30 Mar 2025 Couple of the Month: Johnathan and Babs Wardlaw
HIS STORY:
I am a jack of all trades, master of none.
native of: Little Rock, AR
Education: I earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Arkansas in 1998.
Work: We founded the Little Rock Rangers Soccer Club and the company Portable Audiometrics.
What do you love about working for the Little Rock Rangers? I love the sense of community we’ve built from the passionate fans of the senior teams, to the younger players within our academy, to the families of those players. I feel we’ve built something that everyone is proud to represent.
Accomplishments: I’m not really into individual awards, especially since the Rangers are such a group effort now. I’m proud of the job my wife and I have done in raising both of our boys. I feel they will grow into great men one day.
Community activities: Basically, we do the Rangers 24/7.
Special interests: Other than soccer, I love to snow ski and do updates/renovations around the house.
HER STORY:
I am a Southeast Arkansas girl who grew up with absolutely no knowledge of soccer and married a cool soccer guy. I am a boy/soccer mom. I love art, fashion and helping children hear well through early intervention, and helping them work hard to achieve their therapy goals. I am passionate about ears and science.
native of: Winchester, Tillar and Dumas, Arkansas. LOL … I can literally claim all three. My childhood home was in Tillar, which occupies Desha and Drew Counties; our post office box address was in Winchester (Drew County); and I went to school in Dumas (Desha County).
Children: Our kids are Abe and Murphy Wardlaw.
Education: I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communicative Disorders from the University of Arkansas in 1999 and earned a Master of Science in Audiology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2001.
Work: I am an audiologist with Portable Audiometrics, a Little Rock Rangers volunteer and Jonathan’s wife.
What do you love about the 501? I love that it is big enough, but not too big. You can get from one side of Little Rock to the other in less than 20-30 minutes. People are friendly, the local food scene is amazing, and we have awesome local shops and boutiques! I have loved calling the 501 home for 26 years. In the last nine years, since the Rangers’ development, it has been super cool to watch the Little Rock Rangers soccer players come from South Africa, Italy, Brazil, Spain and all over the world to stay in Little Rock for the summer. Many have ended up wanting to claim the 501 as their home, and several have done just that.
Special interests: My No. 1 special interest is my three Wardlaw boys! When I have spare time, I enjoy cooking, yoga, skiing, meeting friends for dinner, shopping, decorating our home and family vacations anywhere — but my favorite is the beach.
honors you’re especially proud of: I don’t really enjoy the spotlight, in fact, I avoid it. The highest honors I will ever receive are the titles wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, godmother, friend, audiologist and Little Rock Rangers Merch Girl.
Community Activities: The Little Rock Rangers is where all the Wardlaws volunteer their time. Little did Jonathan and I know that one morning at our kitchen table, when the concept of the Rangers was born, we would be gifted a super-amazing group of people/fans that we are beyond proud to call family. We could not do what we do without them! We are beyond grateful for their love, support and grace as we have worked to navigate our way through building this thing.
Their STORY:
We met in Fayetteville while we were both in college. We had friends that dated so we knew of each other, but we never dated. We ran into one another a couple of times after graduating, and Jonathan looked to see if I was listed in the Little Rock phone book (LOL). I was on the first page – Babs Abrams!
After that call in July of 2000, we haven’t ever been apart. Jonathan told me on our third date that he was going to marry me. To be really honest, he kind of freaked me out. I told him that he couldn’t say that again until we had been together for at least six months, because in all new relationships people present the best versions of themselves, and he had no clue who I was. I then proceeded to share a laundry list of my flaws. Luckily, I did not scare him off, and he was actually right about marrying me. He proposed on November 9, 2001, and we got married the following June. We have been on many journeys together, some wonderful and some not always full of rainbows, cupcakes or soccer goals, but I am always thankful we get to do life together.
