NEWS RELEASE – Washington County Historical Society
May 20, 2025
Contact: Dave Edmark
479-521-4681
dedmark@uark.edu

Mark Pryor to speak at annual Statehood Day event June 8

Former U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor is the featured speaker at the Washington County Historical Society’s annual Statehood Day observance. The event will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at First Christian Church at 220 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville.

The Washington County Historical Society is one of the only county historical groups in Arkansas continuing to observe Statehood Day with an annual address. Arkansas statehood was effective June 15, 1836. WCHS observes the anniversary each year on the Sunday before the actual date.

Pryor began his career in public service when he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1990. In 1998, he was elected attorney general of Arkansas where he worked to toughen laws against drunk drivers, enact legislation to protect children on the Internet, prohibit unwanted telemarketing calls and help establish an alert system to locate missing and exploited children.

Pryor was elected to the Senate in 2002 and served two terms. He worked across the aisle to pass more than 70 pieces of legislation on a range of critical issues, from consumer protection and economic development to homeland security and defense.

Pryor is currently an attorney in private practice with the Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck law firm.