As the majority owner of Ironwood Grill, Craig McDuffie is passionate about food service, and about investing in the community that has invested in him and the restaurant over the years—but mostly, he is passionate about people.

Although a native of Illinois, occupational therapist Laura Bailey has called Texarkana home for over 36 years. As an OT student at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, she met Mark, the man she would marry.

Winston Churchill wrote, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Volunteer extraordinaire Pam Beck has given countless hours to the Texarkana community, and this service has shaped her life.

All who live will one day die, a truth that most people refuse to face until it becomes absolutely unavoidable. A select few, however, are called to meet death every single day with compassion, courage and grace. These people are called hospice workers.

Lee Ann Corbin is the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Redwater ISD, the district she has called home for 14 years. Prior to 2009, she taught K-12 students and adults all over Texas, with no plans to work in administration; teaching was her calling.

Nicole Fant was born and raised, and still resides, in Linden, Texas. However, she has become an honorary Texarkanan, spending countless hours working at CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital–Atlanta and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System as a RN Program Manager, as well as at Texas A&M–Texarkana as a member of the nursing faculty.

Audiologist Kelly Pack was born and raised in the small Louisiana village of Choudrant, which covers 4.28 square miles of land and is home to under 1,000 residents.

When Taylor Richard, the recruitment coordinator for Texarkana College, talks to prospective students about the value of TC, she speaks from experience.

Most creatives take nine-to-five “day jobs” to support their art. For occupational therapist and vocalist Candace Taylor, that has not been the case. 

Elodia Witterstaetter is the principal of Westlawn Elementary School. She is a devoted educator and was recently honored by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association for her outstanding leadership.

Texarkana native Sandra Dodd Young graduated from Texarkana ISD in 1965—the year that the district began a slow process of racial desegregation, starting with the first grade and moving up year by year.

The wedding of Hannah Massey and Ethan Eppinette caught our attention for a number of reasons, and we knew our readers would want the first look.

Most would assume the glimmering girls strutting across the pageant stage would be unwilling to get their hands a little dirty. However, this stereotype is wrong, especially in the case of the newly titled Miss Texarkana’s Teen, Katie McClure.

History happens and then, sometimes, gets buried. Pieces of our heritage get chipped away, and the lessons of the past must be relearned by future generations. Even our physical landmarks often erode in such a way that the story of a place becomes modified.

Mikayla Langford, owner of One Sweet Soirée, is known locally as “The Balloon Girl.” After moving around the country from Missouri to Nashville to Pennsylvania and beyond, Mikayla and her husband, whom she met in high school, moved back to East Texas.

Mark Braley realized this accomplishment on June 24, 2021, at the ripe age of 50. On this date, after years spent tinkering, Mark devoted himself full-time to being a luthier.

Lynnlee is a student at Genoa Central High School, where she participates in the gifted and talented program, yearbook, track, cross country and cheer. Outside of school, she takes multiple dance classes and is an assistant teacher at TDA, where she assists with the Darby’s Dancers class.

David Freeman has left many marks on the Ark-La-Tex. Currently, he is working on a new mural in downtown Texarkana: the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales on the side of Crossties Event Venue at 324 East Broad Street.

“Broncy Donkey is a business born from adversity,” Founder Misti Calhoun said. “In 2018, I was struggling to get by. I was working six days a week and not getting near enough time with my kids. My desperation to make more money, combined with impulsiveness, caused me to reach out to a guy who had advertised a set of old leather-working tools for sale in a Facebook ad.

When Lisa Garner (née Barr) was 20 years old, she quit her job and then drove straight to the fairgrounds because “the first place you go when something’s wrong is to your grandma, of course,” she recalled.