Awards/Installation 2026

Neale Bartee, president-elect of the club for the past year, received the 2026 Kiwanian of the Year Award during the 91st annual annual Awards and Installation Banquet Sept. 29 at The Parsonage restaurant.

Sid Banks, chairman of the Scholarship and Awards Committee,  presented the award. Bartee has also served as Program Committee chairman for the past year and a member of the Scholarship Selection Committee

Also during the event Bartee was installed as the new president. He and other officers and directors officially assumed their positions on Oct. 1, the beginning of the Kiwanis fiscal year.

Roy Ockert, as a past governor of the Missouri-Arkansas District, installed the officers and directors. The other officers are: Chase Armstrong, vice president; Diann Jenkins, secretary; and Shirley Park, treasurer. Jimmy Franklin will serve another year on the Board of Directors as immediate past president.

The office of president-elect is vacant after the recent resignation of Johnny Sweet, who had been elected in May.

New directors, elected to 2-year terms, are Lori Norris, Matt Silas and Nesha Guest. Serving one more year on the board will be Sid Banks, Elaine Bartee and Brad Magee.

Leaving the board were director Traci Perrin and immediate past president Warren Skaug.

Franklin was presented with a plaque in appreciation for his service as president, which was his third 1-year term

The Kiwanis Club of Jonesboro received its charter during a banquet on Aug. 1, 1935, at the Hotel Noble, which was on Main Street where the Federal Building is now located.