By Edi Wood | Photography by Sarah Oden | Shot on location at ACCESS
This year’s Bingo Bash, supporting ACCESS and its mission to expand individual potential through innovative instruction, is long awaited. Having been postponed last year due to COVID-19 and related CDC precautions, the event will surely be one to remember. ACCESS Marketing & Special Events Manager Krysten Levin is excited about the new venue at Heifer International – which provides a spacious, open-air setting for patrons. She notes a new game, Split the Pot, will yield winnings to both ACCESS and gamers; it is a fun addition to the evening’s festivities. Krysten is quick to credit Bingo Bash Chairmen Kelli and Mason Miller as well the ACCESS Board of Directors, namely Fred Davis, for their continued leadership.
Fred prefers not to take the spotlight for any of his volunteer efforts, but he is a noteworthy part of the growth of the vision and mission of ACCESS. His relationship with the organization spans almost a decade; he is currently a member of the ACCESS Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. After returning to his native Little Rock to begin work as an attorney, Fred’s decision to volunteer for ACCESS was part of a choice he made to commit his “time, treasure and talent” to the place he calls home. Through a shadowing program with the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Fred was placed with ACCESS, and found his fit. This initial introduction included work with the ACCESS Board of Directors; that evolved into his participation with the ACCESS in Action Young Professionals Group as well as the Bingo Bash event. Since that time, Fred’s dedication to the organization has been unwavering.
Fred explains his continuing commitment to this organization as one of genuine admiration; in fact, he calls himself one of its biggest cheerleaders. He has helped the board of directors – whom he respects as the most “impressive, caring, humble and generous” people he has ever witnessed – lead an organization which continues to assess the needs of the community and to find ways to meet those needs. Although ACCESS began as a one-campus school, Fred applauds the board for the fact that it is now a multi-faceted organization that thrives because it focuses on serving individuals and evolving as the world changes. The board of directors continually collects data, constructs successful programs and directs its attention to specific objectives. As a result, ACCESS reaches deep within this community to people of all socio-economic backgrounds. This appeals to Fred, who appreciates that effort and the impact it makes on the lives that benefit from the services ACCESS provides. From Fred’s perspective, that kind of commitment engenders a like-wise commitment in the people who work and volunteer to support those goals and outcomes.
“While I don’t have a lot of treasure to offer,” Fred quips, “I want to spend the time I have to give this community and ACCESS all that I can. It makes me feel human to be a part of this work.”
