Themed “Thrive in 2025,” the 40th annual Bienville Parish Chamber of Commerce banquet was held Monday, April 21. The venue was decorated to resemble the Oscars, with this year’s Man, Woman of the Year and Heritage Award winners shining bright.
The 2025 Man of the Year is Jermario “Mario” Jefferson Sr. He is a devoted family man, community leader, entrepreneur, and proud lifelong resident of Arcadia. He is married to Chautauqua Jefferson, and together they are the proud parents of seven children. He thanked everyone for honoring him in this way.
“I just want to thank God, because without him, none of this would be possible, and I also want to thank my beautiful wife, and my family and friends,” he said. “I also want to thank the [Arcadia] Bienville Parish Chamber of Commerce for considering me for this honorary award. Thank you all.”
The 2025 Woman of the Year is Ann Chapman. Along with her role in helping the elderly as director of Bienville Parish Council on Aging, Chapman’s unwavering commitment is to making every occasion special for her clients. She diligently coordinates celebrations for Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Older American Month every May, and other holidays. Ann’s personal touch and attention
to detail reflect her deep care and concern for each citizen.
“It is a tremendous privilege to receive the 2025 Woman of the Year award,” Chapman said. “I’m sincerely grateful to Barbara Johnson and Susan Fields for nominating me for this award, to the [Arcadia] Bienville Parish Chamber of Commerce for considering me deserving of this distinguished honor.”
This year’s Heritage Award Winner is none other than LHSAA’s Hall of Famer Coach Ruby Smith Qualls. Her distinction and dedication to high school basketball is unparalleled. Coach Qualls is considered the driving force behind the Lady Hornets basketball teams’ success as well as having a positive impact on so many lives.
Coach Qualls’ career at AHS ended with 994 wins and 164 losses. Those games included six state championships, five state runner-ups, 25 district championships, and 18 Sweet 16/Top 28 appearances. She retired in 2018.
“Angela Corbin was the one who nominated me, and thanks to Deanna [Curtis] and the Chamber of Commerce for this recognition,” she said. “Thanks to my personal friend Minister Coleman and my pastor, and most of all those magic Arcadia Lady Hornets. You cannot imagine the push they’ve given me. Without those ladies, I couldn’t have done it. I did it for them, I did it for Arcadia and Gibsland. I love
Arcadia and Gibsland.”
Qualls was nominated by Melanie Colvin, assistant principal at Arcadia High School. Qualls was also presented a certificate of Congressional Recognition from House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office. Representing Johnson’s office was Kathy Babers, who presented the certificate to Qualls.
Large Business of the Year went to Haynes International. Scott Canady presented the award to Scott Pinkham, vice president of operations. Haynes International is the tubular factory/facility that sits on 42 acres and has been operating since 1976, serving industries such as aerospace, chemical processing, power generation and emergent technologies. Pinkham thanked the chamber, saying they are proud of the Arcadia facility.
“I’ve been coming to our Arcadia facility for the last 10 years, and I’ve always felt welcome,” he said. “I love the people, I love the culture, but it really is a wonderful facility, and we’re lucky we started it 49 years ago. We have some planning to do for our 50 years, and that’s pretty special.”
He said whenever people get on an airplane, and it’s a Boeing aircraft, it will have the Haynes tubing line that runs all the hydraulics in the plane.
“Right now we are supplying 100 percent of our titanium tubing to Boeing,” he said. “They [Boeing] have told us we have the best quality of work, so that’s pretty special.”
Small Business of the Year went to Renter’s Choice, owner Sheltric Hill. He thanked the chamber for the recognition, saying it has been an honor to serve the Bienville Parish community for the last 21 and a half years.
“How can I put 22 years into one night?” he asked. “Thank you to Deanna for nominating me, and she knows she means a lot to me. I’ll end with this, the truth be told, I need to split this award into about 300 different pieces and give it to those 300 customers who walk into my door every month. I tell my customers all the time, you can make it without me, but I can’t make it without you. I thank you for making me your choice.”
The Nonprofit of the Year went to Citizens for a Better Arcadia, whose volunteer work has been integral in cleaning up, beautifying and providing much needed assistance to those in the Arcadia community. Timothy Williams accepted award.
Scholarships were awarded to two Bienville Parish students. The first went to Timothy Tingle, a Saline High School student. He plans to attend Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College in Minden, majoring in instrumentation. The second scholarship went to Tikera Fields, of Arcadia High School, who received a scholarship sponsored by Bienville Medical Center. She will attend the University of Louisiana at Monroe in the fall, majoring in pre-medical laboratory science and intends to obtain her doctorate in medical research.
The Title Sponsor of the event was Bienville Lumber LLC, which just opened operations last year in Taylor. Bienville Lumber LLC is also the 2025-26 Chamber Champion. Diamond sponsors include House of Raeford, Willow Ridge Nursing and Rehab and Gibsland Bank and Trust. Platinum sponsors include Wimberly Agency, Trails End Golf Course, Haynes International, BOM Bank, LNB Bank, and Mercy Medical Health Center of Arcadia.
Special thanks also went to Bienville Parish 4-H, The Bienville Democrat, FastPak Foods, Bienville Parish Police Jury, the Town of Arcadia and Devine Wines and the Keg Package.
KTBS 3 Community Reporter Rick Rowe was the keynote speaker for the event.