Washington County Historical Society to honor Sharp and Spears at annual meeting

Shirley Spears and Frank Sharp / Courtesy photos

The Washington County Historical Society will honor Frank Sharp and Shirley Spears as this year’s recipients of its Distinguished Citizen Awards.

The ceremony will take place during the group’s annual meeting, set for 12 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3. The event is usually held as a luncheon, but this year will be presented online because of the pandemic.

The meeting will be held virtually on Zoom. No admission fee is required to view the event.

Sharp is being honored for his commitment towards improving his community through his volunteering, kindness and generosity, according to a news release.

From the announcement:

His passion for conservation is well documented going back to protecting as much land as possible on Kessler Mountain. Sharp also opened the doors at the Ozark Mountain Smokehouse to allow theater and music groups to perform there, free of charge, as well as organizations such as the Washington County Historical Society board to host meetings where he served his special gourmet pizza.

Officials said Sharp “embodies the spirit of Fayetteville,” having dedicated much of his life supporting conservation of land and promoting local artists. He is a community leader, business owner, landlord and previously elected official. In 2009, Sharp was inducted in the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation Hall of Honor.

Spears is the current president for the Cincinnati Arkansas Heritage Researchers (CAHR) and has been active for several years. She is also a founding member of the Out in the County Committee for WCHS, which has invested time and energy into preserving and sharing the history of rural parts of Washington County.

From the society:

Spears works on behalf of rural communities. She and her group have been revising “The History of Cincinnati, AR” originally compiled by Juanita Wilson, assisted in getting the Harrell Cemetery on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places and assisted in writing “Three Longs and a Short — A History of the Cincinnati Telephone Company.”

Spears is currently helping to map old roads such as the Military/Line Road and the Tahlequah/Fayetteville Road. Her group placed a memorial marker at the new Cincinnati Fire Station and Community Cemetery to remember those who lost their lives in the tornado that hit Cincinnati on Dec. 31, 2010.

» Register for the Zoom event