By Susan Holland
GRAVETTE -- Mike Walker has a passion for learning and that's a good quality for a museum commissioner to have. Walker was a library volunteer and library commission member back when the Gravette museum was just getting off the ground. John Mitchael asked him to join the museum commission and he readily agreed.
Walker, a Texarkana native, has a background in education. He has taught high school English for 30 years and has just completed his eighth year as middle school librarian. He got his library degree in the summers from Southern Arkansas University. He also had some early experience in journalism, writing for the Texarkana College campus newspaper.
After studying at Texarkana College, Walker spent two years at Ouachita Baptist University near Arkadelphia, where he earned his bachelor's degree in English. His first teaching job was teaching English at Mineral Springs, where he also worked with the newspaper and yearbook staff. He then spent four years teaching at Nashville before moving to Gravette in 1984. He earned his master's degree in school library media from Southern Arkansas University in the mid-1990s. In addition to his job at Gravette Middle School, he teaches Conservation I and II at Northwest Arkansas Community College on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and teaches online.
Walker is also a published author. His book, "Teacher to Teacher," an inspirational daily reader for teachers, was published in 2008. He is working on an inspirational reader for school and business administrators which should come out on Kindle this summer and on a critique of the American version of Christianity. His play, "Some Day," has been produced at NWACC.
When asked about his hobbies, Walker said he does a lot of reading but "reading is not a hobby, it's just a part of life."
He said he enjoys hunting and tries to plan an outing every year during deer season. He also likes to travel; and he and his wife, Lori, hope to travel to the British Isles, Scotland and Ireland and explore Canada.
Mike and Lori are parents of two sons. Their son Justin and his family live in Smithville, Va., and Paul lives in Fayetteville. They have three granddaughters.
Walker's most recent contribution to the museum commission was to recommend purchase of the book, "Gravette, The Heart of Hometown America," a photographic documentary by Englishman Chris Gravett which was acquired last month.
Community on 06/17/2015