Hometown and Current residence: I grew up in Jacksonville, FL and now I live in Searcy. Family and Occupation: I have a wife, Marsha, and two kids who are in college. I'm employed as an accountant with First Security Bank in Searcy. Swimming background: I swam age group and high school in Jacksonville. Then I came... Continue Reading →
Kim Griffith
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL Current residence: Bentonville, AR Family: I am married to Barry and have a daughter and son-in-law in Ft. Smith. We just welcomed our first grandchild, Owen, in July! Occupation: Vice President, Global Walmart for Campbell’s Meals and Beverages Swimming background: I grew up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and swimming pools. I started Club... Continue Reading →
Crystal Perry
Hometown: Waddell, AZ 5th generation Arizonan, and my kids are 6th - very hard find these days! Current residence: Bella Vista, AR Family: Hubby Robby brought us to NWA originally to work with Walmart. We brought our 4 pretty awesome kids: Hannah (16) RJ (16) Charity (10) Amelia (8) Occupation: A Nursing Professor. I am a... Continue Reading →
Mark Jechura
Hometown : Cincinnati, OH Current residence: Bentonville, AR Family: Son who is Methodist Pastor in Baltimore, MD Occupation: Walmart Candy Buyer Swimming background: My sister taught me to swim in the community pool at age 5 by getting me to hold my breath, swim down and touch the bottom of the pool. From then, I joined the local age... Continue Reading →
Paul Priestner
Hometown and Current residence: Abilene, Tx. and Springdale, AR Family and Occupation: Married with 3 boys (22, 20, 15). Commissioning Authority (Professional Engineering Services) Swimming background: High School - Abilene Cooper High; College - Texas Tech (swimming program dropped after my freshman year), and TCU. Marine Combat Instructor of Water Survival, USMC (1990-1995); Age Group,... Continue Reading →
Karyn Walker
Hometown and Current residence: I grew up in Fayetteville until I was in junior high, then moved to and graduated from Rogers. I currently live in Pea Ridge. Family and Occupation: I have three kids, Brooklynn-20, Aidan-16, and Evie-7. I manage the children's services program at the Sunshine School & Development Center in Rogers. Swimming background: I started... Continue Reading →
Freddie Snoxhill
Hometown and Current residence: I am from Rogers, but am now living in Gravette. Family and Occupation: I am married and have 7 children, and I work in the medical field. Swimming background: I started swimming in March of 2021. Favorite event/race: Trifest for MS. Swimming/Triathlon hero: Lionel Sanders: 4 time Ironman Champion and 30... Continue Reading →
Jacob Barnes
Hometown and Current residence: I grew up in Joplin Missouri. The last 10 years we have lived in Cassville, Missouri. Family and Occupation: My wife and I have a son. Our immediate family is split between southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. I am employed as an operations manager at Jack Henry & Associates in Monett... Continue Reading →
Deanna Marks
Hometown and Current residence: Originally from Plano, Texas and currently living in Bentonville, Arkansas Family and Occupation: I have a fiance, Brendon and three furry family members. I work for ExxonMobil as a Shopper Marketing Manager Favorite event/race: 200 Fly Swimming background: I swam competitively on the City of Plano Swimmers since the age of 6. Went... Continue Reading →
Aras Karakivrak
Hometown and Current residence: Izmir/Turkey, I currently live in Hot Springs, AR Family and Occupation: I live with my 6 years old daughter and I am a director at Hot Springs Health and Fitness Club. Swimming background: Growing up I was passionate about soccer but at age of 12, I suffered with a rare syndrome... Continue Reading →
Noel Strauss
Hometown and Current residence: Little Rock Family and Occupation: I’ve worked at Stephens for 26 years. Married to Joan, with two children, Ethan (18) and Alexa (16). Swimming background: I grew up swimming at the Little Rock Racquet Club for Paul Blair. I began competing in 1978. Favorite event/race: 100 meter Freestyle Swimming hero: Matt... Continue Reading →
Anne Stevens
Hometown and Current residence: I currently live in Fayetteville, but I grew up in Columbia, Mo. Family and Occupation: I live with my husband, and our 4 children are now in college. He and I are neuropsychologists and health coaches, and we have a private practice in Fayetteville. Swimming background: I started swimming in my... Continue Reading →
Byron Shefchik
Hometown and Current residence: I went to high school in Houghton, Michigan, which is in the Upper Peninsula (north of Wisconsin). Interesting fact: 80% of Canadians live south of where I went to high school! I currently reside with my wife and children in Bentonville. Family and Occupation: My parents and most of my siblings... Continue Reading →
Klista Bacon
Hometown and Current residence: Carthage, MO Family and Occupation: I've been married to Lance Bacon for 23 years. We have 2 dogs, Bella (English Bulldog) and Diesel (French Bulldog), both rescues. I work at Lambeth Auto in Carthage (my parents started the business in 1974). I do all the bookkeeping, and I am one of the... Continue Reading →
Marvin Schwartz
Hometown and Current residence: I was born and raised in New York City, where I swam in high school. College swimming was at Syracuse University. Family and Occupation: I am married to Texarkana native Sandy Crawford. I have two grown children and three granddaughters, the youngest of whom I am teaching to swim at the... Continue Reading →
Cody Wilkins
Hometown and Current residence: Born and currently live in Joplin, MO area. But I have temporarily lived in several places in the US for summer jobs/ internships Family and Occupation: I have a girlfriend. I am an only child, and both of my parents are in their 50’s. I am a construction engineer/project manager for Missouri Dept.... Continue Reading →
Héctor Jiménez
Hometown and Current residence: I'm originally from Mexico City but I lived in other states in Mexico (took a job out of town 2 years after finishing college). Then I moved to Boston, MA (suburbs) where I stayed until 2013, and finally moved to Bentonville in January of 2016. Family and Occupation: I’m single but... Continue Reading →
Glenda and Don Chamberlain
Hometown and Current residence: Don is from Jonesboro, AR and Glenda is from Kennett, Mo. We currently live in Jonesboro. Family and Occupation: We have been married for 34 years. We have 2 sons that are University of Arkansas graduates and currently live in Fayetteville. Don is an Electrical Contractor. Glenda has a BS Degree in Graphic Design... Continue Reading →
Veronica Dockery
Hometown and Current residence: Grew up in Topeka, KS. Currently living in Fayetteville, AR. Family and Occupation: Married to my wonderful husband, Will. I have 2 boys (ages 10 and 8 - starting their second year of summer league swimming) and 1 girl (age 3). I work at Karas Health Care as a Physician Assistant. Swimming background: I... Continue Reading →
Boo Jennings
Hometown and Current residence: Little Rock. AR Family and Occupation: Wife, Nancy. Sons: Clark (40) and Will (35) I retired April 12th from Simmons Bank after 43 years in banking/financial services. Swimming background: I started swimming competitively at age 14 at the Downtown Little Rock YMCA under coach John Hays. I swam on the Freshman team at... Continue Reading →
Ron Sparlin
Hometown and Current residence: I was born and raised in Joplin, Missouri and have lived here all my life other than my years in law school. Family and Occupation: I am married to Bridget and we have two grown children and two grandchildren. I am an attorney and have practiced law with the same firm for... Continue Reading →
Mavie Hogue
Hometown and Current residence: Fayetteville. Family and Occupation: Owner, Strategic Nutrition & Fitness, LLC. Healthy lifestyle, nutrition and fitness coaching for the best you! Swimming background: I have been swimming casually since I was a kid. I took up open water swimming to prepare for my first triathlon 24 years ago! I haven't looked back... Continue Reading →
Anita Parisi
Hometown and Current residence: Grew up in Little Rock. Now lives in Fayetteville. Family and Occupation: I have 4 boys. The older three all swam competitively and the youngest is still swimming for Fayetteville High School. My husband, Adam (a huge soccer player), competed in his first swim meet last month. I retired from a... Continue Reading →
Rick Gerhardt
Hometown and Current residence: Born in Des Moines, IA. Now live in Rogers. Family and Occupation: 1 wife (still cute), 4 kids, 10 grandkids, 5 grand dogs. Swimming background: Learned to swim underwater at Jewish Community Center at 5 y.o., self-taught to swim on top after a few more years, 1 mile Boy Scout swim, joined... Continue Reading →
Starr Campbell
Hometown and Current residence: Current home is El Dorado, AR. Moved here in 2007 when we retired from California. Family and Occupation: Married 40 years to Bill Campbell. Swimming background: Started swimming as a toddler. My mother would drop me at the community pool while she played golf. Favorite event/race: 50 & 100 Freestyle and... Continue Reading →
Carie O’Banion
Hometown and Current residence: I was born in San Francisco, CA, and currently live in Rogers, Ar. In between, I lived in Washington DC., Knoxville, TN, Birmingham, AL, St. Louis, MO, Indianapolis, IN, Houston, TX, and Omaha, NE. Family and Occupation: Have been married to my husband, Dan, for almost 35 years. We have two... Continue Reading →
Daryl Sroufe
Hometown and Current residence: I grew up in a small peach orchard town in Northern California and am now enjoying the natural beauty of Fairfield Bay. Family and Occupation: I am single and retired last year. I had worked in the radio broadcasting biz for 30 years but spent the last six on Maui driving for a... Continue Reading →
Dotty Burke
Hometown and Current residence: Columbus, Ohio - Hot Springs Village, AR. Family and Occupation: I am married to Max Billen and have two children, Pat Burke (FL), Kelly Dippold (KS). I owned and operated Medical Sales and Distribution Co. and am now retired. Swimming background: In 1976, I lived in St. Louis MO. I drove my 12... Continue Reading →
Rinaldo Sintjago
Current residence: Little Rock, AR. Family and Occupation: I've been married 3 years and we are expecting our first-born. I have been working for Snap-on tools as a Sales Developer for the past 2 years in Little Rock and west of Arkansas. Swimming background: I learned to swim when I was 2 years old because my... Continue Reading →
Bonnie Adams
Hometown and Current residence: Bentonville, AR. Family and Occupation: I am a wife and a mother of 3 beautiful teenagers,. We also have 2 dogs, 2 cats, a bird, a fish, and 3 turtles. I am the founder and lead instructor for The Joys Of Swimming, specializing in private instruction of all ages, all levels, and... Continue Reading →
Randy Mertes
Hometown: Tipton, MO. Current residence: Cave Springs, AR. Family and Occupation: As the late JB Hunt always told me when he would meet my wife, "Son, you married above ya!" I have a beautiful wife Penny, one son, Evan, and twin daughters, Erin and Ellen. I work in the Bentonville area Walmart vendor community for 3M, keeping... Continue Reading →
Scott Halliburton
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo. Current residence: Bentonville, AR Family: Married to Diane (30 years), daughter Emily 26, son Andrew 24. I’m a Supplier to Walmart. Swimming background: I started swimming when I was 7 years old. I was an All American swimmer in high school in St. Louis and in college at Missouri. I was ranked first in the... Continue Reading →
Nichole Holze
Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Current living in Texarkana, AR Nichole has been married for 10 years and has two children, a boy, 7, and a girl, 4. She currently homeschools her children, and previously worked as a health coach and personal trainer. Nichole started swimming when she was 3 years old, then year round when she... Continue Reading →
Go the Distance Results for 2017
Below are the results for Go the Distance, 2017 for Arkansas Masters swimmers. Congrats to the men especially for putting LOTS of time in the pool! Set your goal for 2018 here: Go the Distance South Central Zone (293 Swimmers, 52,726.39 Total Miles, 179.95 Average Miles/Swimmer) Arkansas LMSC (17 Swimmers, 3,824.19 Total Miles, 224.95 Average Miles/Swimmer)... Continue Reading →
Oklahoma Memorial State Championship Meet
Registration will open soon for the Oklahoma Memorial State Championship Meet on August 12th in the beautiful pool at Jenks, Oklahoma. This is an indoor long course pool, and is supposed to be FAST! Start training long course now so you are prepared!
Adult Learn to Swim Clinic in Bentonville
When: Saturday, March 11th, 8:30-4:00 Where: Bentonville, Ar. Who should attend?: Anyone who teaches, or wants to teach, adult swim lessons both publicly and privately. Anyone interested in supporting their community by helping to teach adults to swim. How: Click here to register
Signup NOW for the Fall Fun IM Frenzy in Bentonville!
Saturday, Nov. 19th at 9:00am. Come join us for a fun pseudo-dual meet between the Joplin Bezerkers and the Northwest Arkansas swimmers. Any and all swimmers are welcome (not just Joplin and NWA swimmers). If you’ve never swam in a masters meet before, this is a great opportunity to “dive in!” Low pressure, and lots... Continue Reading →
Swim Clinic with Bill Brenner
In January the Bentonville Community Center hosted a Swim Clinic taught by Bill Brenner with USMS. Check out some of his Freestyle Drills. Thanks Bill!
The Arkansas Masters Swimming Club is a registered USMS (United States Masters Swimming ) club that encompasses the entire state of Arkansas. Our mission is "to promote and develop swimming for the benefit of swimmers of all abilities aged 19 and over in accordance with the standards and the rules prescribed by USMS and this Club."... Continue Reading →