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Keynote Speaker Biographies
The President’s Program and Opening General Session will take place on Friday afternoon. Stony Evans, operations manager at Cross County Library, will present a program titled Targeting the Library Experience. Join Stony as he takes a journey exploring the Library Experiences we can provide our patrons through vibrant materials, services, programming, and technology. This will be a great moment to reflect and plan for those you serve!
Stony is the new Operations Manager for the Cross County Library in Wynne, Arkansas. He is a virtual adjunct instructor in school librarianship for McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. He serves as Commander of the 106th Army Band (Army National Guard) in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a veteran Arkansas public school educator with 25 years of service. Stony was a library media specialist at Bethel Middle School in Bryant, Arkansas, and Lakeside High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas. His main focus is on making the Library the hub of activity. The goal is always to create lifelong learners through relationships, literacy, and technology. Stony has co-authored Hacking School Libraries with Kristina Holzweiss. He also contributed a chapter in the book, Using Social Media to Build Library Communities. He wrote a monthly column in School Library Connection magazine from 2015-2020.
Steve Hughes, of Hit Your Stride, will join us on Saturday morning for a keynote address and one breakout session to follow. His keynote address will be titled: Influence: The Art & Science of Changing Minds. Attending this program will give you tools to:
- Identify the four kinds of decision makers and how to win over each type.
- Utilize the four keys to persuasion to gain buy-in and acceptance of your ideas.
- Shine a light on your blind spots as they relate to persuading others.
- Act more confidently when you propose an idea or make a suggestion.
Steve Hughes is a sought-after speaker and consultant who helps people look and sound smart when they talk. He’s the author of Captivate and he has been featured on NPR, CBS, BBC Radio and in The Wall Street Journal and Businessweek. Today he works with a select list of blue-chip clients including national associations, Fortune 500 companies, top law firms, and leading universities. Steve holds a BA in French Literature and European History from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Marketing from Washington University’s Olin School of Business, where he was awarded the prestigious Olin Cup.
Bailee Hutchinson will wrap up the conference at the closing general session on Sunday with her presentation titled The New Normal. Every library seems to have entered into this era of "the new normal"- but what exactly does that mean? Come prepared to laugh, cry, and commiserate with Bailee as she outlines what "the new normal" looks like for thousands of other librarians today.
Bailee Hutchinson has worked in public libraries for seven years. Hutchinson has a deep passion for serving her community. She started her library journey as a director of a small and rural library in West Tennessee, then moved back to Oklahoma to be near family and manage a library branch in Southwest Oklahoma. During this time she spearheaded community conversations, broke down barriers to access for library users, created a community StoryWalk® and more. Hutchinson received her master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Oklahoma in 2021. Prior to her work as a librarian, Hutchinson worked as a mental health case manager for a homeless shelter in downtown Tulsa, OK. Much of her community outreach, and facilitation work that she does with the library today is informed by the work she did as a mental health case manager for 5 years. Hutchinson proudly serves as the current President of the Association of Rural and Small Libraries Board. Serving on different ARSL committees since 2017 gave her a unique insight on libraries and library professionals from across the country.