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Arkansas Quarter To Be Released Oct. 28
NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE
STATE OF ARKANSAS
State Capitol
Little Rock, AR 72201
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Rex Nelson, Director of Communications
(501) 682-3606 Fax: (501) 682-2614
Jim Harris, Director of Press Operations
(501) 682-3508 Fax: (501) 682-2614
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Little Rock -- Oct. 13 -- Gov. Mike Huckabee announced Monday that a full day of activities will mark the release of the Arkansas quarter on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Crater of Diamonds State Park and in downtown Murfreesboro.
"Our quarter captures what we're about as a state and as a people," Huckabee said. "It will promote our heritage and show people across the country why we proudly describe this as the Natural State."
Huckabee said he chose the Crater of Diamonds State Park for the quarter's formal launch because the diamond is at the center of the design.
The Murfreesboro High School band will entertain the crowd beginning at 9:30 a.m. The quarter launch festivities will begin at 10:30 a.m. After the presentation of the colors by the Arkansas State Police honor guard and the singing of the national anthem by Miss Arkansas Whitney Kirk, Huckabee will welcome those in attendance and introduce Henrietta Holsman Fore, the director of the U.S. Mint. Fore will officially launch the Arkansas quarter into nationwide circulation.
The U.S. Mint's commemorative coin program, which was signed into law in 1997, calls for five states to have quarters introduced each year for a 10-year period. The quarters are released in the order the states were admitted to the union. The Arkansas quarter will be the 25th state quarter to be released. The Arkansas quarter will be in circulation for at least 30 years and will be treasured by collectors.
Each state quarter is produced for about 10 weeks. Once the production of the quarter is complete, the U.S. Mint won't produce additional quarters for a state at a later date. There are between 600 million and 700 million quarters produced for each state.
Students from schools across the state have been invited to the Oct. 28 event. Many of the children will eat lunch at the park and visit various display booths there.
At 3 p.m., the festivities will move to the town square in Murfreesboro, where there will be live entertainment throughout the afternoon and evening. At 4 p.m., the Jennings Osborne family of Little Rock will begin serving a free barbecue dinner for all who attend. Beginning at 6 p.m., the governor's staff band, Capitol Offense, will entertain the crowd. Huckabee plays bass guitar in the band. The day's events will conclude with a large fireworks display beginning at 7:30 p.m. The display is sponsored by Diamond State Bank of Murfreesboro and Celerit of Little Rock.
"The launch of the Arkansas quarter is a cause for celebration, and we have quite a celebration planned," Huckabee said. "I hope as many Arkansans as possible will make the trip to Murfreesboro."
The U.S. Mint will provide each student from schools that registered in advance with one free Arkansas quarter. Students are welcome to bring additional money for an equal exchange if they wish to take home more of the Arkansas quarters.
The Crater of Diamonds State Park is the world's only diamond-producing site where the public can search for gems. Park visitors prospect in a plowed field covering 37 acres. The field is the eroded surface of an ancient gem-bearing volcanic pipe that's the world's eighth-largest diamond deposit. The state park, which is two miles southeast of Murfreesboro on Arkansas Highway 301, covers 911 acres.
Established in 1972 at the site of a then privately owned tourist attraction, the park has a visitors' center featuring interpretive exhibits that explain the area's geography. Visitors also are instructed how to recognize diamonds in the rough. The park staff provides free identification and certification of diamonds. On display at the vistors' center is the "Strawn-Wagner" diamond, which was certified by the American Gem Society as flawless. It was listed as the most perfect diamond ever certified in the American Gem Society laboratory. The 3.03-carat white diamond was found in 1990. In 1998, it was cut into a 1.09-carat stone and rated perfect for color, cut and clarity.
The visitors' center also features a gift shop and an audiovisual gallery. The park has a campground with 59 campsites. There are bathhouses, picnic sites, a screened pavilion, a laundry and hiking trails. A $1.2 million water park known as Diamond Springs will open next summer.
Diamonds were first discovered at the site in 1906. More than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed there since then, including the largest diamond ever found in the United States, the 40.23-carat "Uncle Sam" diamond. That gem was discovered in 1924. The discovery of the 15.33-carat "Star of Arkansas" diamond followed in 1956. In 1975, W.W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas, picked up the 16.37-carat "Amarillo Starlight," the largest gem discovered since the site became a state park. Since the establishment of the state park in 1972, more than 24,000 diamonds have been taken home by park visitors. Amethyst, garnet, jasper, agate and quartz also can be found at the site.
Huckabee noted that the diamond also is a major element of the Arkansas state flag, which was designed by Willie Hocker of Pine Bluff and adopted by the Legislature in 1913.
In January 2001, Huckabee announced the process for selecting a design for the Arkansas quarter. The job of designing each state quarter was left up to governors.
"The goal of our selection process was to find the best representation of this state," the governor said. "It's obvious we accomplished that goal."
Under the rules established by the U.S. Mint, natural and man-made state landmarks, landscapes, historic buildings, symbols of state resources, state flowers, state trees and outlines of states could be used. However, state flags and state seals couldn't be used.
The governor asked all Arkansans to submit concepts by the end of March 2001. He established a committee to narrow the entries down to the best 100. There were 9,320 designs submitted, with Arkansas leading the nation in citizen participation.
Huckabee announced the top 100 entries in April 2001, and those entries were displayed at the state Capitol. Eleven judges from across the state were then selected by Huckabee to take those top 100 entries and pick the 12 best. From those 12 entries, the governor picked three to forward to the U.S. Mint for review.
The concept chosen was submitted by Dortha Scott of Mount Ida. Scott said at the time of her selection last year that her daughter gave her an entry form and told her to fill it out.
"She said I had only a few days left before the deadline," Scott said. "I sat down, drew a diamond and then worked around it."
In addition to the diamond, a mallard soaring above the water and tall trees in the background symbolize Arkansas' abundant natural resources, its timber industry and its reputation as one of the top states in the country for hunting and fishing. The rice depicted on the design honors the state's agricultural heritage and the fact Arkansas is the leading rice producer in the country.
In addition to the design by Scott, designs by Ariston Jacks of Pine Bluff and Kathy Basler of Berryville were forwarded to the U.S. Mint. Each of the three finalists received $1,000 from the contest sponsors, Delta Trust & Bank of Little Rock and the Arkansas Tourism Development Foundation.
The judges picking the final 12 entries and their positions at the time were Gay White of Little Rock, Arkansas' first lady in 1981-82; Walter Benson of Springdale, a teacher and coach; Garbo Hearne of Little Rock, the owner of Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing; Jenny Sexton of Little Rock, an artist; Helena Mayor Robert Miller, a physician; Montine McNulty of Pine Bluff, the executive director of the Arkansas Hospitality Association; Johnelle Hunt of Fayetteville, the corporate secretary of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell; French Hill of Little Rock, the president of Delta Trust & Bank; Bill Warren of North Little Rock, the owner of Twin City Food Brokerage; Leslie Regenold of Armorel, a student at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro; and Benny Trevillion of Prescott, the president of the Arkansas Coin Society.
The other Arkansans whose designs were picked for the final 12 were Diane Morrow of Nashville, Amber Meredith of Wilburn, Max Anne Isom of Center Ridge, Valerie Dailey of Van Buren, Kimberly Bickham of Texarkana, Martha Smoke of Russellville, Ed Rhodes of Little Rock, Ellen Foreman of Springdale and Skelton Moore of Prairie Grove.
Following an extensive review process by the U.S. Mint, the final designs were modified and returned to the governor for a decision. Huckabee chose Scott's design because he thought it best captured the spirit of Arkansas. "It wasn't an easy decision," he said. "We had hundreds of good designs from which to choose. I'm delighted Arkansas led the nation in citizen participation. That shows how much we love our state and how much we want to make sure it's well-represented on the national stage. It's great to see the quarter finally going into circulation. Oct. 28 will be a day for us all to celebrate."
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