Featured Leader: Sonja Yates Hubbard
President, Yates Group
Leadership Texarkana Class of 1991
Leadership Texarkana has honored Sonja with its highest leadership award for 2019: the Idalee Hawkins Leader of The Year Award, which honors outstanding alumni of the Leadership Texarkana program. By helping to found and by serving as the President of the AR-TX Regional Economic Development Incorporated, Sonja exemplifies the impact of an individual who chooses to step up to lead the way in our community.
Long recognized as a dedicated community leader, Sonja has served on boards supporting Christus St. Michael Hospital, Arkansas Research Alliance, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, Arkansas Aviation Alliance, Texas A&M Texarkana Foundation, University of Arkansas Accounting Advisory Board, Opportunities, Inc., and the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council. She has generously and graciously benefited Texarkana organizations by bringing an astute business sense that is recognized well beyond our community: She has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis after serving as a Director and President of the Little Rock Branch; she has also served as Chairman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, an organization that represents the nation’s 153,000 stores and its members, (the first woman and first legacy, following her father’s footsteps, to serve in this capacity).
Sonja was named the Outstanding CPA in Business & Industry by the Arkansas Society of CPA’s, Accountant of the Year in Industry/Government by the University of Arkansas, was recognized as a Woman of Influence in the Food Industry by the Griffin Report, received the Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Hero Award for Leadership, and was inducted into the Convenience Store Hall of Fame in 2010.
CONGRATULATIONS SONJA!
Stay tuned: Profiles featuring 2019 Wilbur Honorees to come! Photo: 2019 Leader of the Year Sonja Hubbard (L) with 2018 honoree LeAnne Wright (LT 2009)