Fort Smith Times

Arvest Bank Announces ‘We Love Teachers’ Honorees

Arvest Bank is pleased to announce twenty one teachers in Fort Smith and the River Valley have been awarded $500 gifts as part of its “We Love Teachers” initiative.

This is the seventh consecutive year Arvest has conducted the initiative. A total of 145 teachers at public state-funded schools throughout the bank’s four-state footprint are being awarded. Recipients are selected by partnering schools’ administrations based on classroom needs.

The recipients in Fort Smith and the River Valley are:

Brushy Elementary               Tashaa Harris

Liberty Elementary                Cheryl Gustafson

Dover High School                Jon Sumners

Hector High School               Carla Oakes

Atkins High School                Melissa McCrotty

Pottsville High School            Abby Falls

Russellville High School       Jennifer Lachowsky

London Elementary               Kady Nagel

Dardanelle High School        Sherry Holliman

Lavaca Elementary               Ashley Dorr

Westwood Elementary          Kallie Cooper

Tilles Elementary                   Rachel Adams

Tilles Elementary                   Rachel Brannon

Kimmons Jr High                   Sara Williams

Clarksville School District      Kim Patterson

Howe High School                 Rebekah McAllister

Panama High School             Casey Leapttrot

Waldron School District          Mary Brown

Alma High School                  Jeana Parker

Van Buren High School          Kellie Salyer

Mulberry High School            Zach Zajicek

Mena School District              Linda Willard

The “We Love Teachers” initiative aims to address a widespread need among teachers. According to a 2021 AdoptAClassroom.org survey, teachers spent an average of $750 of their own money for classroom needs during the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, 30 percent of respondents said they spend $1,000 or more per year.

“We salute our recipients here in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley and all the hard-working teachers everywhere,” Arvest marketing manager Jennifer Caldwell said. “We know teachers face a lot of challenges and we appreciate what they do on a daily basis to make a positive impact on their students and our communities. We hope our gifts make these teachers’ jobs a little easier.”

Original source can be found here.