Awaiting ‘The Donald’ : Trump to speak at Economics Arkansas event
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
ROGERS - When Economics Arkansas set out to find a high-profile personality to serve as keynote speaker at one of its largest annual fundraisers, the organization decided to shoot for the sky. And in doing so, the nonprofit netted The Donald.
Donald Trump, America's most prominent and widely recognized real-estate developer, author and the driver behind the hit television reality series "The Apprentice," is coming to Rogers.
Seats evaporated in a hurry when it was announced Trump would speak at the Economics Arkansas: Education for Real Life Banquet, scheduled for noon to 1: 30 p.m. Thursday at the John Q. Hammons Center.
Economics Arkansas is a private, nonprofit organization that offers multiple programs and workshops for Arkansas educators and their students. The Arkansas Department of Education, like in the majority of states in the union, does not require its schools to teach economics or personal finance at any level. So since 1962, a significant part of what Economics Arkansas has done is create programs such as Economics America, The Stock Market Game, Economics Challenge, the Bessie B. Moore Awards Program and the Polly M. Jackson Master Economics Teachers Program for Arkansas teachers to integrate into their existing curriculum.
So who better to speak to the importance of such programs and what Economics Arkansas is working to integrate than Trump ?
"We were searching for a very high-profile speaker to raise awareness for economic literacy - and we just found out four weeks ago that Donald Trump had accepted our invitation," said Sue Owens, executive director of Economics Arkansas. "We have a very wonderful group of northwest Arkansas business leaders, committed to helping our organization. Getting Donald Trump for this event is obviously big."
According to Owens, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CEO Lee Scott will introduce Trump at Thursday's event.
Economics Arkansas is not the only organization pushing for America's schools to increase emphasis on economic literacy. Just 14 states across the country require students to take an economics or personal-finance course before high school graduation.
Economics Arkansas is headquartered in Little Rock but operates six offices across the state, including one at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
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