Mrs. Viola Meekins

June 13, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Viola Meekins and her lifetime of service to her community and the State of Arkansas. The life of Mrs. Meekins will be remembered in every corner of Arkansas County as well as in the halls of Upchurch and McRae High Schools in Prescott, and by her classmates of Philander Smith College. When Mrs. Meekins, along with her husband George, first moved to Stuttgart in 1958 he became the principal of the former Holman School. Mrs. Meekins was the schools secretary as well as a teacher. After desegregation in 1971, the couple moved over to Stuttgart High School. While Mrs. Meekins retired from teaching in 1989, her work in the community was just beginning. She spent countless hours volunteering including her work at the Holman Heritage Community Center. Upon the passage of her husband George, Mrs. Meekins was appointed to fulfill his term on the Quorum Court and went on to serve for over 20 years. In closing, I want to highlight the reason Mrs. Meekins sought a career as a teacher and that was to add value in the lives of the students, and their families, of whom she taught. The life of Mrs. Meekins will live on, Mr. Speaker, and I hope that everyone who came in contact with Mrs. Meekins will honor her legacy by finding ways they too can add value in the lives of those they come in contact with on a daily basis.