AGS Alumni received notification from Lyle Rupert, Director of 2018 Arkansas Governor’s School, that Dr. James Rush died earlier this week.   Jim, as he was known to his friends and colleagues, served on the Arkansas Governor’s School faculty for thirty-five of its thirty-seven years.  He helped develop the curriculum for Governor’s School inaugural session in 1980 and served on its faculty.  Many of those ideas presented in that inaugural session are still used today.  During the other 46 weeks of the year, he was a Professor in the Philosophy and Religion department at Philander Smith College.

While plans for his funeral have not been finalized, AGS Alumni has learned that his wife Kaycie would like for friends and loved ones of Jim to write down stories and memories about him.  AGS Alumni will be collecting memories to honor this request.   You can fill out this form or  email  us at agsalumnipres@gmail.com.  Any person wanting to send snail mail can do so by sending their cards and letters to Arkansas Governor’s School at 1600 Washington Avenue, Conway, Arkansas 72032.

When plans for a memorial service are finalized, we will announce them here.

• Wesley Beal. Class of 1999, Social Sciences.  Associate Professor of English at Lyon College. Bio can be found here.
• Russell Brassel, Class of 1989, Social Sciences, Application Programmer with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• Kate Finefield, Class of 2001, English/Language Arts, Owner/operatory of Goatroper Farms.
• Jason Hendren, Class of 1989, Social Sciences.  Attorney at Wright, Lindsey, Jennings.  Bio can be found here
• Miranda Morris, Class of 1985, English/Language Arts.  Bio can be found here.
• Jason Murphy, Class of 1988, English/Language Arts.  Associate Professor of Philosophy at Elms Collge.  Bio can be found here 
• Nate Powell   Graphic novelist and musician. Bio can be found here.

The  Ballot to vote can be found here

Due to a lack of interest, the event was canceled. There was a minimum number of tickets needed for Playtime Pizza and that minimum was not met. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The next AGS alumni meeting will be held on September 17, 2016 from 11:30 to 1:30>at Vino’s located at 923 West 7th (the corner of 7th and Chester) in Little Rock, Arkansas. Take I-630. Take the Chester street exit going north. Vino’s is to your left. You can park in the parking lot across the street from the fire station.

The items on the Agenda will be

1. Planning the class of 2016 holiday/ early reunion party.
2. Selection process of 2017 AGS Alumni speaker
3. Debriefing process of selecting 2016 Alumni speaker
4. Website
5. Other AGS alumni activities
6. General Business.

If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, a conference call will be set up. Please stay tuned.

This year AGS alumni will be having meetings every third Saturday of the month, beginning July 16, 2016.

The first one will be on JULY 16, 2016 at Vino’s located at 923 West 7th (the corner of 7th and Chester) in Little Rock, Arkansas. Take I-630. Take the Chester street exit going north. Vino’s is to your left. You can park in the parking lot across the street from the fire station.

Save the dates:

July 16, 2016
August 20,
September 17
October 15, 2016
November 19, 2016
December 17, 2016
January 21, 2017
February 18, 2017
March 18, 2017
April 15, 2017
May 20, 2017

Today is Tuesday March 1, 2016. It is also known as Super Tuesday in American politics. This is the day that Arkansans are to vote in the primary election. According to my clock, you have about 5 more hours to make it to your polling place.

Voting is one of the fundamental rights in our nation. I encourage you to exercise this right by going to the polls today. Governor’s school sought to develop the critical thinking skills of its students and I encourage you to utilize those skills to select candidates that you have determined will help better our communities.

If you forgot your polling place, you can look it up here.

In Arkansas, poll workers are required to ask if you have ID, BUT you are not required to present an ID or at the polls UNLESS you can check off all three of these things as a “yes”.

1. registered to vote by mail after January 1, 2003
2. did not submit a copy of the required identification with the application
3. AND are voting in an election for federal office FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE STATE

There are several different types of ID that satisfy this requirement. You can use any one from the following list

1. Valid Arkansas driver’s license or photo ID card
2. current utility bill that shows your name and address
3. current bank statement that shows your name and address
4. current government check that shows your name and address
5. any other government document that shows your name and address

If you are required to show an ID and don’t have one, you can still vote on a provisional ballot. That means that you can still fill out a ballot. It will be set aside and the Board of Election officials verify the registration and determine whether the vote should or should not be counted.

So go vote people. It’s important.