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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced the launch of Faces of Arkansas, a new series highlighting one Arkansan a month whose portrait and story will be displayed at the entrance to the Governor’s office as a reminder of who the Governor and her staff serve: the people of Arkansas. 

“My priority for my team is that we love what we do, who we do it with, and who we do it for. I’m launching the Faces of Arkansas Program as a constant, physical reminder of who I was elected to serve – and who our real priority is every day I have the privilege of serving as Arkansas’ Governor,” said Governor Sanders. “We selected Ms. AB as our first Face of Arkansas because her service, sacrifice, and unrelenting love for her students and our state are exactly what we should all try to emulate.”

Each month, a different Arkansan will be featured through a written profile, portrait photography, and a short video clip accompanied by their framed photo hanging inside the Capitol. Selections of the Faces of Arkansas program were chosen based on individuals who make Arkansas function: playing an essential role in making their industry work, overcoming major obstacles to achieve their dreams, or serving as the heartbeat of their local communities.

These individuals represent the very best of Arkansas – ordinary people doing extraordinary things through resilience, everyday kindness and compassion, dedication, leadership, and service. 
The Faces of Arkansas series serves not just for the Governor, her team, and other elected officials, but also as a source of inspiration and encouragement to people across the state, highlighting the everyday stories that make Arkansas home.

The inaugural Face of Arkansas is Cheron Atkins-Butcher, a fifth-grade teacher at Sherwood Elementary School.

Cheron Atkins-Butcher – My Superhero Wears Wings

The walls, shelves, and windowpanes of Cheron Atkins-Butcher’s classroom burst with color. Books arranged by hue, a ceiling tile bears signatures of students from years past, and small treasures hide in corners—each one marking a moment of pride. Even Ms. AB – her students’ nickname for her – radiates energy in her red glasses, Razorback T-shirt, and red snakeskin Converse. Her room is alive, a space that instantly invites you in.

In the window sits a painting from a former student: an airplane, a figure leaping out, and the words “My Superhero Wears Wings.” The art captures her story in one image: before becoming “Ms. AB,” Cheron was a paratrooper in the 82^nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, a woman who jumped into service.

Raised in a military family, she spent her childhood traveling the world – collecting stories and experiences from other cultures and understanding the meaning of serving something bigger than yourself. Her father’s 30 years of service planted that seed early, and when it came time to choose her own path, she followed in his footsteps. 

Today, her mission looks different, but the courage is the same. Instead of jumping from planes, she dives into her students’ lives, creating a landing zone for creativity, confidence, and connection. Where service was once combat, it’s now shaping young minds to see service as a way of life.

After leaving the military, Cheron moved to Chicago, a young single mother of two with a determination to build something better. She rode the train an hour each way to classes, often with her toddler in her lap. What began as necessity became purpose, the same commitment and courage she’d carried in the military, now channeled into helping children discover their own voices.

Years later, longtime educator Beverly Williams called, offering her a position in Pulaski County—the same community where Cheron had lived in the 1980s and where her parents had recently returned. She answered that call, too. Back home, Cheron found what she’d been missing: family and a sense of belonging. 

At Sherwood Elementary, she’s built not just a classroom, but a community. After noticing girls practicing cheers in the car line, she founded the school’s first cheer team. Matching shirts, bows, and pompoms now accompany performances, lunchtime discussions, and a sense of belonging. “It’s something communal,” she says. “Something safe. Something kids can look forward to outside of academics.”

Inside her classroom, “out of the norm” isn’t a motto, it’s method. Poetry assignments turned into art installations. Persuasive essays comparing restaurants covered in peer-feedback notes. Readers’ theater skits bring grammar to life. “Norm’s out of the book in my room,” she says. “They’ve done normal long enough.” Her teaching mirrors her journey: hands-on, brave, and anchored in service. Her students come in to learn reading and writing, but they leave with confidence, imagination, and a sense of family. “They look to us as real leaders,” she says. “Sometimes there’s conflict in our world, but we pull together and stand strong.”

Her impact reaches far beyond her classroom walls. Cheron earned three Bronze Stars for her Army service, and this year, she was one of only 23 educators statewide selected for the inaugural Arkansas Excellence in Teaching Fellowship – a nine-month program honoring educators who go above and beyond. “Hearing voices from every corner of Arkansas, learning how others bring success, it’s reinvigorated me,” she says. “I want to take those ideas back to my kids and my colleagues.”

From jumping out of planes to lifting young minds, she has spent her life proving that “out of the norm” isn’t rebellion, it’s resilience.

“Arkansas,” she says with a knowing smile, “is the place you want to be. We’re just as good as anywhere else—East Coast, West Coast, it doesn’t matter. We’re just as good.”

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