The accolades piled up for El Dorado during the 2019 ALFiE (Arkansans Love Festivals and Events) Awards ceremony.
A local volunteer received one of the top awards of the night, while a local event brought home the gold for the second consecutive year.
The ALFiEs “honor the best and brightest of Arkansas’ festivals and special events.”
The awards ceremony was a part of the 35th annual Arkansas Festivals and Events Conference and Trade Show, which was held Jan. 30 and 31 in Hot Springs.
Awards were presented for festivals and events that occurred around the state in 2018.
El Dorado firmly took its place among them with strong showings in several categories for festivals and special events presented by local groups, including South Arkansas Community College (SouthArk), Murphy USA and Main Street El Dorado.
Volunteer of the Year
Dean Inman, director of Enrollment Services for SouthArk, was named the 2018 Volunteer of the Year by the festivals and events association.
Nominees for the AFEA Volunteer of the Year Award are considered for their “significant enthusiasm and specific expertise while showing initiative and providing leadership, dependability, and a positive attitude.”
For AFEA award voters, Inman fit the bill.
He was recognized for two decades of volunteerism with the SouthArk Outdoor Expo, which raises money for scholarships and special initiatives at SouthArk.
According to the nomination that was submitted to the AFEA, Inman — a 25-year employee of SouthArk — works on plans for the expo during time off from his regular job duties at SouthArk, often using allotted vacation time to help ensure the Expo is a success.
The Expo started in 1998 as a one-day event to highlight activities that appeal to outdoorsmen and women.
Over the years, the Expo has grown into a weekend event with a variety of activities, contests and entertainment and crowds that have steadily grown each year to number in the hundreds.
One of the most popular expo activities is the rib cook-off, which averaged six to seven entries in the early days and now regularly draws 40 grills.
SouthArk attributes much of the growth to Inman’s leadership, saying that he regularly brainstorms on how to expand and promote the Expo, develops ideas for new activities and at times, spends his own money to purchase materials that are needed for the event.
For the past few years, Inman has served as the point-person for logistics, developing maps and instructions on the layout of the Expo perimeter.
He has also managed the judging system for the rib cook-off.
Cynthia Reyna, director of the SouthArk Foundation and External Funding, said AFEA conference attendees from around the state enthusiastically supported Inman’s Volunteer of the Year win.
“I’ve been attending this conference for several years and it is the only time I have seen an awardee receive a standing ovation,” Reyna said.
“We have won (ALFiE) awards in the last five years at various levels — Gold, Bronze and Silver … This year, it was especially competitive, so I feel fortunate that we were recognized,” she added.
The Expo also received a 2018 Bronze award for best Event Photo.
The award was a part of a series of categories that point to “top examples” of promotional and marketing materials for festivals and events.
Sporting Event of the Year
For the second consecutive year, the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout was named the Sporting Event of the Year by the ALFiEs.
The award honors festivals and events that feature or center around sports, bring recognition to the sport and enhance community pride.
Launched in 2015, the Shootout is a women’s golf tournament, a stop on the Symetra Tour and a qualifier for the LPGA.
Courtney Crotty, Shootout director, said the tournament also serves to highlight El Dorado and South Arkansas.
“We’re thrilled to win for the second year in a row. We’re happy to have the Symetra Tour in El Dorado to show what a small town has to offer,” Crotty said.
“I think our entire team put in a lot of work to make it a great event, not only for our company but also our community,” she continued.
The annual event is held at Mystic Creek golf course.
In its nearly five-year run, the tournament has grown to field an average of 135 aspiring young golfers from around the world.
Golfers compete for a slice of a six-figure purse and a chance at earning their full-time LPGA Tour cards for the following season.
Hyemin Kim, a South Korean native, won the 2018 tournament.
Kim took home a check for $22,500 cash and a diamond bracelet from Murphy-Pitard Jewelers.
The shootout is also a flagship fundraiser that lends a hand to various community programs, particularly those that serve area youth.
With the 2018 Shootout, Murphy USA donated $25,000 to Campfire El Dorado.
The shootout also places El Dorado hospitality on display, as golfers get a more intimate feel for the community by staying with host families during the multi-day tournament.
Moreover, the Shootout brings golf fans to El Dorado to observe a professional match at a top-notch course, Crotty said.
The shootout has typically been held in September.
This year, the event has been scheduled for April 26 to accommodate a longer schedule for a new-construction project at Mystic Creek, Crotty explained.
The statewide and nationwide recognition that has been given to the Shootout reflects community support for the event and benefits El Dorado, Crotty said.
She thanked sponsors and volunteers for helping to make the event a success, saying they also had a hand in the second Sporting Event of the Year Award nod and win from the ALFiEs.
Crotty said Murphy USA is looking for another successful year with the fifth annual Shootout and hopes that the event draws more golfers and larger crowds.
Main Street
For more than 30 years, Main Street El Dorado has been doing its part to help make El Dorado a destination in Arkansas.
The group’s efforts toward downtown revitalization, historic preservation and hosting special events have not gone unnoticed.
With six wins, MusicFest, which was launched by Main Street in 1988, is believed to hold the record for most ALFiE awards for Event of the Year.
Main Street events have racked up several other ALFiEs and other awards over the years and 2018 was no different.
Main Street took home the Silver for two new events it presented last year.
Grill Wars won a promotional ALFiE award and “I Got Flocked” received the Silver award in the Best New Festival or Event category.
“I Got Flocked,” or a “Flock Party,” was a street dance and one of several ancillary activities that were held in conjunction with Airstreams on the Square, which was hosted for the first time in El Dorado last September.
Main Street partnered with the Arkansas Razorback Airstream Club to host the event as a part of a nationwide campaign to stage Main Street/urban camping events across the country to promote the Airstream lifestyle and to help stimulate economic development and vitality in small-town America.
Nearly 30 Airstreams from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia camped out downtown for three days.
The Flock Party was named for the Flamingo logo of one of the Airstream groups that participated in the event.
Flock Party attendees were encouraged to wear Luau/flamingo attire.
During their stay in El Dorado, Airstreamers worked with Main Street to raise $800 for Relay for Life of Union County and donate canned goods to local, charitable food pantries.
Airstreamers will return to El Dorado Sept. 19.
Grill Wars was a cooking competition that introduced in 2018 as a part of Main Street’s summer events that include Showdown at Sunset and the Summer Concert Series.
Throughout June, July and August, teams lined up to grill steak, chicken and other meats, with Grill Wars serving as a qualifier for national cook-off competitions.
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Don Hale, owner of the Diamond Agency, was a presenter during the AFEA conference.
Hale focused on After-Event Marketing with co-presenter Katherine Daniels, a publisher with Arkansas Times - Media Brands.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.
