The Razorback State, Home Of Arkansas Travelers Women's Basketball

The Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, asks the population of his state to help him in righting some inconsistencies in the quality of daily life. The two segments of people he wants his constituents to help are children in the foster care system and ex-felons ready to reenter society and hold down responsible jobs.

His idea is to call a project that targets both groups "Restore Hope." Governor Hutchinson means to improve the quality of life for all by bringing more jobs to his state, but also through helping children find good homes with permanent families and helping ex-felons to find long term employment. (Reference: TV11, August 25, 2015.)

When I worked under the old JTPA, or Job Training Partnership Act, funds were available at the county level for education and employment training for non- custodial parents and ex-felons, as well as for displaced homemakers, veterans, Hispanics and Somalians, and the homeless. Most of that funding ended when the US Congress authorized the WIA, Workforce Investment Act, to take over funding at the end of the Clinton Presidential Administration.

Five out of the Top 20 Fastest Growing Occupations in Arkansas, including the Top Two, are in the Information Technology (IT) Industry.The industry locally includes not only data, but also healthcare, and aerospace manufacturing.

Additional High Demand, High Pay Jobs In Arkansas:

• Truck Driving, CDL license
• Oil, Gas and Mining Operators and Supervisors
• Logistics, Hazardous Materials Moving, and Materials Engineering.
• Healthcare Jobs, largely found in Research Science, Forensics, and Psychiatry.
• Sales, Marketing, and Collections will offer numerous employment positions through the next decade.
• Residential Advisors (RAs on residential campuses)
• Training and Development Managers

Employers that maintain the largest employee pools and advertise the most jobs in the state include:

1. Wal-Mart stores, Headquartered in Arkansas
2. University of Arkansas (U of A) - Radiology Department
3. UAMS Medical Center
4. Medical College Physician's Group
5. U of A Hospital
6. U of A Medical Sciences Department
7. OK Industries Inc.
8. Sam's Club - A division of Walmart companies
9. Whirlpool Corporation
10. University of Arkansas - Academics
11. Arkansas Department of Highways and Transportation
12. AMEDISTAF - Healthcare
13. St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center
14. Tyson Foods - Agricultural processing and manufacturing. Tyson has become known for recycling its animal waste into energy products.
15. US Veterans Medical Center

1. Wal-Mart Stores HQ is located in Bentonville, AR. This big box giant employs over 10,000 people. They promote from within and report that 76% of their unit management began working in hourly jobs at Wal-Mart. In 2015, a trend toward increasing minimum wages across the US had an impact on this corporation.
2. Tyson Foods, Inc. is committed to ongoing professional development for their Team Members. They are currently recruiting and employing a widely diverse employee pool in large numbers of new job openings.
3. Verizon and AT&T, formerly ALLTEL Corp., promote from within to help people establish long-term careers and encourages fun at work in a business-casual environment. Employees here are happy and productive.
4. St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center promotes abundant employee participation and ensures their safety and well-being.
5. Whirlpool Corp. is the global leader in manufacturer and marketing of home appliances.
6. American Greetings Corp. is hiring for people who are self-motivated, dedicated and creative team players.
7. Arkansas Government Jobs - Arkansas offers a website for job search. You can use a keyword search, a department search, or browse job postings.

Out of approximately 60,000 job listings in August - September 2015, at least 15,000 were advertizing for Truck Driving and related positions. This field of work increased suddenly and massively in 2014, but many Information Technology jobs are sill connected to the Trucking Industry,.

1. Owner Operators and salaried Truck Drivers, Truck Fleet Owners, Team Drivers - Company & Independents, Long Haul Company Drivers
2. Registered Nurses (RNs)
3. Java Programmer-Engineers and Developers
4. .Net, "c" and other Programmers
5. Software QA Managers
6. Project Managers in IT
7. Senior Business Analysts
8. Crew and Managers at Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Sonic Drive Ins
9. Occupational and Physical Therapists
10. Speech/Language Pathologists and Therapists

Government employment projections on the federal and state level include IT, Truck Driving/Transportation, and Healthcare jobs as the highest to be in demand through 2022.

1. Beginning in 2014, any of a dozen Trucking and Freight companies produced ongoing job listings in large quantities than the next company on this list. Hogan, Rush, Wise, CRST, Navajo Express, and many more.
2. Wal-Mart
3. Voyage Solutions - healthcare
4. Community Health System
5. Catholic Health Initiatives
6. Kentuckyone
7. Locumtenens.com
8. Baptist Health
9. Securus
10. CompHealth
11. Mercy Health
12. Soliant Health

Sixty years ago in 1949, one Hazel Walker lived in Oak Hill, Arkansas. She played for the women's professional basketball team named the Caraway, Arkansas All-American Red-Heads, which had started out in Missouri. Ms. Walker left the All-American Red Heads and started her own basketball club, named Hazel Walker's Arkansas Travelers. The Travelers played up to six nights a week against men's teams.

The female Arkansas Travelers won over 85% of their games against men.

In all, the Travelers played 16 full seasons and Ms. Walker retired in 1965 at age 50. She and her team are a foundation of the legacy of the Women's Professional Basketball Association.

College and High School

• Arkansas Razorbacks - HQ in Fayetteville; various sports for men and women at University of Arkansas
• High School Internet Network of Sports Teams

League Teams

• Arkansas Glaciercats (WPHL)
• Arkansas RiverBlades (ECHL)
• Arkansas Travelers (AA) - Little Rock; minor league men's baseball.

Arenas and Stadiums

• War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock AR

• Arkansas Baptist College: Little Rock campus
• Arkansas State University: Jonesboro; Beebe, Mountain Home, Newport
• Arkansas Tech University: Russellville
• Black River Technical College: Pocahontas
• Central Baptist College: Conway, Arkansas
• Harding University: Searcy
• Henderson State University: Arkadelphia
• Hendrix College: Conway
• John Brown University: Siloam Springs
• Lyon College: Batesville
• National Park Community College, next to Hot Springs National Park. Location: 101 College Dr, Hot Springs AR 71913
• North Arkansas College: Harrison
• Ouachita Baptist University: Arkadelphia
• Ouachita Technical College: Malvern
• Ozarka College: Melbourne, Arkansas
• Philander Smith College: Little Rock
• Pulaski Technical College: North Little Rock
• Southeast Arkansas College: Pine Bluff
• Southern Arkansas University: Magnolia and Technical Branch: E. Camden
• University of Arkansas: Fayetteville, Pine Bluff, Fort Smith, Little rock, Monticello
• University of Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute: Little Rock
• University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture: Little Rock
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Little Rock
• University of Central Arkansas: Conway
• University of the Ozarks: Clarksville
• Williams Baptist College: Walnut Ridge

University of Arkansas Community Colleges

• Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas: De Queen
• Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas: Helena
• University of Arkansas Community College: Batesville
• University of Arkansas Community College: Hope
• University of Arkansas Community College: Morrilton