Parks & Trails Director Anthony Whittington, who currently serves as Vice President of the Arkansas Urban Forestry Council Board of Directors, was recently elected president. His term will begin July 1. He also serves on the council’s awards nomination committee and board of directors nomination committee. The statewide council holds many community forestry events and tree plantings across Arkansas each year. The council’s mission is to enhance the quality of life by promoting the benefits of trees; and to develop sustainable community forests through education, outreach and partnerships.
Last July, Whittington was named Parks & Trails Director for the City of Hot Springs. He joined the City of Hot Springs in June 2017 as the city’s urban forester. He holds a bachelor of science degree in recreation and park management from Henderson State University and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Agriculture and Extension Education from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He has six years of experience with University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, including serving as an agricultural extension agent in Jefferson County, and five years with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, where he worked as a park interpreter for both Mount Nebo State Park and Lake Ouachita State Park. He has experience in trail construction and management, urban stormwater educational outreach, farm research, parks maintenance and master gardener program management.
Whittington is a Hot Springs native and a graduate of Lakeside High School. He and his wife Heaven have a son, Zak, 8.