Category Archives: Inspirational

How one video changed a life

Inspirational, State government
Project Zero
Chrystal and Adam Baker adopted their son, Donté, after seeing his story as told by KTHV Channel 11’s Dawn Scott.

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

How powerful can a short video be? Powerful enough to change a boy’s life – and a family’s.

In March 2015, Chrystal and Adam Baker were living a normal life in Alexander. She was an IT professional and he was a Game and Fish officer, and they were raising their blended family of four children. They had talked about adoption but had never taken any concrete steps.

Then Chrystal saw a Facebook video of a recurring television news series, “A Place to Call Home,” produced by KTHV Channel 11’s Dawn Scott. It featured 13-year-old Donté, who’d been in foster care four years. It was his birthday, and the gift he wanted was a family.

Chrystal told Adam he needed to watch it. He said he already had and told her to start the paperwork.

“I cry every time I watch it and when I think about it. … I knew he was ours,” she said.

Chrystal texted a neighbor who had adopted two teens from foster care and who suggested they contact The CALL, a Christian organization that recruits foster and adoptive parents. She “immediately” called the local chapter. Continue reading How one video changed a life →

How a hitchhiker saved my life on the highway

Inspirational

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

I could have died last week picking up a hitchhiker, but not how you might think.

She was about 40 years old, and she was sitting outside a gas station with her stuff and her dog. Her face was covered with tattoos. She was headed to Oregon, but first she needed a ride to the Health Department in Little Rock. She called herself a “traveller.”

The Health Department was at 3915 W. 8th Street. With my phone almost dead, I decided to take the exit off I-30 and look for the street number rather than use the power-sapping map. But the numbers were nowhere near 3915. Driving through downtown, I keyed in the address, thinking the location must be on the other side of the Capitol. Instead, the phone’s map showed it was farther west and on the other side of I-630.

That was confusing, and meanwhile my phone had dwindled to about 1 percent battery power. I kept looking at the screen as I took the entrance ramp and began to merge onto I-630. I was transfixed by that map and the urgency of that 1 percent, until my passenger calmly said, “There’s a car parked on the side of the road.” Continue reading How a hitchhiker saved my life on the highway →

How to disagree about the NFL anthem controversy

Inspirational, Legislature, Politics, State government
Jim Hendren Joyce Elliott
Sens. Joyce Elliott and Jim Hendren as he flew her in his plane to Paragould, where they would disagree agreeably about the NFL anthem controversy.

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Jim Hendren and Joyce Elliott come from very different places, which is a big reason why they disagree on many issues including the NFL anthem controversy. But that was OK as they flew together in his small plane to speak about that subject to the Paragould Rotary Club.

How different are their backgrounds? He’s a conservative Republican state senator from Sulphur Springs in Northwest Arkansas. She’s a liberal Democratic state senator from Little Rock. He’s an engineer who owns a plastics company. She’s a retired schoolteacher. He’s the son of a longtime state legislator and nephew of the current governor. She’s the daughter of a single mother who struggled to keep food on the table. He flew F-15 fighter planes, now serves with the Air National Guard, and has deployed several times to the Middle East to fight ISIS. She and her siblings fought their own battle growing up in segregated schools in Willisville in southwestern Arkansas. Soon after forced integration, they were the only black students in an all-white school.

And yet Hendren calls her “one of my best friends in the Senate.” She says, “He’s one of my very best friends as well.” Continue reading How to disagree about the NFL anthem controversy →

How Julie got her daughter back, and her life

Inspirational, State government

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

On Jan. 11, 2013, Julie Johnson’s daughter, Anna, didn’t come home from day care. At first, Julie didn’t know where Anna was, but at least she knew who had taken her: the state of Arkansas.

Before long, she began to appreciate why. She and her estranged husband were meth addicts, and their homes were no longer safe.

Eight months later, Julie (whose name and Anna’s were changed for this story) was getting the help she needed, and Anna was back in her custody. On June 6, 2014, their case closed for good.

How did Julie get her daughter back, and her life? With help from people who cared. Continue reading How Julie got her daughter back, and her life →