A Guest Post by Andrea Price
For nine generations, my family has called the Arkansas Delta home and it gives me great joy to serve in the Delta.
From Mississippi County to Chicot County, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with Arkansas Community Foundation executive directors and board members who are committed to making their communities better. In many cases, the local affiliate boards of the Community Foundation are the only local, grant-making entities serving an entire county. Their service is an essential part of community life and I am honored to work with such committed public servants. In every community I serve, I take informal tours of each community and I’ve found something special in each place.
In Clarendon, I found mini libraries sprinkled throughout the town. On the town square in Marianna, there’s a playground the local affiliate of the Community Foundation helped fund. Lake Village has the largest oxbow lake in North America and members of the local board hold their meeting along this beautiful body of water. I’ve found that a picture is really worth a thousand words when I visited Helena’s famous Johnson‘s Studio, and I visited the Northern Ohio School at Parkin Archeological State Park and experienced a piece of American History. These are just a few of the attractions that make the communities special.
In addition to working with the affiliates and experiencing local attractions, I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy local fares throughout the Delta. Unique food shops and abundant fresh food stands line highways through the Delta. The smell of the best bar-b-que in the United States permeates the air in communities throughout the Delta, and the best canned chow-chow, pickled tomatoes, jams and jellies can be found in some of the most inconspicuous places. There is no shortage of good food or good people in the place I call home.
Every time I make a trip to an affiliate area, I am reminded of the history that helped shape the Delta, the people who are currently working to make it stronger and the future of this very special region of the country. For me, there is no place like home and I am honored to give back to a place that gave so much to me.