June Speaker Spotlight: Caroline Speir
Caroline Speir, Fort Smith Museum of History Executive Director
MOAA is excited to share our speaker spotlight for the upcoming June Members Meeting: Fort Smith Museum of History Executive Director Caroline Speir!
Caroline Speir joined the FSMH staff as a Historical Interpreter in 2008 and moved into the job of Exhibit Designer in 2009. In 2019, she assumed the role of Executive Director. A native of Fort Smith and a life-long resident of the area, Ms. Speir's family roots have a long history in Fort Smith, AR and Sequoyah County, OK.
Ms. Speir was a member of the 2017 City of Fort Smith Bicentennial Committee, has been a supporting member of the UAFS Charles Portis Symposium Committee, and in early 2023, co-chaired the committee to “twin” with Fort Smith’s newest sister city, Nago-Torbole, Italy. In April 2023, Nago-Torbole, Italy and Fort Smith, AR became International Sister Cities. Currently, she sits on the Board of the Western Arkansas Mountain Frontier as the WAMF Director, Vice President of Sebastian County, is a member of the Network for Executive, and is the Committee Chair for the Fort Smith General Darby Challenge—a military ruck and half-marathon honoring General William O. Darby and Fort Smith’s Sister Cities, Cisterna, Italy and Nago-Torbole, Italy. She is also an Ambassador for the City of Fort Smith.
She also holds a B.A. in History/Public History from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. In 2020 she was awarded the Walter L. Brown Award for Best Community History in a state or local journal for her piece, "From Cuba to Chaffee: The Impact of Refugee Laws, Life In Detainment, and the Lingering Perception of "Marielitos" in Arkansas" which was published in the September 2020 issue of the Fort Smith Historical Society's publication, The Journal.
She shares the passion with which the community of Fort Smith embraces its history and works to educate the public about Fort Smith's more than 200 years’ worth of history.