Hello, I'm Karen Walker from Arkansas Week.

On this edition, we're going to hear from an author about his perspective on positivity and how it changed his outlook on life.

We'll also visit with the host of a new show that's coming to Arkansas.

TV lineup of local productions.

But first, we begin with a program that's providing educational and learning opportunities for older adults.

It's called Life Quest of Arkansas.

Joining me are the executive director, Leah Greenfield, and Sharon Thompson, a member of the organization.

Welcome to the program.

Thank you.

It is so good to have you.

Absolutely.

Now, Leah, I understand that the program had a different name before.

So can you tell us how the organization originated?

I sure can.

So 45 years ago, Life Quest came to little Rock as Shepherd center of little Rock.

And there are still Shepherd centers around the country and around the state of Arkansas.

But in 26, we changed the name to Life Quest of Arkansas to better reflect our intention to grow across the state.

Well, we finally did.

It took 44 years, but we finally branched out of little Rock and started Life Quest at Conway last fall.

So that's that has been just in our first year initiative to be in Conway with our very first satellite campus.

So and then the pandemic forced us to live up to the live Quest of Arkansas name, also because we're able to do virtual learning across the state.

Well, you know, Life Quest is described as a small college.

So talk to us a little bit about how is it like a college but yet different.

Right.

So it is like a college.

We like to say that it is an eclectic group of people taking all kinds of classes.

But unlike a college, there is there are several differences.

First of all, there are no grades, no tests, and no degrees or certificates offered.

So members come to life quest for the love of learning.

And they're all taught by volunteers for the joy of teaching.

So it's all about lifelong learning, and we're specifically geared toward retired aged adults.

There's no minimum age to be a part of life quest, and there's certainly no maximum age.

But we don't have college student age running around life quest.

It's it's for retired aged adults.

Right.

Sharon.

Yeah.

So you actually have a physical campus, so you take classes at the campus.

Do you take them online too?

Yes.

We are still committed to having virtual learning as a part of our curriculum because we reach adults all across the state in a few surrounding states.

And some of our adult members have caregiving responsibilities.

They live outside of our campus areas, or they have mobility issues.

And so it's important to have some portion of our classes have a hybrid or online, but most of them are in person.

So in little Rock, our campus is held at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock and in Conway.

Our campus is at First United Methodist Church on Prince Street, which many, many people know.

That church with the beautiful dome on Prince Street taking advantage of spaces within faith congregations is a has always been a good idea for life quest, because you've got a building that is not used during the week, during the daytime, and has great parking.

So while we're a 501 C3 nonprofit organization unaffiliated with any particular religious organization, we are supported by an interfaith group of over 20 different religious organizations.

And then our campuses, as I described, are in two of those, a Presbyterian church and a methodist church.

So we're open to whoever will take us.

That's wonderful.

Neal.

I know you mentioned the Conway office has been open for a year.

That's a satellite office.

How did that expansion happen?

Well, we were fortunate enough to be invited.

Live quest was approached by Hendrix College, which is an educational partner with us, and they said we would like to expand our mission for embracing lifelong learning in the Conway community.

But instead of building a program themselves, let's use Life Quest Model as an existing 44 year organization at the time and support what what Life Quest is doing.

So we're working together.

And then we quickly found a host congregation where we could have our physical campus.

We have an office in Conway at First United Methodist Church, and then we use their classroom spaces, their Sunday school classrooms to become our lifelong learning classrooms.

So it was a, you know, it was meant to be because it just came together seamlessly.

And the partnerships were very easy to form.

So that was a year ago and we've just taken off since.

Okay.

That's great to hear.

You know, Sharon, how did you learn about Life Quest?

I had a friend who encouraged me to do that.

It's also the Conway part is available in little Rock.

I mean, you can you can drive to little Rock and attend.

That's true.

So that's a real incentive to.

But several people in Conway were doing that.

But it's just so much easier not to make the drive unless it's something special, which I've done.

Yeah.

So it's great.

And the attendance has been really good, I think.

So we have 20 classes right now a week that are offered in Conway.

We have 62 offered a week in little Rock.

So right now our total enrollment for the fall term is 730 older adults taking classes.

Most of those are in little Rock, but we have about 100 enrolled in our Conway classes.

But like Sharon said, the thing that I think is the most unique thing about Life Quest is that we are a one fee organization.

So a flat fee per term and a term is like a quarter system like that college you were talking about.

We're on a quarter system.

So for this fall term we have a flat fee.

And for that one fee you can take classes in Conway, in little Rock or online.

So Conway people drive to little Rock, little Rock people drive to Conway.

They each can take an online class and you get the class recordings for all of the classes that are recorded for this term, whether you enrolled in them or not.

So we're just really trying to embrace all of the eclectic types of classes that we have so that everybody can be involved.

So Sharon, tell me what sparked your interest in wanting to take classes with life class.

My husband taught history and I with him.

And maybe because I have a little native instinct, I just learning is something that's just a joy.

And what you don't know is out there waiting.

And what you do know may be refreshed and encouraged and extended.

So it's just I just like to do stuff like that.

Yes.

You're a lifelong learner, aren't you?

I think so.

I mean, this is who what she's describing is what we're designing the classes for people who are just interested in learning new things.

What have you taken?

Oh.

Let's see, I'll try to think.

Last.

Last fall, I took the reading.

I read.

I read six books that I wouldn't have read before that were selected for me.

And I took the World the Situation, which was a discussion class, which about things that were going on in the world.

Most of it centered because of the situation on the Iran war.

But it and one other thing, all of the people who lead the things are very qualified and very knowledgeable.

But it's not a let me tell you what is what it's it's participation is encouraged, I think very much.

And, and so some of your people in your class have something that they can offer, I think, and I don't think any of the instructors resent that.

I hope not.

I mean, it's just an encouragement.

Yeah.

So you just it's just to keep thinking, you know, and when you get older, it's nice to stay ahead of your age.

That's right, that's right.

That's.

It's good brain workout, isn't it?

Well, you know, if what type of courses can people expect to take?

Leah, what kind of courses do you offer?

Well, I made a quick list.

If you'll indulge me at what are still open.

So we are in the first week of our fall term, but we have seven more weeks, so it is not too late to register for for for classes in Conway.

So if you're Conway residents are interested in classes, they can take these classes.

They can take a class on folk music led by what we lovingly call the life quest folkies.

And these are retired college professors.

They are not professional musicians.

Some of them may be that quality, but they're teaching because they love folk music.

So there's folk music, there's martial arts, there's a contemporary social issues.

I think that's the class you were referring to.

There's a class on military history focusing on World War two.

There's a fitness class open to anyone in in the age range of life.

Quest members.

Retired, aged.

There's a class on theater improv that's really fun to participate in, and a class on shake called Shakespeare Alive.

This week they were learning how to read, and I am pentameter.

So, I mean, some of the classes are very, you know, academic and kind of heady.

And, you know, you mentioned terrible cerebral when you get but not all.

And then we also have, you know, fun, light hearted classes.

And then we have movement classes like our martial arts classes.

So we're not expecting everybody to study.

There's no homework.

And I've already mentioned there's no tests.

So we want it to be fun.

What I really think is, is, that I'm so passionate about talking about Life Quest is we're not coming in as life quest of Arkansas and saying, this is what older adults need to know, you know, because a lot of senior centers and other organizations for yeah, it's more structured.

And if we were only talking and teaching about fall prevention or memory or memory care, I mean, how much would you want to come back?

You know, those are important.

And we do talk about issues surrounding healthy longevity and active aging.

But we wanted to we also want to talk about martial arts and folk music and improv, you know, and fitness and pickleball.

You could if you're really ambitious, you can do pickleball.

Yeah.

Mahjong and and.

Yeah.

So it's for fun too.

So it's not.

So I noticed that it seems like your classes or courses change regularly.

You know, how how do you decide what to offer you?

Volunteers to do it.

Volunteers to do it?

That's right.

We have to have the volunteers.

It's all volunteer led.

So life Quest is by with and for older adults.

So the community decides what is taught and what is offered.

So there my in little Rock, for example, we have a retired orthopedic surgeon who's teaching a class class on national parks because he's been to all of them, and he's a fabulous photographer.

That's his interest.

So that's what he's volunteered to teach.

He didn't want to talk about orthopedic surgery anymore.

He wants to talk about his passion.

And that is true in Conway as well.

Our instructors, if they have a passion for it, some of our best instructors come from our membership.

They take some classes and they think, well, I could do that or I'd like to.

Yeah, yeah, they could do that.

Got an idea that.

So there's a volunteer group, a steering committee here in Conway that looks at it.

Because we do have some guidelines we don't want.

We have a no sale policy.

We don't share our members information with corporations.

And so we have some structure to what kinds of classes.

But really, if an instructor is passionate about the topic, they will find the students or the students will find that class.

Wow.

So Sharon, how is it impacted your life?

Well, it's I've become more social in my activities.

I mean, when, when you you can get to where you don't go out to or do different things.

So it's it's great for me and I think it is for a lot of people.

I was telling Leah, I've ran into the other Monday, I guess, a woman whose husband told it, Hendricks, and that our sons are best friends, and I hadn't seen her in a while and so we got to visit.

Next to her was a woman I met in the class last fall who's moved recently, and we just kind of hit it off, and she was looking for some something to do and somebody to do it with.

So there's a social element, I think, to it that is very attractive.

Yes.

It sounds like the program is wonderful.

Things I wanted to mention is there's a sewing class.

I guess it's kind of like a sewing bee.

I haven't been I'm not going to expose my inabilities, but, from what I understand, is women, many from little Rock men and men and men.

Yes, yes, I forgot the man who come.

And they just so on whatever they want to do embroidery or, you know, crochet, I suppose, or whatever, but it's just a gathering.

And that's what made me think of this selling me and that.

So our committee tries to plan classes on three different pillars.

This is their philosophy intellectual engagement, social connection and physical wellness.

And those are kind of how we structure our classes.

Do we have a good balance of all three?

But what I hear is what you just said from the members, they keep coming back because of the social connection and that I think that goes along with that flat fee.

It's not transactional.

I'm coming to that class because I've only paid for that class, and I've come to that class in a leaf we want.

I mean, the coffee and snacks are as important as the classes because, you know, when you're sitting, you're you're running into people, new friends and old, and you're talking about what you've just taken in your class, the books you've read, or the subject matter or the new skills that you've learned.

And that gives you that space to connect with one another.

And I think those spaces are kind of rare.

And what I'm hearing from our members to as they grow older, there's fewer and fewer places where they're heard.

Absolutely.

Where they're able to share their opinions about about, oh, and their shared and their shared, believe me in that.

Right.

And that's another thing.

Some of the classes are discussion classes.

So you're not being taught something and then some are instructional.

That's right.

Yes I've done a lot of the talking that.

But that's great because you're making those human connections and it goes far beyond just book knowledge.

Yeah.

That's incredible.

You know, Life Quest is celebrating 45 years.

That's quite a bit of time to be going.

So tell us a little bit what what plans do you have for members.

What's ahead for Life Quest.

I think there's an untapped need in our in our communities and in our states to do more in this area that she's talking about.

1 in 4 Arkansans are over the age of 60.

That's our target group.

We have no minimum age, but that is our target group is over the age of 61 and four.

And because we're a mostly rural state, many of those over, particularly over 65, live alone.

So how can we reach those folks and connect them in person and online so that they have that community, that Life Quest offers?

I think we're an intervention in a way, to some of the chronic social isolation and loneliness that older Arkansans are experiencing.

And we could do more, and we have a vision to try to meet that need.

I don't know if that involves just growing our online program or creating more satellite campuses, but we're in conversation as we now at 45 years, what do we look like at 50 years?

Because that's just right around the corner and that time will go back fast.

So if someone wants to join and be a part, what do they need to do?

Well, our website is the probably the best place to start.

And then if you get lost on our website, give us a call.

Our phone number is on that, but we are still enrolling for the fall classes.

We would love to have people try us out.

We offer scholarships and so if you want to kind of come and check us out before you actually enroll as a paid member, we would love for invite you to do that.

Call the Live Quest Office in Little Rock.

That's our main office, and we can help you get enrolled.

And then if you're thinking, well, I'm not going to do it this fall, but I'd like to enroll in the winter term.

The registration date opens December 8th, and sometimes people miss that mark because they're thinking the winter term begins in January, so I'll wait till January.

But really, we need you to start thinking about it in early December.

But call us and we'll talk you through.

Our team will get you connected.

Yes.

Well, Sharon, tell me this.

Why should people be a part of life class?

For one thing, the social part.

It exposes you to the groups that you don't really usually sit with and talk to.

So it opens that up for you.

The stimulation is something.

And for me, having signed to do it, then I will do it.

Otherwise I might not.

That's right.

Yeah.

That's great.

So tell me this.

How this last question.

I'm interested myself.

So how do you know what's going to be offered?

How soon will you put the list for winter out so that people will know?

Is that that December 8th.

It's about a week before registration open.

So around December 1st I would look on our website around us.

You can you can view or even download and print out a course catalog.

And I'm showing an example of what they look like.

This one says fall and it's an orange.

The winter will be blue for winter, but we can get you on our mailing list if you wanted to do that, you can either put yourself on our mailing list through our website or call the Live Quest Office.

You can Google Live Quest, and you'll find our website in our phone number, and we can send you a course catalog as soon as it's printed so that you know what is offered.

Do you have any parting words for us ladies?

No, except you'll enjoy it once you commit to it.

And commitment with me with something I've got still got a lot of things to try to cover at home, but it's a way to get out.

And also just just to be with people and to do things, to do new things or even reminisce about old things.

Yeah, I do encourage to follow Sharon's advice and take a risk.

Try it.

You know you don't.

It's the winter term is six weeks.

We only have seven.

We have seven weeks left in the fall.

That's not a huge amount of time if you're only taking one class a week.

So just try it, try something new and see if you like it.

And I think, like you said, a reason to get up and out of the house and connect with people has its own rewards.

And if you find that you want to change to another class, they're usually pretty generous in the same.

Come on.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

We're not taking attendance and we're not giving grades.

So, you know, it's pretty flexible.

All for the for the love of life and no homework unless you're reading a book.

Yeah.

So you have to keep this thing like it.

You love learning.

We're the place for you.

Wonder if I love when you said the joy of learning and the joy of teaching.

Thank you so much.

So stay tuned for more Arkansas Week.

Our next guest believes staying positive is not just a feeling, it's a choice.

In his new book, Staying Positive in a Negative World.

Arkansas author and motivational speaker Michael Woods shares his remarkable journey from addiction and personal struggles to business success and the lessons he's learned along the way.

Michael, welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for having me.

Yes, I'm excited to have you here today.

I wanted to ask you your new book.

What made you feel that that was the book you needed to write.

Well, Karen, I knew my I had a dream to be a professional speaker, and everybody was saying, oh, you got to write a book.

I was like, wow, I didn't even want to write a book, really.

I just wanted to speak.

And at the time, I was running around competing with Toastmasters with a speech called Staying Positive in a Negative World.

And I had this passion.

I've seen so many people get so negative lately that I was just spreading that word.

And I thought, well, it's a no brainer about the book.

That's good, because in your book you're very candid.

I mean, you open up about your rest, your addiction and your journey.

That's been quite challenging.

So I just wanted to ask you what made you write it the way you wrote it, instead of the traditional motivational book?

That's a good question.

I really wanted people to know where I come from, that the stuff really does work.

It's a lot of simple stuff in my book that I've just learned from the Zig Ziglar and John Maxwell and Tony Robbins and all those people that I listened to and read their books.

So I wanted people to know that that doesn't matter where you start.

It just depends on what you do and head in the right direction, if that makes sense.

It does make sense.

It makes good sense and sound like the people you read.

Those are the the big boys of the motivational world.

Those are powerhouses.

You know, one thing I when I was reading your book, it you talk about positivity is a choice.

So what does that really mean when people are going through just difficult times?

You know, I don't want to talk about, you know, death in the family or something like that.

Let's just I'll stay away from that.

But most things, whether it's a job or somebody makes you mad or just ordinary negative stuff, people dwell on it and they think about it and they talk about it.

And the more you talk about it, the more you dwell on it.

It just grows, but it also goes the other way.

If you talk about good stuff, because there's always, always something good in whatever you're looking at, always, always.

But you have to look for it, right?

And positivity is a choice.

But there is a turning point in your book where things turn around for you that you discovered Zig Ziglar and that cassette tape.

Tell us about the turnaround and why that was so impactful for you.

So about 18 years old, I just got straight.

I've been straight, completely clean for about two months.

I had a, you know, several years of drug addiction as a young man, and I don't remember who it was.

I wish I did.

The reason I don't remember is because it was it just I didn't even know what it was he handed me.

So you need to listen to this.

It's a cassette tape by Zig Ziglar.

I didn't think anything about it.

Through it.

My truck.

One day I listened to it, and I never felt like that in my life.

I had never heard anybody talk like that.

You can be whoever you want to be.

Do what you want to do.

See, I grew up in a very poor situation that everybody just just said.

That's just what it's going to be.

And and sort of I never heard that.

And I listened to that over and over.

Six Ziegler's message grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go.

What are some of the things that he said in that tape when you, when you think about it, that just really kind of got you right here.

The thing that he just kept saying is you can be whoever and whatever you want to be.

No matter where you start.

And I kept thinking, well, he's talking to me as low as I started.

And then he talks about where where his dad died.

And he got a job when he was 12.

You know, he has a similar story.

Not drugs and stuff, but a starting at the very, very bottom.

And look what he did.

So I really listened to those message and just applied it to my life for the rest of my life.

And wow, look at the change.

Well, you know, you mentioned something in your book.

I've never heard the term mental vitamins.

I thought mental vitamins.

Talk to us about that.

I love that term because, you know, in the speaking world or book world, you're always trying to come up with something your own, right?

You know, everybody says stuff.

Well, so-and-so said that years ago, or it's really hard to find something in your own.

And I thought, you know, this stuff that I do like the CD.

Well, audible, it was cassette CDs.

Now audibles or podcast or whatever.

I'm putting it in my brain like nutrition, because when you think of vitamins, you think of what goes in your body to make you feel better.

See, I believe with all my heart it's more important what you put in here that makes you feel good or better.

So when I talk about vitamins, podcasts, books, audible, it can even be upbeat music.

Anything that makes you feel better.

It's a mental vitamins.

Wow.

I love it when I saw that term, I thought, I've never heard that term before.

So tell me.

Tell me a secret.

What do you do first thing in the morning?

What mental vitamin do you take?

The very first thing I do, and I have a chapter on it.

And it's brand new to me probably the last five years.

And that's meditation.

So while I'm still half asleep, I get in my recliner and it's guided meditation.

And most of my life I was kind of scared of that term because I'm a Baptist from southern Arkansas, and I would picture, like, Buddha stuff, you know, it's not for me.

And but when I learned, I read a book called Six Phase Meditation by Vision.

Lakhani.

And after reading that book, I started doing that, the meditation first thing.

Then I do a daily devotional.

I do a lot of other stuff, when I first.

But that's the first thing I do, I love that.

So listen, how do you how do you get people to really understand that they can be anything they want to be?

Where do people start if they say, you know, I read your book and I want to be more positive, but I really don't know where to start.

What would you tell them?

You know, the first thing I would tell them is grab the next book.

In the next book I would grab would be Zig Ziglar.

I just would, I would, I would encourage everybody.

His books are very old, but it's timeless.

And it see you at the top.

It was the it was the first one I ever read.

And then I would.

The second thing I was like, get around as many people that have the same mindset as you reach out, reach out to me, everybody that's watching me, my web, reach out to me.

But there's so many people out there that are really striving to be more positive and get around other people, that same thing they do.

You know, gratitude is a big theme in your book.

So how has gratitude changed you?

Well, be honest.

Most of my life, up until probably five or 6 or 7 years ago, I didn't practice gratitude in that.

And that's terrible to say from where I came from and what I did with my career, I should have been so thankful.

But every promotion, every raise, every bonus check.

I would just look at the next one.

So when I started practicing true gratitude every morning, thankful for what I've got because there's always something to be thankful for.

It just started changing.

And then the more grateful for you are for what you have.

The more you see and the more that things just get.

It's hard to explain in words.

I love that.

It's just that.

Love it.

I can see the joy on your face.

Talk about gratitude, because that's new to me.

You know?

You know, you walked away from your business career and you moved into the space of being a coach and motivating people.

So tell me, how does that feel to be able to impact people lives like that?

Did you ever think you would do that?

Oh, yeah.

Since I was 25 years old, I pictured every bit of this, and that's a whole nother interview.

But there was something holding me back for many, many, many years.

And when I finally, whether it was courage or whether it was, you know, whatever, I had my wife rooting for me.

A lot of people chase your dream.

I tell everybody, what was your dream, whatever job you were in.

Let's say you were a plumber was your job.

And nothing wrong with my brother plumber.

But was your dream when you was six to be a plumber?

It was probably an astronaut or a, you know, a famous basketball player, whatever it was.

But if you have a dream out there, it's obtainable.

If somebody else has done it, you can do it.

And speaking of having somebody else tell us, how important is it?

I know you, you touched on it, but expound on how important is it to have a community that people around you, in your community that you feel safe and that they are rooting for you?

It's very important.

And sometimes, you know, a lot of people ask me, like, you know, you talk about all this being positive and get around positive people, but, you know, you hadn't met my wife or you hadn't met my husband, or you hadn't met my boss or, you know, whatever.

And a lot of times I'll tell him, I say, look, first start with you.

It all starts with you.

And if you start doing a little bit of things in the morning, start becoming more positive, you'll be surprised how those negative folks will start to change.

Absolutely.

It does.

It's an inside job isn't it.

Yes.

But you know, as you think about all you've experienced, what does it mean to you today?

Well, that's it's a lot different today than it was even 6 or 7 years ago.

Most of my life.

I mean, like 95% of my life, success meant money or big house or promotions or whatever.

And it's sad, you know, I you know, it it makes even as a Christian, I look back thinking, man, what was I thinking?

Just chasing the dollar.

And if I got that much money, I'd be happier.

If I got that size house, I'd be happy or whatever in the last five, six, seven, eight years.

It's just changed.

Everything has changed.

And now success means one thing to me, and that is becoming the man that God intended me to be.

Father, grandfather to help people.

Friend.

There's a saying, I don't know who said it.

They said, there's two.

The two, two greatest days in a person's life is one when they were born and number two when they found out why.

Yes, I've heard that too.

There's something about that.

Why doesn't that just.

It lights you up.

It makes you get out of bed on those difficult days and keep going.

What would 2026 Michael Woods tell Michael was 20 years ago?

What?

What would you tell that Michael that was stuck 20 years ago?

I would tell him right now, I would say, just do everything exactly like you're doing it.

You know, a lot of people would go back and say, oh, no, don't do this, don't do that, don't do this.

Go ahead and speak.

Go for your career right now.

I wouldn't change anything because everything in my life prepared me for this.

I wouldn't change a thing.

Yes, it's I paradigm, right?

How we see ourselves and how we see the world around us.

That's right.

So as we're coming to close, Michael, just tell us what's on your heart right now.

What is it that you.

If if someone didn't get anything else from this interview today, what is the thing you want them to know?

I just want them to know that wherever you are in life, it doesn't matter.

You can start today to change it.

I love that.

Isn't that amazing?

Your book is outstanding.

Your book has practical things that people can do.

It has relatable experiences that people can see themselves.

But most of all, your book has hope.

Your hope dealer, that you can start over here, but you don't have to stay today.

You can move over there.

So thank you for writing the book.

Thank you for sharing with us today.

What a joy it's been to have you on Arkansas.

Thanks for having me.

Absolutely.

So we'll be back with more on Arkansas week.

Eddie Armstrong has built a career that spans business, public service, government affairs, and community leadership.

A former Arkansas state representative and House minority leader, he is now bringing his passion for people and storytelling to Arkansas TV with stronger with Armstrong, a program featuring conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives and community builders from across our state.

Eddie Armstrong joins us today to talk about the show, his own journey, and the people and experiences that have shaped him.

Hello, Eddie.

How are you?

Welcome.

Thank you for having me.

Listen, before we dive into everything, let's get to know you a little bit.

You.

You grew up in North Little Rock.

Tell us a little bit about you and your family.

Well, North Little Rock is always a dear, dear place.

The state of Arkansas, more importantly, you know.

But North Little Rock was where I became a young man.

And it was through my family and my community, my church, and just day to day neighbors that really helped bring me along.

As a young person.

I was a young person that couldn't always see all of the attributes I had inside of myself and those people in my school and in my community oftentimes were a loud voice and my silent and of course, saying, you can do this.

You're somebody.

It was one of these places that, you know, it teaches you how to move different around different people.

North little Rock gets a lot of credit for that.

Those that love you and those that dislike me, just like you.

You know, you still have to move about them.

So, Love north, love north, little Rock and love little Rock in this great state.

So I'm just happy to be here, but I'm grateful for North Little Rock.

Yeah.

Well, you know, in those early, early years, who had the biggest influence on your life?

Well, I can honestly not give you one name.

You know, looking back on my life.

My family gave me foundation, you know, faith gave me, you know, perspective.

And my teachers gave me discipline, you know, and one of the things that, you know, I can always just appreciate is the people that were around me were grateful to praise me and also correct me.

And so, I mean, there's a collection of individuals that open doors for me that helped me out along the way.

So before I get into naming names and things like that, I'm just grateful for, you know, number one, my mother and my big sister who poured everything they had into me to put fear into me, but also put a lot of love into me as well.

And so without them, get me off to a good start as a young man, that's who I would soon start with.

Well, I know you were involved with the Boys and Girls Club even becoming their a national spokesperson.

So how did the Boys and Girls Club shape who you are.

Well you know I can remember my, essay shout out to Anita Cameron.

It became a home away from home.

It was more than just a place where I could go and swim and gym and hang out.

Foosball.

I was there with my peers.

And looking back on those days there we were grappling with, things of our time.

Unlike this technology, age and social media.

There were a lot of interesting things going on around of our community.

So, my Boys and Girls Club was my safe haven.

I realized then, what I now teach other young people is that somebody is always watching you, and you just never know.

And so from that, and my efforts and my Boys and Girls Club helping young people, serving with adults, that's how I propelled on to become the national youth of the year.

But it was before the Boys and Girls Clubs that I really started to hone in on who I was being a part of the Arkansas Martin Luther King Junior Commission, being a part of civic organizations in my high school, picking up trash in the community.

That really started to become the wraparound.

And so if young people out there watching, you know, find the Boys and Girls Club, find a community organization and listen more than you talk, that you have always been a difference maker, haven't you?

You know, I suppose so, but I didn't think this when I was a kid.

I mean, as tender as the age of eight and nine years old.

One of my dear friends who was in Alabama told me that she wants to hear more of the Eddie story.

And so, at eight years old, when my mother was sending me out of the house to do I jobs like walk to the food King or food line to pick up a gallon of milk, or go to the Shipley's Donuts to pick up some donuts.

I found myself.

Giving away my mother's leftover change.

And at the time, we couldn't afford to give away what we didn't have.

And I had no job.

But there was just a true deep desire early on in my life before I knew what servant leadership was to help, fellow man and woman.

To be a giver to humanity.

So after many lessons from my mother of saying we can't give away what we don't have, you can't give away mom's change.

I suppose it's just always been inside of me to want to help the least of these, be it through public service or the Boys and Girls clubs.

So, you know, true leadership, in my opinion, as I've come older, comes through service.

And so as I'm teaching my little boy who wants to now give away change in the car.

I find that really encouraging that it's a deep thing inside of you when you have that.

So, I enjoy that proportion of life, and I enjoy the people that have embraced that along my journey.

You know, I, I saw that you went on to the University of Arkansas, and not only were you're a student there, you became the only second, the second African-American student to be president.

That's a big deal.

Did you see yourself as a leader when you entered?

No, I didn't go to the University of Arkansas.

Again, boasting to be a leader or, you know, proclaiming to be one.

My service propelled me and my efforts and the willingness to listen and follow before I could lead, struck me as something pretty important.

So when I got to the University of Arkansas and became the second African-American student body president, it didn't fall on me lightly.

And the first gentleman was Jean McKissick, back in the 70s, a great friend and mentor of mine.

But what really stood out about that time of leadership was that it had to humanize me.

Because you couldn't be too above yourself, and you couldn't be below the students and or the faculty and staff.

And a quick story, if you don't mind.

Yes, please.

I was recalling, because we just experienced 911 this month, and the question was, where were you 25 years ago?

And it dawned on me that, as I took office as the student body president the first day of school in August, a professor was killed in Kemp Hall.

And that was my first day on the job as the new president of the student body.

And it immediately gave me a sense of human connection, because now we had to go out and be something for our student body and carry on with the rest of our semester in school year.

And then just a short three weeks later, 911 happened.

Wow.

All while being the face and representative of my campus in a time that, you know, we didn't really, I guess, experience political differences or black and white, we wanted to see change and do things that mattered for the university.

So, you know, we shout out to the phys, the beta phys, and my homegirl Lindsay Coon, who was my running mate, and Zach Stedman.

But great new professionals today, doing great with their families.

But we really wanted to be change agents then.

So and it was against some pretty interesting times.

So it made me more human, as opposed to walking on campus and saying, I'm a leader and I'm here to lead.

Yes, I know you have been in so many different spaces and places, and one space you've been in is the Arkansas House of Representatives, and you were the House Minority leader.

Can you talk a little bit about how those chapters of your life shaped you?

Oh, that's quite an interesting time there, too.

Again, a leadership growth moment, becoming the House minority leader and being of a different race.

The first, I think, African since reconstruction to do this.

And I was looking up to leaders like now successful banker and lawyer Darren Williams and others who were serving before me, of course, my senator, then Tracy still and others on how I could navigate this body of my mentors and peers in the legislature.

And it was at the most unique time of all.

As I became House Minority leader, we experienced what we call the big red wave around the country.

Party shift.

And for the first time in close to 100 years, we went from a majority Democrat state to a majority Republican state on my watch.

And that didn't mean that we could not get along.

Nor that we didn't have differences, but there were just a lot of moving pieces to my colleagues and I and people shifting and switched switching parties.

So I had to do a lot of soul searching during that moment in time to not lose sight of no matter race, no matter economics, no matter job or background.

We are here to do the people's work, and I can be most proud of the members that I did serve with that kept that as the North Star, when we could have easily gotten bogged down in social issues, or calling it the radical left or the far right.

We, I think, gave a great effort to try and bring forth good government for Arkansas and its people.

Be it health care, be it education shifts.

So I grew up really fast because I was quite young and some of my elders in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, I can't say the words on television, but they kind of warned me about this role in this job.

But again, a humanizing moment and a moment that that really spawned a lot of why we brought stronger with Armstrong on the surface.

It was during those times that I realized the only thing I did have was a conversation, and to ask questions as party issues and and thoughts were changing.

And so I felt as the state and the country shifted, I gained more of an interest in having conversations with people that were around this state.

Maybe doing great things didn't have to be from one political party or one background.

We just want to know.

So that's a little bit of how stronger with Armstrong was born out of conversations during challenging times, and that's something I've just never really been shy on.

I mean, I face those with pride.

I love that, and we're going to dive into talking about your new show that you're bringing here to Arkansas TV.

But there's a term you use.

I want you to talk to us a little bit about it.

You say you are a people collector.

Talk to us about that.

What can you say?

A people to collector?

Tell us what you're meaning by that.

You know, that's a, you know, a bit scary to some collecting people, but I feel like in this life, we all are made up of the people that we encounter and we come across.

And so I have always been not shy to meet people and communicate with people that didn't look like me, didn't maybe come from my background.

And I think that that makes the measure of who I am as a whole.

You know, you don't have to emulate or be like any one person when you can collect pieces of people that you would like to emulate or take something from or not be like.

So I have a great time with making new friends.

And being loyal to those friends and making certain that I'm a listener.

So when I talk about people collections, it's simply, you know, my way of saying, it's not business cards, it's not first time meetings.

It's true relationships.

And those relationships evolve over time and through conversations and through disagreements.

You learn quite a bit about people.

So I've enjoyed being a people collector of sorts, and it's made me a wide scope of relationships and benefited me both successfully in business and personally.

And your new show?

Sure.

It's really anchored in good conversations.

Tell us a little bit about what's your hope for this show?

Well, it's simple.

This is a tapestry, a patchwork quilt of Arkansas.

I'm in rooms all over the country and in this state, and oftentimes hear people talking about Arkansas.

And I want this show to be about people in Arkansas talking about Arkansas.

Let's put the mirror on ourselves and really highlight who we are, the great things we're doing from across the borders, be it northeast Arkansas, southeast Arkansas, northwest.

There is some amazing things going on in our state.

And those conversations I get the opportunity to have pretty regularly, and my business role and my community outreach role, and I want other people to learn about those.

So, you know, these conversations are a collection of Arkansans, be it from here or away from here.

But Arkansas roots, Arkansas stories, Arkansas conversations, Arkansas strength.

And we want to highlight what makes our state stronger at every turn.

I mean, it's very easy to get engaged in the hyper polarized times that we live in and the labels and Lord knows all the commercials right now during this high political season.

But I didn't want to take a political route.

I like politics, I'm actually thrive in it, and I like service, but I think this is an extension of just what probably truly saved my life, which were conversations, my earliest chagrin.

I can remember the conversations I was having with my mom or people in my church, and now I get to go out here and have conversations and open doors where somebody may not know a banker like Lane Jean, who was the longest serving joint budget chair in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

And they may not know a Rodney Shepherd who was the president of banks, one of Arkansas strongest and long serving community banks, true community banks.

And we want to bring those stories or farm stories or civic good stories to surface to light.

And also highlight some of our living legacies.

I am fortunate in my people collection to have some elder statesmen and women, and I'm losing some of them.

Yeah.

And that doesn't sit lightly on my heart when they are passing onward.

And I said, man, I would have loved to had one more conversation with them.

So if you're out there, I'm coming to see you and some of my friends, you know who you are to hopefully have a conversation and capture some of the legacy, the essence.

And at the end of the day, what makes Arkansas stronger.

So, it's been really fun so far.

I'm getting prepared for it and I can't wait to bring it to Arkansas TV.

Well, tell me then, what makes us stronger with Armstrong?

Guest.

Oh, You got to be just a real good old true Archie.

My, of.

You know, I joke about watching Chuck Dover's traveling Arkansas.

The little kids.

Like one of the last shows we could watch.

And he was showing the beauty of the natural state through its terrain.

And I want to be able to show the beauty of the state that we call on the natural state through its people, through our differences.

And coming to understand what makes us different also makes us stronger.

So there is no criteria there.

Most of my interviews and conversations have come through relationships.

Hey, Eddie, have you talked to Kevin Cressey?

He's designing a artistic park.

And Argenta, Arkansas.

Norfolk, highlighting Arkansas's greatest musicians.

No.

So those are the types of interviews we're having and conversations we're having.

And there's no real true.

Like who's a stronger with Arkansas interview candidate.

We want our Kansans from North, south east and West Central to be open to the possibilities.

We're highlighting homelessness.

We're highlighting maternal health.

We're highlighting lithium in its boom.

We're highlighting the steel industry and of course, the retail and poultry giants of Northwest Arkansas.

But we're also highlighting pastors, teachers, preachers, and food banks and food pantries and cousins.

So we're in the neighborhood talking to just as many people as we.

And I enjoy every bit of it.

I shout out to Edison, my son, for even encouraging me to do this.

I mean, I was not that enthralled to do it until he said, you've got to do it, daddy.

So well, you have conversations all across that not just Arkansas, really across the nation.

Out of those conversations, what are some things that you're hearing that people really want to talk about?

You know, I think people just aren't afraid to have the conversation first.

Of course, on the tip of most people's tongues, as I just left the nation's capital in Washington, D.C., is the future of technology, AI, and our data centers.

But that's today's news by, it's not really what I think people want to talk about.

I think it's the self discovery for stronger with Armstrong to bring forth something that another person and the other proportion of the state may not have ever known.

And so these conversations are, like I mentioned, ranging from somebody and smack over may not have ever known about anything going on.

And at the Pink Tomato Festival for somebody in Pocahontas may not have ever heard of a lit fest in little Rock.

And of course, the AMP theater and all their concerts may miss those in El Dorado.

But how do we become a bridge through communication and conversations for our guest, and most importantly, to give our hands and something to be proud of when they say, I didn't know that or I didn't know that person existed.

We will find you.

I've got enough relationships to find you, that's for sure.

That's great.

You know what?

With all the things that's ahead of you.

What is it that you want?

Arkansas to know when you are all done with everything you're doing.

What's your contribution to Arkansas.

What do you want it to be.

That's a great Jack question.

That's my mother.

Because it's it's never ending.

This this life is always going to evolve, even if we should leave in our physical form.

I would just hope that I'm a bridge and not me personally.

But the work that we, my team that we do, the conversations that we have, that it becomes a bridge, it becomes a connector for Arkansans to be able to say, I am really glad that I am from Arkansas.

I really appreciate it.

You know, Arkansas has no shortage of amazing people.

We've made presidents.

We've made president spokespeople that are now Governor Sarah Sanders.

We've made amazing U.S.

senators.

We've made tremendous business leaders, bankers, teachers, triumphant matriarchs and patriarchs to little Rock.

And we've gone through things and time and time and time again, we've shown resilience, we've shown perseverance, and we've shown that we've got great people.

One of my most exciting episodes is in East Arkansas, the Delta, where everyone said it's dried up and never to come back.

And now we're making wine and spirits from sweet potatoes.

And so I'm really excited about this show and Harvey Williams and Delta Dirt and and there are many more shows like that that I feel we should be very proud of.

Is that in the toughest of times and the loudest of noise, Arkansans have always truly, you know, exemplified how we can govern good, treat people right, speak to one another, and really look out for our neighbors.

And that's something that I've been able to discover in Harris and Pocahontas, Jonesboro, Fayetteville, Bentonville, Blytheville, Russellville.

I've been all over and through and through and through.

The thing that I think makes Arkansas most phenomenal is its people.

And I want other people to know that within our state and around the country, hopefully through our platform on social media and through Arkansas TV and in each household that will be coming to.

So I'm excited and I have no end to this all.

It's an evolving opportunity to keep doing something good.

Yes, I'm excited for the show too.

I will be tuning in.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Eddie, for joining us today.

And wow, what a bright ray of sunshine for Arkansas.

Right to shine that light.

Yeah, well, you know, our basketball team may lose sometimes.

And lord knows we won't talk sports or football right now, but, our people.

Yes, it is our people.

And thank you for joining me today.

So much for having me.

Love the conversation.

That concludes this edition of Arkansas Week.

See you next time.