Milburn, Brooks Chair 2007-2008 Fund Drive
Two Harrison community leaders, representing business and healthcare, are chairing the 2007-2008 North Arkansas College Foundation Annual Fund Drive.
“We’re very pleased to have Ken Milburn and Dr. Lad Brooks leading this effort,” said Northark President Dr. Jeff Olson. “They are outstanding supporters of our college who understand and value its role in the development of northern Arkansas.”
Ken Milburn, owner of Pippin Wholesale Company, is a lifelong resident of Harrison, where his family has lived for several generations. Dr. Frank A. “Lad” Brooks III and his family moved to Harrison 15 years ago.
Something the two fund drive chairs have in common is an appreciation for the importance of North Arkansas College to the area.
“North Arkansas College has educated my family, fellow employees, and friends,” said Milburn. “Everywhere you go around this region, you will run into former students of our college.”
Ken and his wife, Sharon, have two children: Anna Kate (24) and Matt (21). Both took North Arkansas College classes while still in high school. Ken’s nephews, Ben Milburn and James Jech, and his brother-in-law, Mike Jech, are former Northark students. Sister-in-law Kathy Milburn has an associate’s degree from North Arkansas College.
Milburn has served in almost every leadership role available in Harrison over the years, from board president of what is now the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce to board chair of the Boone County Economic Development Corporation. He has also been active in a number of campaigns to improve the quality of life in our community.
Ken’s mother, Bernice Milburn, is a former member of the North Arkansas College Board of Trustees. Bernice and Martha Milburn, Ken’s aunt, are major donors to the North Arkansas College Foundation. In recognition of gifts endowing the Kenneth Milburn, Sr., Computer Laboratory and two scholarship funds, they are also past recipients of the Northark Board of Trustees Award.
“I’m honored to serve as a new member of the North Arkansas College Foundation Board,” commented Milburn, who covers expenses for employees who complete Northark classes, “and looking forward to working with Dr. Lad Brooks as co-chairs of this campaign. Given the impact our college has on the community, it deserves our support.”
Brooks and his wife, Kim, a part-time English instructor at Northark for 14 years, say the presence of a community college was a “drawing card” when they considered towns for his dental practice in the early 1990s.
“Kim and I value education greatly,” Lad said, “and Northark presents opportunities for our children to be exposed to the world outside Boone County through speakers and other events, as well as offering them the option of taking college level classes while they are still in high school.
“Northark also opens up the postsecondary educational system to anyone at any age, an integral part in keeping the community alive and vital,” he continued. “Through Northark, the door to education never closes.”
An assistant Boy Scout troop leader and an active member of the First Presbyterian church, Brooks volunteers at the Rotary Club of Harrison’s free dental clinic, serves on the board of CASA, and is president of the Buffalo River Cyclists. He and Kim have three children: Beck (12), Kennedy (9), and Merritt (5 months).
“Our college offers additional cultural and educational opportunities to the community, and it provides quality employee potential for businesses and the medical community,” noted Brooks, who offers a college fund for children of his employees. “We are so fortunate to have a college with the variety of offerings that Northark has in a community of this size.”
The 2007-2008 Annual Fund Drive runs from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. Last year’s campaign generated $848,709 in gifts from almost 450 donors. Over the past 20 years, the fund drive has raised over $6.3 million from nearly 1,500 donors for a variety of Northark projects, including scholarships, endowed chairs for faculty development, the John Paul Hammerschmidt Lecture Series, computer labs, facilities, and new programs.
For more information about the North Arkansas College Foundation, contact Dr. Jim Stockton at (870) 391-3229 or Micki Somers at (870) 391-3242.