New state board officers were elected last month at the annual state meeting in Hot Springs. Barry Jefferson of the Jacksonville Branch defeated Rizelle Aaron of the North Little Rock Branch and Scott Green of the Little Rock Branch to win the state presidency.

A total of seven at-large members were elected, including Deborah Rhodes, Roosevelt Dobbins, and Joy Bynum from the North Little Rock Branch, Dorothy Oliver and Arlene Woody from the Pine Bluff Branch, and Daniel Bowman and Willie Catha Jones from the Little Rock Branch.

A diverse group of citizens and community leaders attended the two-day conference with workshops focused on NAACP’s mission. The keynote speaker at the Dr. Jerry Jewell Freedom Fund Banquet was Judge Wendel Griffen, and the luncheon speaker for the youth and college students was Mayor Jaylen Smith of Earle.