Volume 2 Issue 18 Published monthly by the Arkansas River Valley Tri - Region Association December 2004 LAKE DARDANELLE STATE PARK RECEIVES ARKANSAS STATE PARKS 2003-2004 "REGION I" AND "PARK OF THE YEAR" AWARDS   Lake Dardanelle State Park Visitor Center, Russellville Lake Dardanelle State Park has been selected as the recipient of both the 2003-2004 "Region I" and "Park of the Year" awards by Arkansas State Parks, according to State Parks Director Greg Butts. He presented the awards at the park to park staff at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Lake Dardanelle State Park is located at Exit #81 (Ark. Hwy. 7) off I-40 at Russellville, turn south, then immediately turn west on Ark. 326 and go five miles. Lake Dardanelle is one of the 51 state parks operated by the State Parks Division, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. The State Parks Division presents awards annually for park and museum excellence within Arkansas's state parks system. The awards are announced at the annual business meeting of the park superintendents and museum directors. This year's meeting was held September 21-23 at DeGray Lake Resort State Park near Bismarck. Butts noted that these awards are presented annually. The 2003-2004 awards honor the Park of the Year, Museum of the Year, Region I-IV winners, and awards for outstanding park maintenance, hospitality, volunteer program, resource management, interpretive program, and special event. Mr. Butts noted, "Visitor comments, maintenance and operations, budget management, revenue production, interpretive program development, volunteer program activities, community public relations, resource management and many other factors are considered in selecting the award recipients." Lake Dardanelle was named the Region I winner, and then honored with the overall Park of the Year Award from among the Museum and Region I-IV winners. Region I falls within the northwest portion of Arkansas. The nine other parks in Region I are Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area near Wickes, Devil's Den State Park near West Fork, Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area near Rogers, Lake Fort Smith State Park at Mountainburg, Lake Ouachita State Park near Mountain Pine, Mount Magazine State Park near Paris, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park at Prairie Grove, Queen Wilhelmina State Park near Mena, and Withrow Springs State Park near Huntsville. Butts said, "Park Superintendent Andy Thomas and the staff at Lake Dardanelle State Park bring credit to the State of Arkansas with their outstanding and dedicated work. This award recognizes their efforts, the public's response to those efforts, and focuses on their exemplary work in all areas of park management over the past year." Lake Dardanelle State Park experienced an outstanding year in 2003-2004. Southern Traveler Magazine, the official AAA publication for Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi read by more than 320,000 frequent travelers, recognized the park as one of their "Southern Travel Treasures". Also, the visitor center was a finalist for the Natural State Award in conjunction with the Henry Awards ceremony at the Governor's Conference on Tourism in March, 2004. Total visitation to the park was 397,244 during FY2003. Lake Dardanelle State Park hosted many successful fishing tournaments, including the Crappie USA, Women's Bass Fishing Association, Tyson Bass Tournament, Wal-Mart Tournament, Alltel Big Lunker Classic, the Arkansas Hospitality Association Big Bass Bonanza, and the B.A.S.S./ESPN Elite 50. The B.A.S.S./ESPN Elite 50 was probably the largest event ever held at Lake Dardanelle. This tournament gave the park national exposure on ESPN and put Lake Dardanelle on the map as a quality fishing destination. The Expo surrounding the event was very popular and attracted thousands of visitors each day. Fifty of the best fishermen in America focused a lot of attention on the park. ESPN noted that they had more people go through the ESPN Inter-Action Exhibit on the Saturday of this event than they have ever had during a single day, including the Summer X Games. One of the largest special events was National Public Lands Day. This event is held in conjunction with the Great Arkansas Cleanup and is a joint effort with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Dardanelle Aquatic Resource Team (DART), and community volunteers. The 2nd Annual Halloween Storytelling Trail was another successful special event. Daycare Daze is another successful special event. It's a great way to get area preschool children to the park to enjoy nature and learn about the natural and historical resources of the area. In the summer of 2003, an average of 150 children participated each week for six weeks, covering topics on eagles, fish, bees, and conservation. In 2004 the program was changed to allow time for a day camp for school age children and offering two sessions of the daycare daze programs to reach more children. Five daycares participated in the program. After the new visitor's center opened, park interpreters began offering a Saturday afternoon storytelling program - "Interpreter's Tales" -- in the children's area of the center. Park interpreters presented 166 educational programs to visiting school groups with an attendance of 4,918 students. All uniformed park management staff assisted with 740 other programs which attracted 20,719 visitors. Volunteers play an important role at Lake Dardanelle State Park. Also the Parks and Recreation Program at Arkansas Tech University continue to send talented students to the park to complete their work experience and internship hours. Each student works at the park for either an eighty-hour work experience or a five hundred hour internship. They prepare and present programs, assist with park visitors, and help in maintaining the park grounds. The park instructs them on different careers with state parks and park responsibilities. They learn everything from budgeting and administration to maintenance and interpretation. This partnership works well in that it has helped the park and has formed a lasting relationship with the University. Each student also completes a project for the park as part of their coursework. This year six student volunteers contributed 511 volunteer hours. Four volunteer park hosts who worked in both the Russellville and the Dardanelle areas donated 2,362 hours. Hosts work at least twenty hours per week assisting with campground activities. Other volunteer groups who gave time were the Mill Creek Bass Club, the Dardanelle Aquatic Resource Team, the Russellville Chamber of Commerce, the Russellville Advertising and Promotion Commission, the Auxiliary Coast Guard, Tri-Peaks Tourism Association, Hunters Education, Boy Scouts, and other community clubs and groups. The Master Gardeners of Russellville gave many hours in designing flower beds to enhance the new visitor's center and other areas of the park. Lake interpretive cruises have continued to be popular with visitors, which include wildlife, sunset and fall color interpretive tours. Some type of cruise is offered each season. Another successful program was the 4-H/USAF Adventure Camp. Approximately 200 participants were in the kayaking program. This camp is sponsored by the United State Air Force and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. The program, which was available to hundreds of select young adults from U.S. Air Force bases around the world, was coordinated by the assistant superintendent and the Ferndale 4-H Center in Little Rock. Participants came from Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and the Azores. The Volunteer School Alternative Program is stronger than ever. This program works with juvenile delinquents at the schools, giving them a chance to correct negative behavior in the community. Community service is the primary component of this program and provides needed labor to assist the park staff. The program is more than just providing a place to work off fines. The participants are given a chance to obtain job skills, gain confidence in themselves and promote positive behavior. Lake Dardanelle State Park experienced a tremendous growth in park revenues which increased 44% over the previous year. The park maintenance staff completed over 35 maintenance projects on the grounds and facilities at both the Dardanelle and Russellville areas. Lake Dardanelle State Park, with assistance from the Boy Scouts of America, the 4-H City Slickers, Arkansas Tech University, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Corps of Engineers, has continued to seek solutions to the continued erosion of the Little Island. Hospitality is a primary goal at Lake Dardanelle State Park. Visitors continually comment on the friendly attitude of the staff. The park continues to experience a good relationship with the surrounding community. Along with Lake Dardanelle State Park, other Arkansas State Parks Park of the Year Award winners for 2003-2004 were: Region II Park of the Year-Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park near Scott; Region III Park of the Year-Lake Frierson State Park near Jonesboro; Region IV Park of the Year-Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro; and Museum of the Year-Arkansas Post Museum near Gillett. Other award winners were: Outstanding Park Maintenance-Lake Frierson State Park near Jonesboro; Outstanding Hospitality-Cane Creek State Park near Star City; Volunteer Program-Old Washington Historic State Park at Washington; Resource Management-Cossatot River State Park - Natural Area near Wickes; Interpretive Program-Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park at Prairie Grove; and Outstanding Special Event-Parkin Archeological State Park's "Sawmill Days". For further information, contact: Greg Butts, Director, Arkansas State Parks, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 / Phone: (501) 682-7743 / E-mail: greg.butts@arkansas.gov ; or Andy Thomas, Superintendent, Lake Dardanelle State Park, 100 State Park Drive, Russellville, AR 72802 / Phone: (479) 967-3516 / E-mail: andy.thomas@arkansas.gov. Holiday Tour of Lights  Reprinted from Arkansas Tourism Industry enewsletter Communities Light the Way for the Holidays. The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism's 2004 Trail of Lights begins on Wednesday November 17 and runs through Monday December 27. New participants this year include Springdale, Marshall, Texarkana, Gurdon, and Alma to make a total of 72 holiday displays. A gift basket giveaway has been added to the trail, with one winner from each region. Entry forms can be found on the back of the Trail of Holiday Lights brochure or on arkansas.com. Participating communities donated gift items, ranging from overnight stays to cookbooks, to make up each regional basket. Entries must be received by Jan. 1, 2005. The brochure is being distributed through Vacation Planning Kits, Arkansas Welcome Centers, participating Shell Superstops, Bank of America branches, and participating chambers of commerce. News Release "The Christmas Story" To get your family in a wonderful Holiday Spirit make your plans now to attend The Christmas Story, now celebrating it's ninth season. Denise Sery directs the Christmas Story with musical directions by Ken Futterer. This is a lively, moving retelling of the birth of Christ in music and dance with a cast of almost 70 talented residents of the area. No matter how busy your Holiday schedule, you will be glad you took time to attend one of these performances. You are bound to see someone you know in the cast- from a live Baby Jesus to senior citizens. To give everyone an opportunity to see this great show-it will be performed on two weekends. Friday and Saturday, December 3 & 4 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 5 at 2:00 p.m. and December 10 & 11 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. Location: Gardner Auditorium, 1000 South Arkansas Ave., Russellville. Tickets are available at the door $7 adults and $5 students and below. Group discounts are available. Tickets can also be purchased at the Arkansas River Valley Arts Center and Higher Grounds. Contact person: Betty LaGrone, ARV Arts Center, 479-968-2452        Arkansas Restaurants Arkansas' restaurants provide appetizing, healthful and nourishing food, convenience, value, entertainment, and social occasions where people can enjoy friends and family away from the stresses of daily life. Restaurants in Arkansas also are an engine of economic growth, generating tremendous sales and tax revenues for the state. They provide career-and-employment opportunities for individuals of every age, background, and skill and experience level. Restaurants are an important part of their communities and neighborhoods, enthusiastically and generously giving their time and resources to support a variety of causes. Locations * Number of eating and drinking places in Arkansas............5,495 Sales * 2004 eating and drinking place sales in Arkansas..........$2.3 billion Employment * 2004 estimated restaurant and foodservice employment for Arkansas .................................................................................99,600 * 2014 projected restaurant and foodservice employment in Arkansas ................................................................................119,600 * Total new Jobs added, 2004-2014................................19,400 Reprinted from Arkansas Hospitality Association   Calendar of Events Dec. 1-31: 2nd Annual Monastic Arts Exhibit & Sale at Subiaco Abbey…… Subiaco, Performing Arts Center Gallery For more info contact: Claudia Dersch 479-963-6258 or visit their website www.subi.org Admission: Free Dec. 5: Altus Christmas Parade……Altus Town Square. Watch beautiful floats and the joys of Christmas as children visit with Santa. For more info contact: Jennifer Brown 479-468-4684 or visit website www.altusarkansas.com Admission: Free Dec. 4: Clarksville's Christmas Lighting and Parade……Christmas lighting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Johnson County Courthouse. Parade will start at 6:30 p.m. on Main St. For more info contact: Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce 479-754-2340 Dec. 2: 19th Annual Russellville Christmas Parade....Join us for this years traditional Christmas Tree Lighting and Parade. For more info contact: Russellville Area Chamber 479-968-2530 or visit website www.russellvillechamber.org Admission: Free Dec. 2-Jan. 2: Russellville's Tinsel Town….Historic Depot District. Russellville creates outdoor ice skating for the holidays. For more info contact: Shannon Sheppard 479-967-1762 or email promotion@russellville.org. Admission: $5.00. Dec. 3-4: 14th Annual Christmas Gala……Russellville Hughes Center. Get all your Christmas shopping done in one or two days. For more info contact: Judy Matthews 479-968-6430 or email frmjlm@centurytel.net Admission: Free Dec. 3-4: Living Nativity…..Perryville, Heifer Ranch. See the nativity story as told in five drive-by scenes with live characters and animals. For more info contact: Ranch Events Office 501-889-5124 or visit their website www.heifer.org. Admission: Free Dec. 4: Christmas Time Open House……Morrilton Petit Jean State Park. The park is dressed in Christmas finery. Seasonal activities and demonstrations for your enjoyment at beautiful, historic Mather Lodge! Rumor has it Santa will make an appearance. For more info contact: Lori Anderson 501-727-5441 or visit their website www.petitjeanstatepark.com Admission: Free Dec. 4: Annual Christmas Parade…..Ozark, Commercial St. Night parade with lots of lights. For more info contact: Ozark Area Chamber 479-667-2525. Admission: Free Dec. 4: Christmas Open House at The Mather Lodge...Petit Jean State Park. For more info call 501-727-5441 or email petitjean@arkansas.org   Happy Holidays