The SPSEF Board of Directors are honored to welcome the 2025 Cornerstone Recipients!
The Bill and Walter Mathews Families – 2025 Patron
The Mathews Family has had a 35+ year partnership with the McDonald’s business. In 1982, brothers Bill and Walter Mathews purchased their first McDonald’s restaurant and embarked on their McDonald’s journey together. Fast forward nearly four decades later, they now own 35 restaurants. Walter has retired, and Bill’s son, Cody has officially joined the family business. The Mathews take great pride in taking care of their communities and are strong supporters of their local Ronald McDonald House Charities chapters, the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation, The Springdale School District, and The Springdale Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Jenee Fleenor – 2025 Alumni
Fleenor is a 2001 Springdale High School graduate. She is a fiddle player and singer-songwriter and has performed with and written songs for many musicians and bands. In 2019, Fleenor became the first woman to be nominated and to win the Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year award, and the first fiddle player to win the award in over 20 years. She’s gone on to receive the award several more times. She plays fiddle, mandolin and acoustic guitar. Growing up in Springdale, she started playing the violin at age three, through the Suzuki Method, alongside her parents- her mother at the piano and her father also on the violin.
Sara Ford – 2025 Retiree
Ford began her career as a teacher at Tyson Elementary, then served as the principal of J.O. Kelly Middle School for 25 years. She played a key role in the transition of elementary and junior high schools to the middle school system in Springdale. Ford oversaw such programs as the Connected Mathematics Project, a pilot math curriculum designed by the Arkansas Department of Education, and the “I Can Manage Myself” (ICMM) Club, which recognizes students for exemplary behavior and work habits. She established Classroom Day, which brought local businesspeople to Kelly to spend a day teaching classes, as well as a robust technology program with a computer in every classroom.
Jerre Van Hoose – 2025 Legacy
Van Hoose made a significant and lasting impression on Springdale. He was the city’s mayor from 1998-2009, where he helped lay the groundwork for the major growth and development of the region. He also served on the Springdale School Board, including a role as president. Van Hoose was 50-year member of Springdale Rotary, president of The Arts Center of the Ozarks, Arkansas Water Works and Pollution Control, and Ozark Regional Transit. His career at McGoodwin, Williams and Yates Engineering Firm lasted 38 years.