02 Jan 2026 Five-Oh-Ones to Watch 2026: Apple Dennie
By Phyllis Ormsby
Apple Dennie of Sherwood said she loves having a role that doesn’t look the same every day. It’s a good thing, too, since this is one busy young woman. Just last month, Dennie received her Master of Strategic Communication from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Her main role is community outreach and engagement for the Arkansas chapter of AARP, where she said she loves “working with a team that appreciates and implements my ideas as we work towards making Arkansas more accessible as an aging community.”
Her volunteer efforts are extensive and include serving on the development team at the Wolfe Street Foundation and, for the past four years, the American Heart Association. Dennie also volunteers for Peacekeepers for Women and Children First Arkansas and created a personal community service initiative called Purpose in Prevention to advocate for recovery resources in Arkansas and to spread awareness about substance misuse and the dangers of fentanyl. And if that’s not enough, she was recently crowned Miss Greater Little Rock, a preliminary to the Miss Arkansas pageant.
Alex Tummons, board member of the Miss Greater Little Rock, Metro and Saline County organization, said Dennie is an “outstanding example of leadership, service and purpose.”
“She is deeply engaged in her community, using her voice and platform to advocate for fentanyl overdose awareness and prevention across Arkansas,” Tummons said. “She balances academic excellence with meaningful service, all while serving as a visible role model for young girls who see in her what is possible through dedication and compassion.”
Dennie chose overdose and addiction as personal platforms because of the wide-ranging effect of the drug problem in Arkansas. “More than 450,000 people in our state have been personally impacted by addiction,” she said. “Overdose and addiction don’t discriminate and can impact any one of us and our families tomorrow, so it’s a problem everyone should care about. Whether it’s supporting your local recovery foundations, the VA, or keeping a pulse on legislation that impacts recovery care and harm reduction, there are ways to get involved and be a part of the change in Arkansas.”
How best to be a change-maker? “Go for it like nobody’s watching,” she said. “It’s not about finding the grand thing you can do to be noticed, it’s about working hard and being passionate regardless if your efforts are noticed or not. Everything you do is to glorify God really, not yourself.”
Her plans include continuing to impact her community with her volunteering efforts and to reach her fundraising goal of $8,000 for recovery resources in Central Arkansas.
Dennie said she is inspired by actress Viola Davis, who acted for many years before finding success in her 40s but never gave up. “Nobody thinks of her and says she’s too old or wanted it more than she should have. All that matters is how remarkable her talent is and how much she persevered for the sake of her own dreams,” she said.
“I want people to be inspired to shoot for the biggest stars when they think of me,” she added. “Whether your biggest dream is finding a way to support your community, or write a book, or compete for Miss Arkansas for the seventh time. I did it, why can’t you?”
