11 May 2025 Cooking up change

By Morgan Zimmerman

Lynita Langley-Ware is not trying to impress anyone with her volunteerism. She has simply discovered local causes that she is passionate about. “I do it because it needs to be done, so I just do it,” says Ware, who was honored with the Greenbrier Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year award at the annual banquet on March 13 at Legacy Acres. 

Ware said she was surprised when Chamber President Ashton Pruitt tricked her into a coffee date under the pretense of discussing a community project, but actually revealed the award instead. “When she told me, I thought she was nuts and I ugly cried right there in Doc’s Coffee Shop,” Ware said. “I never win anything, and it had never even occurred to me that I would get an award like that.”

“She is definitely a giver,” Pruitt said. “I cannot think of one time that, if we needed something, and she had the time and the means to do it, she has not made it happen. Our community is really lucky to have her.”

The response to Ware’s Volunteer of the Year award has been overwhelming. People have stopped her on the street to congratulate her. “I don’t think it really sunk in how great an honor it was until I was at the banquet and saw all the other people who were being recognized,” Ware said. “Now I feel an even greater burden of responsibility to keep going.”

Growing up in Greenbrier, and her family has a long history in Faulkner County. She has been married for 29 years with two sons; the eldest is a graduate of Greenbrier High School, and the youngest is currently in his junior year. The Wares raise them to have the same love for service and community as she does. 

Ware worked as the executive director of the Faulkner County Museum for 24 years. “My kids were practically born in the museum,” she said. “It’s just like any other skill. You teach them to have a regard for their community and to be part of the solution, not the problem. They may not end up choosing what you want them to choose, but you’re still showing them the way.”

She is proud that her eldest, off at college, has started volunteering with an animal shelter in Northwest Arkansas, because pets are an important part of his life. Her youngest is still finding his interests, but they’ve seen him offer his time and energy to help friends and neighbors. “He’s got the heart of a servant, he just doesn’t know what he’s going to do with it yet,” Ware said. 

The Arkansan lends a hand to her community wherever it is needed. She has helped lead the Greenbrier High School Band Boosters for the past eight years, taking them from a zero-balance bank account to a thriving organization that supports the band by feeding them, buying instruments and sponsoring kids so they can go to competitions. She is also a founding member of the Greenbrier Area Arts Council. The council supports art events and public art projects in the city of about 5,700 people through fundraising, advocacy and action. Ware also puts her archaeology degree to work by helping map local cemeteries and by volunteering her time in the archeology department at the University of Central Arkansas. 

“Every community has different needs,” she said. “What I encourage people to do is to get out there and talk to their friends and neighbors and find out what needs to be done. Then, figure out who is doing it, and jump in there and offer help. You don’t have to take over, but you can throw your energy into it, and it’s a great way to make friends! So, that’s kind of a cool bonus.”

Ware said that people in Greenbrier want their community to be more than just pass-through. The vision is for it to be a place where people want to spend time and maybe live. “In order for people to want to come and be in your community, either for a day or for a lifetime, you’ve got to have stuff for them that’s compelling,” she said. “People want to see fun things, they want to go to a park … they want to be able to access resources, they want clean water, and they want sidewalks. If those things are not there and you want them, find a way to work for it and help your community.”

To anyone who wants to follow her, and, who knows, perhaps someday become Volunteer of the Year in their community, Ware’s advice is to get started. “You don’t have to do all the things, pick one thing that you might want to get involved in and try it out,” said Ware. “And you may have to try 10 things before you find the one thing that is like, oh yes, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. But then, there you go, you have found your cause.”