Ouachita Baptist University honored Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Robert Moore Jr. with its Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service to the State of Arkansas.
Moore of Arkansas City received the award during a luncheon Aug. 31 at the Arkadelphia school, according to a news release.
OBU President Ben Sells welcomed attendees with remarks about Moore, followed by the award presentation.
Moore graduated from OBU in 1966, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army and served as a pilot in Vietnam. He is a former director of the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control and former Arkansas Speaker of the House.
"Chairman Moore is a visionary," Department of Transportation Director Lorie Tudor said. "He was speaker of the house in 2012 when voters approved the temporary half-cent sales tax for the Connecting Arkansas Program, and last year, he was chairman of the highway commission when voters removed the word 'temporary' and made this source of revenue permanent for state highways, county roads and city streets."
Moore has worked under six governors, according to the release.
"I look at moving forward," Moore said, "and continuing to work on tourism in the Delta, improving the infrastructure for the great people of the state of Arkansas, and bringing opportunities to the people that we love and live with in this state. I want to be a better husband, a better friend, and I want to work harder in the fight against social injustice."