Each inducted teacher was introduced Friday with a biographical speech, then that teacher or their relatives spoke of their approach to their jobs and their experiences of working for the Hope school district. Then time was provided for anyone present to speak about that teacher’s influence on their own lives.
The following teachers were inducted:
· Glenda Denise Alderson Clark. According to the biography released by the Hall of Fame Committee and displayed on her party’s table at the ceremony, she “served as math instructor at Yerger Middle School and Hope High School. Her love of math started with her Algebra One teacher, Mrs. Kendall Benton Williams. Along her journey in public education, she was privileged to serve as President and Treasurer of the Hope Education Association. She became Teacher of the Year and Educator of the Year in 2008. In the final six years of her tenure, she served as an instructional facilitator for math and science. She really enjoyed her years of interacting with and teaching students. They have provided many fond memories. Currently, she is serving as the president of the Hempstead County Retired Teachers and Area Board Director for Arkansas Retired Teachers Association.”
· Robert Hesse. “During his 37 years of teaching, he taught in the public schools of Hope, Springdale, Marion and Arkadelphia. During his 15 years as band director at Hope High School, the Hope Superband became one of the prominent performing bands in Arkansas, winning numerous championships throughout the South. The Hope bands played for presidential rallies, parades, governor’s inaugurations, presidential inauguration parades and many other special events. He has been a member of and has served with numerous band organizations throughout his lifetime.”
· William Darryl Muldrew. “Mr. Muldrew is a graduate of Hope High School class of 1972. Upon graduation, he attended Henderson State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology, after which he attended Ouachita Baptist University, earning his master's degree in History … His first role with education was at the Arkansas School for the Deaf in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he served as the home life counselor for male students. After his stay in Little Rock, Mr. Muldrow returned to his hometown where he taught history at Yerger Middle School. In 1990, Mr. Muldrew was promoted to director and head instructor for the Alternative Learning Education program, where he remained until he retired. He retired from Hope Public School district after teaching for 37 years.”
· Alma Soils Phillips, “She graduated from Southern State College in Magnolia and began her teaching career with the Hope Public School District in August of 1976 as an English teacher for the high school. She served in this capacity until August of 1986 when she became the first African American library media specialist in the Hope Public Schools district. In June of 2017 Mrs. Phillips concluded her 41 year teaching career, where it all started, with the Hope Public Schools District. She once said that she had known since the fourth grade that she wanted to be a teacher.”
· Billie Pal Cox Whitmarsh. She is a posthumous recipient. At the Friday afternoon induction, her daughter Donna Woodruff accepted the honor on her behalf. “Billie Pal Cox Whitmarsh began her education career at age five, when she entered first grade at Prescott, Arkansas. After graduating from Prescott High School in 1949, she earned a BSE and MSE from Henderson State Teacher College. In 1951 Billy Powell married her high school sweetheart, Bobby Whitmarsh and began her professional teaching career that fall at Prescott elementary school. She taught first and second grades for 12 years. She began her Hope career at Paisley, teaching sixth grade for two years, then second grade at Brookwood for one year, and third grade at Garland for one year while the new elementary school was being completed. Beryl Henry Elementary School officially opened its doors in 1967 with six classrooms, an office, library and cafeteria with a staff of ten. Over the next 23 years, under Mrs. Whitmarsh’s leadership, BHE grew to a campus of 28 classrooms, more than 50 teachers and staff and more than 750 students. In 1988 Billy. Al Whitmarsh was named Hempstead County Teacher of the Year … Mrs. Whitmarsh's professional career spanned 38 years of continual devotion to a life she loved in education. To sum up Mrs. Whitmarsh's philosophy on educating students is the quote on the Beryl Henry elementary front foyer wall. The quote is from Miss Beryl Henry, a student is not a vessel to be filled, but a lamp to be lit.”
Later Friday, before kickoff of the Hope Bobcats game against the Lakeside Rams at Hammons Stadium, the inductees were honored on the field as their biographies were read by announcer Steve Lance to the sounds of appreciative applause from the home spectators.
