11th Annual Chamber Awards Banquet
3/06/2025
6PM
Marshall, Arkansas
Greater Searcy County Chamber of Commerce
3/06/2025
6PM
Marshall, Arkansas
Greater Searcy County Chamber of Commerce
“Sustainable Growth for a Healthy Future!" THE GREATER SEARCY COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO THE 11th Annual Chamber Banquet & Awards Ceremony on Thursday, 6 Mar at 6 pm at
the Dr. Charles D. Daniel Civic Center, 515 Zack Road in Marshall! Please RSVP to 870-448-2557.
Our special guest speaker is Dr. Dean Lee. Dr. Lee is a Berryville native who graduated in 1975, where he played football, basketball and baseball and was selected to play in the Arkansas High School football and basketball All-Star games.
After high school he attended Henderson State University, where he played on two NAIA National Runner-up Basketball Teams, while majoring in physical education and also lettering in baseball and tennis.
Upon college graduation, Dean coached high school basketball at Malvern, AR for 3 years before returning to Henderson State to coach basketball and tennis.
In order to further his goal of becoming a Division 1A athletic administrator, Dean went to the University of Arkansas where he earned his doctorate degree and served as the Vice President of the Razorback Foundation for 9 years. While managing external operations and establishing new Razorback Clubs, he also worked with various fund-raising projects and activities under the leadership of Terry Don Phillips.
Following his time with the Razorbacks, he served two years as Director of Athletics at Arkansas Tech University moving their program from the NAIA level to the NCAA Division II before rejoining Terry Don Phillips at Oklahoma State University as Associate Athletic Director. While at OSU Dean helped generate funds for the $54M Gallagher Iba Arena project and helped initiate their campaign for what is now Boone Pickens Stadium.
From OSU Dean went to Arkansas State University as Director of Athletics serving that institution for 12 years. During his tenure ASU’s program was elevated to the NCAA Division 1A level, their athletic facilities had a complete renovation, and he hired Power 5 coaches such as: Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn and John Brady. In addition, attendance records were established in football and basketball.
After retiring from ASU, Dean was contacted, by a former coworker from the UofA, to create and head up Alumni & Constituent Relations with UAMS where he served as Executive Director for 4 years before retiring……. again.
In 2021, Lee returned to his hometown of Berryville, to serve as the Executive Director of the Chamber and now serves as the Economic Development Director for the City of Berryville. Recently, the city announced a $70M investment in their Business Park from Messer, a global leader in the gas industry.
Dean brings over 45 years of leadership, fundraising, marketing, and public relations experience to his economic development position. He and his wife of 47 years, Reba, have two married daughters and a 15-month-old grandson, Baker.
