Stacey Daughtrey, the new executive director of the Dardanelle Area Chamber of Commerce, is the first to say she was not the most qualified candidate for the job.
“It’s the honest truth — people were better qualified for this job. I had to have my kids come in and show me how to send an email,” she said, laughing.
“I don’t have the book smarts. I don’t have the knowledge or the college degree, but I have the love of Dardanelle,” she said.
Daughtrey, 46, started her job in April after being a stay-at-home mom for 13 years to her three children, ages 22, 17 and 14. She’s also worked part time, off and on, at a friend’s flower shop, often helping to set up for chamber events.
She’d volunteered for years in the community for any event that involved her children, such as after-prom parties and basketball booster club.
“People would say, ‘Call Stacey Daughtrey. She can help.’ And I would,” she said.
Although she didn’t grow up in Dardanelle, she moved there in 1993 from Russellville.
“I never was involved in the [Dardanelle] chamber,” Daughtrey said. “When this job came open, the city employee who manages the parks, Willie Lawhon, said, ‘I’ve been talking about you for two days.’”
He asked her if she knew Executive Director Tanya Hendrix was leaving. Hendrix is the new executive director of the River Valley Arts Center in Russellville.
“He said, ‘Stacey, you’d be perfect,’” Daughtrey said.
Daughtrey wasn’t so sure.
“I said, ‘I’ve got three more years of raising kids.’”
Daughtrey became a widow 13 years ago.
Her husband, Bruce, was killed Aug. 4, 2004, while he was working for Yarnell’s Ice Cream Co. He had his semitrailer backed up to another truck to unload ice cream. He was closing the doors after unloading, and the other driver didn’t know Bruce was still behind him and backed up, pinning Bruce for a few seconds.
“He fell on the ground, but the guy thought he was joking, because Bruce was a big jokester,” Daughtrey said.
She said Bruce got up, but was taken to the hospital, where he died a few hours later. His internal organs were damaged.
He was 39 years old. Their kids were 9, 4 and 18 months.
She’s devoted herself to raising them by herself. It hasn’t always been easy, Daughtrey said.
“But I see a lot of families that they lose a spouse, and they fall apart. I know we could have had it so much worse, and I know how lucky and blessed we are,” she said. “As far as my kids, my kids have been amazing through every bit of this, losing their dad and just supporting each other.”
With the encouragement of others, she decided it was time to get back in the working world and do something more for the community, and she got her children’s approval. Daughtrey said one of her sons sent her a text message the morning of her interview telling her, “You’re the person who would work harder at this job than anybody.”
Montie Sims, who is the chamber’s board president, as well as the city’s police chief, said Daughtrey won the board over in several ways.
“I appointed a committee. They had interviewed several people and went with Stacey mainly because she’s a
Dardanelle girl, and she gets along very well with people. She just comes with a lot of energy and ideas, and that’s what we were looking for,” Sims said.
“She’s trying to make the community better, trying to work with people and bring organizations into the chamber. In my opinion, she’s just what the chamber’s looking for,” he said.
Daughtrey hit the ground running. In the four months since she’s started, she’s overseen four big events, including Yell Fest on May 12 and 13.
However, her older son graduated May 13 from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.
“The day I took the job, … I said, ‘You know that big fundraiser? I won’t be here.’”
The chamber also sponsors an annual chocolate festival, the proceeds of which go each year to a different need in the community.
“This year, it was to help students with their lunches. When they go in … and they don’t have enough money in their account, people at school are helping with their lunches,” she said. “We want to make sure kids get a regular meal, no matter what’s going on in their accounts or at home.”
Daughtrey said it’s not that the parents are bad.
“Two years ago, when my mom was in the hospital, it was our vice principal who paid for Emma’s lunch one week. There are just circumstances that go on.”
On Monday, the chamber will have a back-to-school event, and the Mount Nebo Chicken Fry is on its heels.
Daughtrey said despite the hectic schedule and learning curve, she’s having fun.
“It is fun because of the people I’m getting to meet, like at Yell Fest. Vendors who came from out of town said, ‘This is how we do it. We understand that you’re new.’ They’re real sweet. They like each other; they take care of each other,” she said.
Daughtrey is excited about the 70th annual Mount Nebo Chicken Fry, which has been moved back to the mountain for the first time in at least a decade, she said. For the past several years, the event has taken place on the river.
“It was Tanya’s idea to take it back up to Mount Nebo.
That has drawn all kinds of interest and excitement,” Daughtrey said. “People who live on Mount Nebo are so excited. They’re doing a job I should be doing. One guy is going town to town putting up flyers.
“There used to be 5,000, 6,000 people who went up this mountain for the chicken fry. If you were running for any political office, you were at the Mount Nebo Chicken Fry.”
After that event, she plans to get into the nitty-gritty of managing the chamber.
“I’m ready to start sitting down and getting involved with the city and do what a chamber is supposed to do — economic growth, helping businesses advertise what they’ve got going on that week,” Daughtrey said. “When it’s a small-town chamber, it’s about the whole community.
“When you’re a chamber, not only are you taking care of the business; you’re taking care of tourism, and you’re also just taking care of people who live here, the community.”
Daughtrey said her other efforts are in figuring out the way different organizations and clubs have worked in the community.
“That has been kind of like a driving force. I’m like, look, we need to tweak this. We need to reinvest in clubs that we have, like our VFW. We’ve got a great VFW and ladies auxiliary; they’re established. People need to reinvest in that instead of starting a new nonprofit,” she said.
Although she’s giving her all to the job, Daughtrey said her family is still her No. 1 priority.
“I’ve been working way too many hours for this right now,” she said. “It’s a huge change.”
She’s in a new stage of life, and so are her children. Daughtrey said she recently ended a five-year relationship. Her older son is engaged; he moved to Benton and bought a home. Her other son started driving, and he’ll be a high school senior this fall; he and her daughter play basketball, and her daughter is a cheerleader.
“They don’t need me as much as they used to, and they’re on great paths,” she said.
So is Daughtrey — one she’s glad she took.
“I want to say it’s been overwhelming, but it hasn’t been to the point that I want to pull my hair out,” she said. “It’s overwhelming in that I want to honor these traditions that Dardanelle has, and I’m scared I’m not going to live up to that.
“I know it’s not going to be perfect, but I want people to see how much everybody loves Dardanelle.”
And that includes her.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.