Stephanie Harris-Dunn of Highland wanted a way to teach her children about giving back to the community.
And the biggest way she’s doing it is serving as executive director of the Sharp County Community Foundation.
Harris-Dunn, 43, started the position Oct. 1 and trained for three months. She replaced former director Pat Clary, who resigned last summer.
The Sharp County Community Foundation is part of the Arkansas Community Foundation. According to the website www.arcf.org, the foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes smart giving to improve communities. The foundation offers to help people in the state protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs.
“I was approached this summer by one of the board members,” Harris-Dunn said. “Because my kids are still in school, it was kind of time to get back into the workforce, but I didn’t want to commit to a full-time job because I still wanted to have time for my kids’ school activities.”
Harris-Dunn was a stay-at-home mother for 15 years before accepting the position. She did, however, work part time for her parents’ business, Highland Window and Door.
She and her husband, Justin, lived in Northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma for several years, then moved back to the Highland area three years ago.
“I’m very proud of where I grew up,” Harris-Dunn said. “I graduated form Highland High School in 1992. I’m very proud of my little community.
“I was trying to find some way to give back. I didn’t know what that looked like at the time. I was looking for somewhere to give back. I didn’t know if it would be through the chamber of commerce or through whatever local groups we have here. I knew I wanted to do something. I was approached by one of the board members and told they needed someone who was going to help them push forward.”
Harris-Dunn said she considered the position with Sharp County, then accepted it.
“I thought about it a little bit,” she said. “It’s all brand-new to me. I’m learning every day. I thought it would be a great opportunity to educate our community about our foundation and what we do. Even though we’re a small community, we’ve got a lot of good schools, good banks and good churches. We have a lot of support in our community that can make Sharp County better than it was.”
Harris-Dunn was also looking for a way to show her children about giving back to the community.
“I thought it was a teachable lesson for my kids,” Harris-Dunn said. “My kids are 16 and soon to be 9. I want them to be good citizens and be able to give back and be proud of their community, wherever that community may be. I want them to give back and be good stewards.”
Sharp County Community Foundation board member Molly Carpenter said the board believed that Harris-Dunn was the right person to be the new executive director.
“Stephanie is a native of Sharp County, and her family has been very involved in the community for a number of years,” Carpenter said. “They are just core people to our community. Stephanie and her family have been very committed to the success of Sharp County over the years.
“We’ve been involved in a couple of initiatives over the years, and our board felt she was a great fit to help lead us.”
Harris-Dunn attended Lyon College in Batesville on a basketball scholarship after graduating from Highland in 1992. She played for the Scots for four years, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
“It was tough, but I got a good education and an education that I’m not paying for,” she said. “It is a good school.”
Harris-Dunn never really used her psychology degree professionally.
“I say I use my degree all the time with my kids and family,” she said. “After I graduated, my plan was I was probably going to go back into the education field to be a counselor. I got out of school, and I was done with school. Four years was good.”
Harris-Dunn said she and a friend opened a retail business in Northwest Arkansas. She and her husband, Justin, got married in 2000.
“We had an opportunity for someone to buy my business,” she said. “Shortly after that, I was pregnant with twins.”
The Dunns moved to Oklahoma, where Justin Dunn worked for a pipeline company. They were afforded an opportunity to move back to Sharp County when Justin was allowed to work from home for U.S. Pipeline, then travel as needed. They jumped at the opportunity.
“It was a blessing,” Harris-Dunn said. “We were trying to get back here.”
Justin Dunn is from Bald Knob.
“It was good for me, but it was kind of a shock for my kids because they grew up in a larger school, a city with more than one stoplight,” Harris-Dunn said. “It was a move we were wanting to make. As soon as we moved to Tulsa, we were trying to find any way to get back home.”
Harris-Dunn said living away from Highland for some time was good and wants her children to do that at some point.
“I tell my kids that when you graduate, I want you to move away,” she said. “You go do college or your job or do your life. Then if you want to move back to Sharp County, do that. For me, that is what I did. I can appreciate a small town. I appreciate it so much more.
“My kids have since adjusted. So, when we go to a city like Little Rock or Jonesboro, it’s a treat.”
As far as the Sharp County Community Foundation, Harris-Dunn said, she’s the go-between for the state organization and the local board.
“I feel like I’m the liaison between what our local affiliate is doing and the state,” she said. “I report back to the central office in Little Rock. I’m the one who is making sure all the paperwork is done. If there is a contact to be made with a donor, I’m that person. I’m the transition person who keeps everyone on the same page, working on the same goal and making sure everything is getting done.”
When Harris-Dunn was hired, she was required to train three months for the position.
“My training just finished at the end of December,” she said. “We’ve got a new year, so I’m slowly still learning what my daily responsibilities are — a lot of it has to do with our local board, reporting to them and potential donors, and any potential job sites we go to.”
Harris-Dunn came in on the tail end of the fall Giving Tree grant program.
“There is a women’s shelter, and they applied for one of our Giving Tree grants and was awarded it,” she said. “It goes for the maintenance of the building. I was a part of that. We go and see the women’s-shelter facility.”
Harris-Dunn said the Sharp County Community Foundation will have a board meeting in January and has some big plans for the coming year.
“We’ve got something kicking off this coming year,” she said. “It’s going to be exciting to see what our board can do with our community to grow our charitable dollars. I’m not at liberty to say what it is officially, but I’m very excited to see what we’re going to do. It’s a big-dollar project. I’m excited to get in on the ground floor with it. I think we’re going to do good with it.”
Right now, Harris-Dunn said, she’s working probably 40 hours a month for the foundation, while also still working for her family’s business. Between the two, it’s a full-time job.
“I try to commit myself every Wednesday to this office,” she said. “Basically, I set my own hours. I try to make one day consistent. If someone calls, I can answer the phone. Some weeks require more time than the other weeks. It’s probably 40 hours over a month’s time.
“We are about to have a board meeting. We’ve got a lot of things planned for the coming year. I’m very flexible since I work for my parents. I can set my own work schedule, whether it be here or whether it be there, just as long as I’m getting it done. No one is checking up on me.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.