Adams, Bittle and Blackwell latest school Hall of Honor inductees for Fayetteville
Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008
BROOKE McNEELY Northwest Arkansas Times Oma Blackwell talks with friends Wednesday during the Fayetteville Public Schools Foundation Hall of Honor announcement luncheon at Jose’s on Dickson Street. Blackwell, a former principal of Root Elementary School, is one of the 2008 inductees.
An insurance agent, a former principal and a longtime professor will be the most recent inductees into the Fayetteville Schools Hall of Honor.
The Fayetteville Public Education Foundation announced Wednesday that J. Alan Adams, Larry Bittle and Oma Blackwell will be honored this year.
The three honorees will be formally inducted during a ceremony Oct. 9, a Thursday, at the Fayetteville Town Center.
The foundation selects honorees based on their volunteerism in the schools, contributions as employees of the district or their success as Fayetteville graduates.
Bittle and Blackwell, who attended Wednesday's announcement at Jose's restaurant in Fayetteville, were named due to their contributions as a volunteer and employee, respectively. Adams is a 1953 graduate of Fayetteville High School.
Bittle is an insurance agent who moved to Fayetteville in 1970. In 1986, he served as chairman of the district's Citizens Advisory Committee, which developed a long-term strategic vision for the district.
He also served as chairman of the 1993 millage campaign to build the Holcomb and Vandergriff elementary schools and served as chairman of a 1994 millage committee to fund a comprehensive technology program.
In 2000, Bittle helped pursuade the Arkansas Activities Association to move the school All-Star games to Fayetteville from Little Rock. He also helped develop the annual Holiday Hoops Basketball Tournament, which began in 1995.
Bittle said he was humbled to receive the honor. As chairman of the committees, he often had good committee members who sometimes did more work than he did, he said.
"I'm just one of those people who has been in the right place at the right time, " Bittle said.
Blackwell retired from education in 2001 after 32 years as an educator, which included 21 years as principal of Root Elementary School in Fayetteville.
"I can't tell you how honored I am," Blackwell said.
During her tenure at Root, she was named the state Principal of the Year in 1986 by the Arkansas Association of Elementary School Principals and was later named National Distinguished Principal of the Year at a Washington, D. C., awards ceremony.
In 1993, Root Elementary received recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School for its academic success.
Blackwell credited former district Superintendent Harry Vandergriff with giving her the job even though she had no prior experience as a principal at Root. Her last teaching job before coming to Fayetteville was at Greers Ferry.
"If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be here," Blackwell said.
District spokesman Alan Wilbourn said Blackwell had a simple formula for success: Make sure each child was effectively taught necessary, basic academic skills, teach and uphold the basic tenets of American citizenship, and do everything possible to make sure the child thinks the school is a great place to be.
Adams was born in Fayetteville in 1936 and attended Washington Elementary before graduating from FHS. As an FHS student, he was a member of National Honor Society, played football and baseball and ran track.
Adams attended the University of Arkansas as an undergraduate and was president of Theta Tau, an engineering fraternity, and was elected to Blue Key, a leadership fraternity. He also served in the U. S. Air Force for three years and later earned master's and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
Adams went on to have a longtime career as a professor of mechanical engineering at the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., from 1965 to 1998. He now holds the title of professor emeritus with the Naval Academy.
In addition to writing numerous articles and papers, Adams has also authored three textbooks on heat transfer, geometry and computer graphics.
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