel Kern, Varun Krisnan, Melisa Logan, Christy Morse, Justin Payne, Matt Robinson, Chuck Sawyers, Adam Stallings, Mallory Tucker, Sheila Ward, Lucretia Williams, and Seth Wyatt.

The Chamber also paid tribute to healthcare workers with a video and round of applause.