Oaklawn Foundation Board of Trustees Introduced, Presented with $1-Million Gift

As promised during a 2005 election to approve expanded gaming at Oaklawn Park, the family of owner Charles J. Cella presented the Oaklawn Foundation for the Future of Hot Springs with a check for $1 million, the largest single gift ever to a Hot Springs
charity.

"The people of Hot Springs have always supported Oaklawn, and we're
happy that we can give back to the community in this way that will have such a lasting impact," Cella said.

The Oaklawn Foundation will receive continuing funding of $250,000 to $500,000 per year from gaming income as a result of an agreement that Oaklawn voluntarily made with the city. The Foundation will be administered by an independent Board of Trustees which will use the money to fund programs and scholarships to benefit Garland County students and senior citizens, including the construction of a new Center on Aging in association with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

The 13 citizens invited to sit as the Charter Board of Trustees for the foundation are Keeley Ardman DeSalvo, John Hearnsberger, Dr. Robert Kleinhenz, Dan Messersmith, Darrell Meyer, Norma Newman, Kerry Owen, Jim Randall, State Representative Rick Saunders, Helen Selig, Sam Stathakis, John Vines, and Kirby Williams.

The Trustees were introduced at a luncheon hosted by Oaklawn at the Hot Springs Civic Center.

The Oaklawn Foundation will be managed under a contract with the Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce. They will disburse funds through an agreement with the Hot Springs Area Community Foundation.