The Arkansas Municipal League at its 90th Annual Convention, held June 12-14, 2024, honored Greenwood City Clerk/Treasurer Sharla Derry with the Adrian L. White Municipal Leadership Award.
The award is presented to municipal officials who have served with distinction and dedication to their cities and the League’s boards, councils or committees for six years. The award is named in honor of White, who was mayor of Pocahontas from 1967-1974 and a former League president and vice president.
“To me, it’s just a gesture of appreciation from an organization that the cities and towns of Arkansas lean on immensely, the League is a strong safety net for municipal officials to fall into when we are needing support and guidance,” shared Derry. “Some years back, I was asked if I’d serve on the Arkansas Municipal League Workman’s Comp Board of Trustees and I was very grateful to be asked by the League to serve, so I agreed to. We meet quarterly to decide the business of the issues that come across needing a vote for this League Program. Member cities pay annual dues to be covered by this League program providing Workman’s Compensation Insurance for employees of hundreds of cities in Arkansas; this Board of Trustees, which consists of myself along with four other city officials from various cities, is an important facet of service support within the Arkansas Municipal League’s various program services offered. To be asked to serve on this board felt like a full-circle moment for me, because having served the City of Greenwood since 1998, I had performed all Workman’s Comp/HR duties on behalf of the City for 15 years. When I came onto the Board, I had served as the elected City Clerk/Treasurer for a number of years, and no longer performed those previous duties for the City, but had built a strong background in the workings of Workman’s Comp because of the time I had spent as the City’s Financial Assistant/HR person for those years. To be trusted in any capacity, is something I hold dear and am very proud of and pleased to say is my calling, so this award is a sweet gesture from an organization that means so much to our City, hundreds of other Arkansas cities, and therefore the State. It’s a great feeling to support a facet of this profession of public service.”
The 90th Convention was a hybrid event, with in-person sessions held at the Little Rock Marriott
and Statehouse Convention Center and with a virtual option for municipal officials and personnel who preferred to participate online. Overall attendance was strong, with more than 1,200 participating in person and online.
The Convention covered an array of topics important to Arkansas’ cities and towns, including
the workforce housing shortage and rise of short-term rentals, promoting civility in public discourse, an overview of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, protecting our crucial infrastructure and mitigating cybersecurity threats, and strategies to maximize funding for water
and wastewater projects.
The Arkansas Municipal League is a service and advocacy organization for the municipalities of
Arkansas. The League offers its programs and services to the 499 cities and towns in Arkansas
and was created in 1934 to assist cities with information and representation in the public affairs
of our state and nation. To find out more, visit arml.org.
Congratulations to Sharla Derry on this statewide recognition and achievement!
