MLK Recommitment Banquet to Honor 5, Sam's Club Leader to Speak

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Rosalind Brewer, keynote speaker

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council will hold its 20th annual Recommitment Banquet at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18 in the Fayetteville Town Center as the final event in the local celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Rosalind Brewer, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, will deliver the keynote address at the event.

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available on the council’s website.

This year’s Salute to Greatness awards will be presented during the banquet to:

• Edith Hawkins, Lifetime Achievement Award
• Pattie Williams, Ernestine White-Gibson Individual Achievement Award 
• Todd Jenkins, Rodney Momon Youth/Young Adult Award  
• Burtis “Lamar” Davis, Rev. J.A. Hawkins Posthumous Award  
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Non-Profit of the Year Award

The council will also award scholarships to 12 Northwest Arkansas high school students, six scholarships to current undergraduates, and five scholarships to graduate students or current professionals, for a total of 23 academic scholarships.

“The Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council members are elated to be able to present this many scholarships,” said council President Angela Mosley Monts. “In the first year of the Recommitment Banquet we were able to award two scholarships. The growth of this event and the community support we have received over the past 20 years have made all the difference.” 

The Recommitment Banquet is presented in conjunction with the University of Arkansas, the executive producer of the event.

ROSALIND BREWER

Rosalind Brewer was named president and CEO of Sam’s Club, in 2012. Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart, is a members-only warehouse club channel with 110,000 associates and 649 clubs generating $58 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2015.

Brewer joined Walmart in 2006 as regional vice president, overseeing operations in Georgia. She later became division president for the Southeast, and then president of Walmart East. She has focused on revenue growth and customer satisfaction and has extensive expertise in turn-around assignments. She is also known for building strong teams, inspiring mentoring networks and having a passion for improving communities. Before joining Walmart, she worked for Kimberly-Clark Corp. for 22 years, starting as a scientist and eventually becoming president of the Global Nonwovens Sector in 2004.

Brewer earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spelman College, a historically black liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, where she currently serves as chair of the board of trustees. She attended the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and the Director’s College at the University of Chicago School of Business/Stanford School of Law.