Scott McDaniel, Vice President of Ramsons Construction of Jonesboro, has a simple explanation of why a contractor would focus its corporate giving on the arts.
“We build buildings, and the arts build people,” he said. “It’s a good match, and it’s worth supporting.”
The first major gift of the new Ramsons Arts Partnership is a $5,000 donation to William Baptist University in Walnut Ridge for the conversion of its historic Startup Chapel to a state-of-the-art theater auditorium.
“We’re proud to support this incredible project benefiting theater and arts students from northeast Arkansas and beyond who attend WBU,” McDaniel said. “This is a perfect fit to the purpose for which Ramsons Arts Partnership was created.”
The chapel was originally constructed as part of the Army Air Field military base during World War II, and was later moved to the WBU campus, where it functioned as the student chapel until the 500-seat Manley Chapel was built in 2009. Since that time, it has mainly served as the venue for stage productions by the university’s Theatre Department.
Named in honor of longtime academic dean and history professor Kenneth Startup, it’s the one element that ties together every student who has attended college on the campus, WBU President Stan Norman said.
“Students throughout the wonderful history of Southern Baptist College, Williams Baptist College and now Williams Baptist University all share great memories from this chapel, and we are delighted to see it restored to new life,” Norman said. “We’re especially grateful to donors such as Ramsons who helped make the restoration a reality.”
The Ramsons Arts Partnership is a strategic, focused, philanthropic plan, McDaniel said. The idea originated after the company hosted, on behalf of Delta Poets, Virginia’s former Poet Laureate and National Book Award Finalist, Tim Seibles for a poetry reading at downtown Jonesboro’s Recovery Room. On the heels of that successful sold-out event, Ramsons agreed to sponsor the “Shop Local Shows Summer Concert Series.”
“Ramsons has always taken philanthropic responsibility seriously,” he said. “We’ve regularly provided both monetary and in-kind contributions to the regions’ thriving non-profits.” Previous initiatives included helping launch the Children’s Advocacy Center by constructing their original facility in-kind and regularly sponsoring local events like Charity Ball and the NEA Duck Classic.
While Ramsons will continue to give to various non-arts-related charities, he said, the company’s primary giving priorities will be geared towards sponsoring and supporting regional arts programs and initiatives.
About Ramsons Construction
Ramsons Construction, Inc. has been in continuous operation for more than 50 years and has seen steady growth while developing a reputation for on-time completions and quality craftsmanship. As the construction industry evolved from a hard-bid model towards an alternative delivery model, Ramsons evolved as well. The firm has grown to specialize in construction management and design/build. Today, Ramsons is one of the most experienced locally owned and operated providers of alternative delivery services in Northeast Arkansas. Learn more at ramsonsinc.net.