GOVERNOR APPOINTS BUSINESSMAN FROM ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY AREA TO HIGHWAY COMMISSION

Outgoing highway commissioner Dick Trammel (right) talks with incoming commissioner Keith Gibson Wednesday after Gibson was announced to the position.

By Dave Hughes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Jan. 2, 2019

Fort Smith businessman Keith Gibson has been named to the Arkansas Highway Commission, becoming the first commissioner selected from the Arkansas River Valley area in 50 years, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Wednesday.

Gibson succeeds Commission Chairman Dick Trammel, whose 10-year term expires later this month. Trammel, of Rogers, was appointed to the commission by former Gov. Mike Beebe.

Gibson is president and chairman of the board of Pinnacle Communications and Pinnacle Telecom in Fort Smith.

The five-member Highway Commission oversees the Arkansas Department of Transportation, which is responsible for the planning, construction and maintenance of Arkansas’ roads.