LITTLE ROCK, AR – The Arkansas Rice Federation Board announced today that Lauren Waldrip Ward has been selected as the new Executive Director.

Originally from Moro, Arkansas, Ward was raised on a rice, soybean, and corn farm and is the fifth-generation descendant of a Delta farm family. Ward has staffed the Federation since March 2015, assisting in trade association management, media relations, communications, PAC management, and public affairs. She traveled to Cuba on a trade mission in June of 2016 as part of the ongoing effort to normalize relations with the country and reopen the Cuban market to Arkansas rice. Read more