Notice to Media

Hopper named Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman

February 21, 1997 -- Bobby Hopper of Springdale assumed the Chairman’s duties of the five-person Arkansas Highway Commission at the committee’s February 19 meeting . He replaces L.W. "Bill" Clark whose 10-year term expired in January.

Hopper, a Gassville native, was first appointed to the Commission in 1983 by former Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of F.H. Martin. He was re-appointed to the Commission by Clinton in January 1989. His current term on the Commission expires January 1999. He is the longest serving Arkansas Highway Commissioner in history.

Upon Hopper’s return from the Korean Conflict, he managed a Ford dealership in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1969 he returned to his native Arkansas where he operated another Ford dealership in Springdale until January 1980. During his association with Ford Motor Company, he won many distinguished sales and service awards.

He is a former Board Member of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce and the Civil Service Commission. He is past member of the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association and the National Automobile Dealers Association. He is past Chairman of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Special Committee of Commissioners and Boards. Hopper was recently named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Springdale Rotary Club.

Hopper and his wife Lois have a daughter Regina Blakely and a son Robert. They are members of the First United Methodist Church in Springdale.

For Further Information Contact:

Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department
10324 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72209
Tel: 501-569-2000
FAX: 501-569-2400
e-mail: info@arkansashighways.com