Hayden Shamel, Democratic candidate for Arkansas Congressional District 4, will be the guest speaker at the regular monthly meeting of the El Dorado-Union County NAACP when the group meets at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Community Room of Simmons First Bank, second floor.
As the daughter of a cattle rancher, Shamel grew up in Texarkana where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English. Her career in secondary and higher education has allowed her to work all over the Fourth District of Arkansas, giving her unique insight into the educational and economic needs of the people of this state. Shamel is taking her fight for Arkansas families to the national stage as a candidate for United States Congress from the Fourth District of Arkansas.
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Lisa Vaden, executive director of the Hospice & Palliative Care Association of Arkansas (HPCAA), will be the guest speaker when the Rotary Club meets at noon Monday at St. Mary’s Parish Hall.
Before joining HPCAA five years ago, Vaden served on their Board of Directors and Education/Planning Committee. In the provider world, she has nine years of hospice experience as well as 11 years of home health experience in administrative/educator roles. Vaden currently serves as a member of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization Council of States Steering Committee and Professional Education Committee where she works to promote and enhance quality end-of-life care through state and national activities. In 2017, Vaden was appointed to Arkansas’ “Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Task Force” by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
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Karen Hicks Langston, county coordinator for The CALL in Union County, will be the speaker when the Civitan Club at noon Thursday at Antigua’s restaurant.
Langston is a longtime resident of El Dorado. She graduated from El Dorado High School in 1996 and has spent more than 10 years working with children from hard places. Her training and experience stem from assisting families with child care, working as a house parent, mentoring local foster families and studying under Dr. David Cross at the Karyn Purvis Institute at TCU. Langston is proud of her status as a TBRI educator and spends much of her free time helping to educate the community in early childhood trauma.
Langston’s work with The CALL in Union County, a faith based nonprofit that works to recruit, train and support local families as they serve the foster and adopted children of Union County, includes educating Christian and community organizations on the needs and solutions to the foster care crisis. She works alongside the state organization and local DHS. She also organizes numerous educational and fun activities for our foster community. Langston strongly believes that the Christian community has a role to play in the care of local orphans. Her work helps create a bridge that builds a bond between the church and the state in this mission field.
Langston’s family keeps her well involved in the local art scene. Her son, Avery, is a senior at EHS and a wonderful tuba player. Her daughter, Lily, is in third grade at Hugh Goodwin and can be seen on the stage at the South Arkansas Arts Center. Langston has been married to Jeremy (Bear) Langston, a local musician and guitar instructor, for 17 years. She enjoys working as needed at the new Murphy Arts District in Union County. Langston and her family are active members at College Ave Church of Christ where Karen and Jeremy are the host for the >15 percenters class (young adults). The fifth member of the Langston family, and the most demanding, is their new rescue dog, Pawnee.