The National Park College Board of Trustees will welcome a new member, Renee Westfall, at their monthly meeting Wednesday inside the NPC Student Commons.
Westfall, South Arkansas team leader at Flypaper Digital Marketing, defeated Larry Bailey for Position 3 in the November election, 16,634 to 9,791. He started his post this month.
“Renee has a passion for the community, and as a college graduate, we are fortunate to have her expertise join our team,” NPC President John Hogan said in a news release. “We are working toward aggressive goals to meet the needs of our students and look forward to your support as we move forward.”
Westfall said he is “very humbled by the results of the election and the trust people have placed in me.”
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NPC “is the key to job growth and economic development in this region,” he said. “And when we have opportunities from businesses that choose to locate here that need education, the college and the business community work tirelessly to meet the needs of the business community. And as an interesting fact, our children live here.”
He said that as a ninth-generation native of Garland County, he knows the community well and is active, devoting much of his time to community service and other volunteer opportunities. He is also active in politics, creating Garland County Transparency in Government and being a member of the Arkansas Transparency in Government group.
“After the birth of my children, I began to focus on the future and where we were going. And of course, with the birth of my granddaughter, this college is the main key to the economic development and growth of our youth. In the whole region, there is none,” he said.
NPC trains and provides jobs that will allow them to stay in the community, he said, and he wants to be a part of it.
A student at Lakeside High School, Westfall was a student at NPC himself, graduating with his degree in 1999. According to the school’s news, he is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Oklahoma/Arkansas Alumni Association and was a decorated student recipient. Phi Theta Kappa, President’s list, and student of the month honors.
“(At) the first meeting the college held, I was surprised that my classmates were here, teaching,” said the former student and board member. “And I got lost. You know, I went to school here for three years and I was like, ‘Who built these buildings when I wasn’t there?’ It’s changed a lot. But the people and the dedication of the students is still there. It’s the same as it was 20 years ago.
He said the programs NPC has created since he attended school give students the opportunity they need to complete their degree, and he hopes they can help strengthen the curriculum.
“I’m a foreign trade expert,” he said. “I’ve done print marketing, direct mail marketing, moving to radio for 12 years with US Stations, and I got an opportunity in the video division of WEHCO to sell internet and business phones. Then at the beginning of the year, I switched. to the digital marketing department, which and Flypaper. So I’m back in advertising.”
She said she hopes to use her business acumen, as well as her role as a former student and mother of a student, to provide whatever information she can to the board.
“I just want to thank everyone who has been so kind and welcoming and helpful in helping me with my new role,” he said.
