Jonesboro, AR – Contributed –  The EAST Initiative celebrated 30 years of education accelerated by service and technology from the Hot Springs Convention Center at EAST Conference 2026. 

The three-day educational conference hosted over 3,000 attendees, including students, educators, administrators, and community leaders from across Arkansas and Oklahoma. EAST students presented their community projects to peers and judges while attending educational breakout sessions to gain knowledge to take back to their classrooms. 

The Lindsey Ball Parker Leadership Award, created in memoriam of former EAST student leader Lindsey Ball Parker, was awarded to Maddox Beaver of Valley View High School in Jonesboro for his selfless approach to the EAST Conference student Leadership Team. 

“Maddox’s personality is infectious, and he knows it,” said Dawson Cumberland, staff lead over the EAST Conference Leadership Team. “The best part is that he uses his ability to entertain and connect with others to make every member of the team feel valued and connected to the whole. He’s a galvanizer in every sense of the word. I don’t think he fully knows how important that ability is within teamwork.” 

In addition, Stephens Elementary School from Little Rock was crowned the winner of the 2026 EAST Project Competition with its “PAWvidence Park” project, in which students are working with Refuge Village to create a dog park at the Providence Park homeless community. 

“Kaelynn, Damien, and Inelida picked up the torch and have been researching requirements for and coming up with a design for a dog park so that Providence Park is truly pet-friendly from the day they open [on] May 1,” said Nolan Brown, EAST facilitator at Stephens Elementary School. “They got a donation of nearly $7,000 for 500 ft. of fencing and posts to install a 10,000 sq. ft. dog park and are looking to expand on that by eventually adding a building for kennels, a dog wash, and space for veterinary care.”

Over 20 awards, focusing on conservation education, drone technology, and multimedia projects, recognized EAST students of all types and levels of expertise. Additional EAST Conference award and competition winners include: 

  • Audio Visual Multimedia Competition: Amelia Kerby — Central High School (Little Rock, AR) 
  • Mapping App Competition: Jaxon Clifford — Sonora Elementary School (Springdale, AR) 
  • Drone Competition: Caleb Gay, Owen Edwards, Jack Hallum, Carson Carlisle — England High School 
  • Print Media Competition: Angela Vega, Jimena Hernandez — Horatio High School 
  • Fay Jones Architectural Challenge: Bentley Hughes, Faith Cheatham — Batesville High School Charter 
  • Conservation Education Competition: Nolan Erkman, Zain McQueen, Aiden Neuman, Arthur Luster — Calico Rock High School 
  • Go Map 26 ArcGIS Competition: Haley Wilkes, Dakota Rhodes — Fountain Lake Charter High School (Hot Springs, AR) 
  • Web Design and Experience Competition: Devyn Sisco, Jenna Collins, Elle Richardson — Benton High School 

EAST Conference 2026 was supported by numerous businesses, organizations, and educational institutions, including: the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education; Avad3 Event Production; UA Little Rock; First Security Bank; FIS; LithiumLearns; Staley Electric; Arkansas Army National Guard; and Hytrol. 

For more information regarding EAST Conference 2026, visit EASTconference.org and watch the EAST Conference 2026 Highlights Video edited by Hayden Taylor, an EAST student from Batesville High School Charter.