AUGUSTA — There is an undeniable spark taking off in Augusta, said Boyd Wright, and the Augusta Area Chamber of Commerce is partly to blame.
The inaugural Mallard Masters Championship, which will take place from 6-11 a.m. Saturday, was designed by the chamber to promote tourism and create scholarships for graduates of the Augusta Public School District. Wright, a chamber board member, said the chamber has taken a new direction under the leadership of president Winston Collier and wants to focus on tourism and economic growth.
Participants can check in for the championship in Augusta at White River Supply at 305 U.S. 64 W., in Little Dixie at the Holloway Shop at the corner of Arkansas 33 and 38, in McCrory at Flash Market at 113 U.S. 64 and in Fair Oaks at Kennon’s Dairy Bar at 131 U.S. 64.
Wright, the owner of White River Supply, said the population of Woodruff County has experienced a decrease. According to Census.gov, the county’s population was estimated in 2015 at 6,741, which was 519 fewer people than in 2010 — and chamber members brainstormed ways to bring people back into the area. Wright and his family moved to Augusta in 1980, and he currently lives in Searcy.
“The Augusta community has been looking for an answer for years on how do we stop the erosion?” he said. “The reality of farming has changed forever. You don’t need the same number of people you used to back in the day. This was a farming community. We’ve had three factories that have sat empty in our county for 15 years.”
Last year, the plans for a duck-hunting fundraising and tourism-promoter were discussed.
“The idea was verbalized originally by a group of friends around a fire pit duck hunting a year ago,” Wright said. “Different chamber members were discussing this.”
Because of the population of mallards in Woodruff County, the members thought a hunting championship would be the way to go, Wright said.
“What a wonderful way to shine a spotlight on some of these free public grounds that belong to the taxpayers,” he said. “Let’s use that resource to try to help draw people to our community.”
About 700 are expected for the inaugural event.
By the fifth year of the championship, chamber board members hope to have enough money raised to provide a scholarship to a traditional college or vo-tech
school to every Augusta Public School District graduate, as long as they also qualify for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship through the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Wright said many Augusta residents are bused to nearby communities such as McCrory and Bald Knob to attend school, and he’d like to see more students being educated in Augusta and come back to work in the community.
Since 2011, 445 Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships have been awarded to students in Woodruff County, according to www.myarkansaslottery.com.
“We need welders. We need plumbers. We need electricians,” Wright said. “We need to turn the tide of people wanting to live here. We need to show this as a sportsman’s paradise.”
Rebekah Allen, a volunteer with the chamber, said the championship is a good way to promote tourism in the area and will lead to visitors stopping by county restaurants and hotels.
“Duck hunting is a very expensive sport,” she said. “To invite these out-of-town duck hunters to our properties — I think it’s necessary for us to bring in some more revenue to our county and our city here in Augusta.”
Wright also said area business owners are working toward sprucing up the look of their businesses. Displays have been nicer, shelves have been more fully stocked and buildings have been repainted, he said.
“Every business in town, you can feel they are stepping their game up,” he said. “You can feel the pride in the community coming back.”
Tailfeathers and Tamales, the event’s evening fundraiser, will begin at 5 at 102 Front St. The $25 admission includes dinner, admission to the silent auction and charity ball, and live music. The championship winners will be announced at Tailfeathers and Tamales.
Allen said that so far, more than $100,000 worth of gifts and donations have been given toward the Mallard Masters Championship.
“It has been amazing how one door has opened one door, [and] one door opens another door,” Wright said. “It’s all not necessarily been expected. We never expected to do scholarships for the kids in the beginning. [It took] days and weeks for us to realize how big the impact was going to [be].”
The registration fee for the Mallard Masters Championship is $200. For more information, visit www.mallardmasterschampionship.com.
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.