The following are profiles of the seven people from the Texarkana area who have been chosen to be models in the 60 Strong Calendar.
Rose Criner
As a breast cancer survivor, retired nurse, business student and great-grandmother, Rose Criner is active and busy. Still wired to wake up early from her nursing days, Rose gets in a five-mile walk every morning before 5:30 a.m. After her walk, she goes to the gym, where she works on her core, arms, and legs. When she is not out walking or exercising at the gym, you can find Rose working on her lawn or chasing after her 4-year-old granddaughter. Rose tries to instill independence, self-reliance, and strength in her children and grandchildren as she strongly believes that her independence is the reason she remains so active for her age. As a mother and grandparent, Rose had no choice but to be strong. In 2000, when she was expecting her first grandchild, Rose was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even through radiation and chemotherapy, she never stopped going to work as a nurse. She says she never lost her groove. This positive attitude is what helped her through other health challenges, including hypertension and bleeding ulcers. Today, Rose is heavily involved in the community. She is on the usher board ministry and health board through her church, and she volunteers through the Tough Cookie Foundation, a foundation focused on helping victims of breast cancer and childhood cancer. Through Tough Cookie she works as a support system for people who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer--and she is currently planning a race at Texas A&M university that will benefit people with cancer in her community. On top of everything, Rose recently made a brave decision to pursue her bachelor's degree in business administration.
Glenda Forte is a retired registered nurse, a proud Texan girl (born and raised), and an avid Razorback fan. For 32 years, she worked for Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana and Christus St. Michael Health System in Texarkana, where she helped many patients get healthy. Glenda has been married to her loving husband for 45 years. They have three children and 10 grandchildren. As somebody who spent so many years of her life helping those who are dealing with sickness and pain, Glenda feels very fortunate to have had no medical issues. She comes from a family of diabetics, but she feels blessed to have avoided inheriting that condition. She also feels incredibly grateful that her despite struggling with diabetes, her mother is alive and well at 88 years young. Glenda is a member of the Walnut Church of Christ and she is an active member of the NAACP, Texarkana, through which she encourages people to vote. She is a leader and treasurer of American Heritage Girls, where she serves as a mentor to her granddaughter and young girls in her community. Glenda also participates in and has a team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for life. Additionally, she participates in the Susan Komen Cure for Breast Cancer event every year.
At 67, Jack Freeman is the most selfless person many people know. He works a full-time job all while taking care of his ailing wife, and he still makes time to work out and stay in shape. For 40 years, Jack has worked as a civilian service employee at DLA Distribution Red River, a combat logistics support agency for the U.S. Currently he is the only grade 07 Materials Examiner Identifier in the entire Receiving Branch at DDRT. Throughout the depot, he is known as the "problem solver," and is often called on to handle issues that only his 40-plus years of knowledge can resolve. After his shift at the depot, he goes home to relieve his mother-in-law from caring for his wife. He sneaks in some exercise at night. He gets in about 30 to 45 minutes of jumping rope every day, and roughly 20 miles a week of walking. Jack is the life of the party wherever he goes and one of his favorite things is dressing up for the holidays. On Easter, he will dress in the brightest of colors. Halloween? He throws on his Jack Skeleton suit. But his favorite costume is for Christmas when he gets to dress as "Cool Hip Santa." Jack and his brother Gerald have been playing Santa for many years for family, friends, and work events. He spreads cheer and laughter in all that he does! Jack has volunteered on several occasions to head projects at work for Toys for Tots, Master of Ceremonies, and dance groups.
Debra Maxwell has two passions: cooking and helping seniors. When Debra noticed that seniors in her community were struggling, she and her mother, Hazel, started a meal delivery program for them. Her mother was Debra's taste-tester and would tell her what she needed more or less of in the dishes. She was her best critic, but most importantly, her best friend. Debra's mother passed away from congestive heart failure in 2016, but Debra continues with her meal deliveries to this day. Every weekend, she cooks and delivers meals to eight seniors. Debra also gives back by participating in local breast cancer fundraisers. Debra is the team captain for the "Tough Kookies." She wakes up at 6:30 every morning to go out walking with her friends. She donates her time to Meals on Wheels, Domestic Violence Prevention and the Salvation Army.
David Peavy had a dream to make his hometown of Texarkana more beautiful and he decided to work for that dream. After leaving his electrical contracting business of 35 years, David went on to pursue his passion of redevelopment. He used his talents to save the 1894 building in Texarkana that had been falling apart, re-creating it as 18 apartments with an art gallery, event spaces, and even a speakeasy. He is also re-developing an old bank building to put in luxury apartments, and he hopes his work will bring new residents and new life to the community. When asked why he does this work for Texarkana, his answer is simple: "You see a need and you see something that needs to be done and you do it." When he is not breaking a sweat from his work, he tries to get in a two- to three-mile run (often listening to Audible books). When David isn't rebuilding, he loves spending time with his family, donating to the Texarkana Museums System and spending time at Beech Street First Baptist Church.
Robert Radford is a living testimony to strength prevailing. Robert's health began to decline in his 40's when he was diagnosed with a rare bone disorder that caused his back to curl and hunch. He has escaped death multiple times, going through surgery after surgery for eight months, where doctors placed metal rods into his back to straighten out his spine. These rods became infected in 2008 and caused a loss of feeling in his legs. Still, Robert maintains that the day he stops moving will be the day he dies. He does not use his wheelchair and instead moves by lifting his legs with his hand. When he falls, he picks himself back up again. After rehab he took the news that he will not be getting his mobility back in stride. He said from the beginning he would not stop and continues onward thankful for every day. Robert has always been committed to his family, taking care of his siblings from a young age and building his mother a handicap accessible home from the ground up. Robert is extremely involved in his community and has been on the water board for years as well as local school boards for over two decades and the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees for 30 years. After Robert settled down in Texarkana, he opened his own shop in 1989 called the Texas Machine Shop, which he continues to run to this day. Robert has a true engineer's mind, building and fixing all kinds of machines, often within precision as small as a hairline.
Don Still has run the Boston Marathon not once, not twice, but five times. He has run the Little Rock marathon and the "Run the Line" Half Marathon in Texarkana every year since the inception of both races and he has served as race director for the Hope Watermelon 5k in Hope, Arkansas, for over a decade. Don doesn't keep track, but he would guess that in his lifetime he has run over 80 marathons--and he is still going. Don has always been athletic, and he runs between 25 to 35 miles a week. When he's not running around, he is hard at work at his family-owned auto repair store that he runs with his brother. He also serves as the mayor of Hope, and volunteers his time working on projects to keep the community in shape. He has held his position as mayor, as well as city councilman, for at least 25 years. When asked what he finds most rewarding about the job, he will tell you it's representing the town he loves. Of all of the projects he has spearheaded in his community, perhaps he is most proud of the walking/running trail he started with his running group--a 53-mile trail that runs from Hope to Louisiana. Don and his group purchased an abandoned railroad track, and have spent nearly 16 years securing grant money, preparing the bridges, and improving the pathway so that everything is safe and passable. He hopes that this passion project can bring joy to other walkers, runners, and bikers for years to come, and looks forward to its completion. Don is married and the father of two children, of whom he is immensely proud. His advice to other seniors is to find a place to volunteer or get involved in a way where you can help others. "That will bring your spirits up more than anything," Don Says.
