Dr. Rheo Morris, dean of students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been selected as a member of Leadership Arkansas Class XVIII.
Leadership Arkansas is sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas. The nine-month program consists of nine multi-day sessions held in different locations throughout the state. The sessions feature Arkansas leaders who represent a wide geographic base and who have diverse backgrounds and vocations. This year’s class has 53 participants.
“Leadership Arkansas was designed to give us first-hand experience of the interactions between cities, industries and government units in Arkansas, so I am ecstatic to learn more about these interactions. As a transplant to Arkansas, I am also really excited to travel to areas of the state that I have not visited prior,” Morris said.
“As an introvert, I hope to capitalize on the friendships and networking opportunities. I want to learn where I can fit in to make the highest impact on the lives of our young Arkansans.”
Mary Zunick, a member of the ASMSA Board of Visitors and cultural affairs manager for Visit Hot Springs, was also selected to participate in the program.
Morris is a graduate of the Leadership Hot Springs program and currently serves on its board. Participating in that program helped her become more familiar with the city.
“Participating in Leadership Hot Springs and serving on its board has helped me learn things about Hot Springs that I would not have learned on my own and also helped me feel at home,” she said. “I feel more connected to its people, and I also gained the confidence to put myself out there and be more involved.”
In addition to serving on Leadership Hot Springs’ board, Morris is a member of Rotary Club of Oaklawn, Junior Auxiliary of Hot Springs and an assistant clerk and youth director at her church.
Since learning of her acceptance into the Leadership Arkansas program, she said past class members have reached out to her and other selectees from Hot Springs to host a lunch meet-and-greet to answer questions.
“We have been welcomed with open arms into the program, and I cannot wait to meet my fellow classmates,” Morris said.