Todd Sellers moved to Bryant in 2007 to accept a position with the Bryant School District. He soon became involved in the community, especially the Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce, which works for the betterment of Bryant in a variety of ways.
Sellers, 42, is the 2017 president of the chamber’s board of directors.
“I’m not an individual chamber member,” he said. “I represent the Bryant School District, which is a member.
“It’s a great day to be a Bryant Hornet,” said Sellers, who is principal at Bryant Middle School, which houses approximately 1,200 sixth- through eighth-graders.
“I have two goals this year,” Sellers said, discussing his role as chamber board president: “One, to develop a long-term facility plan to get a larger, more visible space for the chamber office, with more parking, and two, to form an executive committee to work with prospective companies considering locating in Bryant.
“We have so much potential here, especially now that the bypass is being developed. In August 2016, a bond extension was passed to get Bryant Parkway built from the Raymar [Road] overpass, which runs north and south, to extend south to the Saline County Regional Airport, (on Arkansas 183/Reynolds Road). That would help ease traffic, especially school traffic, on Reynolds Road (the main road in and out of Bryant).
“A huge piece of that project is already underway. The [Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department] is beginning to install the ramps now [for an exit off Interstate 30].”
The new interchange on I-30 will be between exit 123 at Reynolds Road and exit 126 at Alexander Road.
“This is all part of a $24 million project that includes two new fire stations [and other improvements]. It is not a tax, but an extension of an existing bond,” he said.
“There are also about 750 acres around the airport that are available for development,” Sellers said. “If we could get some industry to come in here and develop that, it would be huge.
“We need an executive committee to work with these potential companies. We need someone to help sell our community … maybe some real estate developers, the mayor, the school superintendent … a variety of people. That would be the goal of this executive committee.”
Sellers said another part of Bryant’s potential future rests on the outcome of the March 14 school election.
“It is so important for the community to pass the millage increase for the Bryant School District on March 14,” he said. “This is the third time the district has asked for an increase. It’s a very scary time. Everything seems to be in alignment for [the millage increase] to pass. This is the first time in 10 years here that everybody seems to be working together to get the millage passed.”
The Bryant School Board is seeking a 3.6 mill increase on March 14. The current millage rate is 37.2, which, according to information from the Bryant School District’s website, bryantschools.org, is the lowest millage rate compared to neighboring school districts.
“If the school district millage [increase] passes and the southern route of the Bryant Parkway is accomplished, the city of Bryant will be sitting in a really good position to do great things,” Sellers said.
Sellers became active in the chamber in 2007 and became a board member Jan. 1, 2013.
“I’m in my second three-year term, and I was the vice president in 2016-2017,” he said. “For officer positions, we are nominated and voted upon within our board itself. The only natural progression is that the vice president becomes president of the board the following year.”
During his time with the chamber, Sellers has served on, and chaired, the Education and Fall Fest committees. He was instrumental in setting up the Spring Queen Beauty Pageant, which is sponsored by the chamber’s Education Committee in an effort to raise money for scholarships for local gradating high school seniors. This year’s pageant is planned for April 29 at The Center at Bishop Park.
Sellers is still chairman of the Education Committee.
“I also chaired the Fall Fest Committee this past year,” he said, adding that he is serving as a committee member again this year. “It is set up so that every year, the vice president [of the chamber’s board of directors] is automatically the chair of Fall Fest. David Hannah is our current vice president. He is chairing Fall Fest this year and will take over as president of our board on Jan. 1, 2018.”
Fall Fest is scheduled for Sept. 30, also at Bishop Park.
“This year is the 125th birthday of Bryant and the 30th anniversary of Fall Fest,” Sellers said. “We will really be pushing that. Now that we’ve added the Buzzin’ BBQ Bash, which is a Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event, the festival has really grown.”
Todd Rhoden, executive director of the Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce, said, “I appreciate Todd Sellers’ leadership as our board president.
“Todd’s relationships and vision for our chamber will help take us to the next level. He is passionate about the upcoming March 14 Bryant School District millage election. It is critical to vote ‘for’ in this election for continued higher education and economic development in our community.
“This is a very important time for the Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce as we are committed to partnering with the city, parks, businesses and schools to build a better Bryant.”
Todd Sellers was born May 24, 1974, in Conway, a son of Wayne and Joan Sellers, who still live in Conway. Todd has one sister, Kandy Sellers, who also lives in Conway.
Todd Sellers graduated from Conway High School in 1992 and attended the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
“I graduated from UCA three times,” he said, laughing. “I have a bachelor’s degree in early-childhood education, a master’s degree in building-level administration and an education-specialist certification in district-level administration.”
Sellers started his teaching career at Mayflower in Faulkner County in December 1996.
“I taught fifth grade for a half year, then taught kindergarten for one year,” he said. “I taught third grade for eight years at Mayflower and served one year as assistant principal at Mayflower Elementary School, for a total of 11 years in the Mayflower School District.
“I also drove a bus when I was at Mayflower.”
Sellers and his wife, Cristy, who is from Jonesboro, moved to Bryant in July 2007, when he went to work for the Bryant School District. He served as principal of Collegeville Elementary School for three yeas, principal at Bethel Middle School for five years and now is in his second year as principal at Bryant Middle School.
“I wanted to be an accountant … a CPA,” he said, when asked what he wanted to do as he was growing up. “I was about halfway through my freshman year at UCA, and I was tutoring a neighborhood kid. I thought, ‘This wouldn’t be too bad.’ I took an aptitude test, and I changed my major to education. I’ve never looked back.”
Todd and Cristy, who is a registered dietitian and works for the Arkansas Department of Health, have been married for 19 years. They have one daughter, Harper, 9, who is in fourth grade in the Bryant School District. Harper participates in beauty/scholarship pageants, gymnastics and softball.
“I’m always around kids,” Todd Sellers said.
“Bryant is a good place to raise my daughter,” he said, citing the population of the city as less than 20,000.
“This millage increase is very important for our kids,” he said. “We need a new cafeteria at the high school; they do five shifts for lunch. We need a new elementary school on the north side of town. We need a new junior high … for grades eight and nine. That’s just part of what the millage increase would help fund.”
In addition to his duties as president of the Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and principal at Bryant Middle School, Sellers is also a member of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators.
“I also currently serve as a board member for the Arkansas Professional Licensure Standards Board,” he said. “This is a board that oversees the code of ethics for educators in Arkansas.
“I’m also a member of First United Methodist Church in Bryant and volunteer on Wednesday nights with our school-aged children in Crazy for Christ Kids.”